Chankonabe and Training questions

[Guest markblack]

Hi,

I work as a researcher for a travel show on the Food Network in Canada.

We are trying to set up an episode for the show that chronicles sumo training with a focus on the culinary aspect of the training.

I have a few questions that may seem a little naive, but if someone could answer them for me, it would make my job quite easy.

1. Are there many different recipes and ways to prepare chankonabe?

2. While training at the heya, are there 'practice' or training matches taking place?

3. Are any of these practice or training matches open to the public or outsiders?

4. Are there any other dietary concerns, aside from chankonabe, during training?

5. Are there any sumo or sumo officials with Nihon Sumo Kyokai (perhaps a press agent) that speak/understand English? I'm having a hard time contacting someone at Nihon Sumo Kyokai who understands English.

Thanks,

Mark

Black

my email address is mark@ocean.ca

Thank you again

[Otokonoyama 2,735]

Hi,

I work as a researcher for a travel show on the Food Network in Canada.

We are trying to set up an episode for the show that chronicles sumo training with a focus on the culinary aspect of the training.

I have a few questions that may seem a little naive, but if someone could answer them for me, it would make my job quite easy.

1. Are there many different recipes and ways to prepare chankonabe?

2. While training at the heya, are there 'practice' or training matches taking place?

3. Are any of these practice or training matches open to the public or outsiders?

4. Are there any other dietary concerns, aside from chankonabe, during training?

5. Are there any sumo or sumo officials with Nihon Sumo Kyokai (perhaps a press agent) that speak/understand English? I'm having a hard time contacting someone at Nihon Sumo Kyokai who understands English.

Thanks,

Mark

Black

my email address is mark@ocean.ca

Thank you again

Hi Mark,

I miss The Thirsty Traveler...anything like that?

1. Yes, each training stable has it's own specialty, and I believe each heya has several recipes for varitey.

2. Yes, in addition to basic exercise, some weight training, and so on, there are practice matches.

3. Sometimes. You should call ahead (in Japanese), and make arrangements.

4. Do you mean do the rikishi eat other things besides chanko? If so, of course.

5. I think some NSK staff do. Perhaps others here on SF could help you out with that. All I know of is the comment box on their homepage.

http://sumo.goo.ne.jp/eng/toko/index.html

Good luck!

[kaiguma 0]

I'm not sure what is your purpose for contacting English-speaking NSK staff, but if you are trying to arrange a visit from a film crew, you might try Sadogatake Beya. I've heard that the Okami-san speaks very good English. Plus they are use to the exposure and porbably wouldn't mind having a camera crew around for keiko and chanko.

But then, maybe with the recent passing of formaer Sadogatake oyakata, the may be shying away from press coverage, or even forbidding it for a period of mourning. At any rate, it couldn't hurt to try. Maybe someone knows another heya with an English-speaking liaison.

But if you just wanted to do a phone interview, I'm not sure this is the best strategy.

[Hananotaka 8]

Azumazeki Oyakata might speak some English...

[Jonosuke 28]

Traditional Chanko broth is made from chicken, often known as Soppu. Chicken has been the preferred soup base because a chicken stands on two feet while other meat base come from four legged animals. It's just a superstition as in sumo if you touch anywhere other than the back of your feet, you are defeated.

Basically there are three types of flavouring - soy sauce (shoyu), soy paste (miso) and salt (shio). As with any other staple, they often change the flavoring around as they eat it every day. I recally the old Hatachiyama beya used to make Kimchi based Chanko.

Once they get the broth done, then they would throw in such things as meat balls, veggies and bean curd.

Chanko nabe is extremely healthy food. One may get a perception that you will gain weight by eating it. But the reason rikishi gain weight is not from eating chanko but eating bowls and bowls of rice and drinking beer with their meals.

For instance former yokozuna Takanohana who once weighed over 150 kg lost 50 kg by just eating chanko. He mostly ate vegetables and no rice. That was his diet plan and if you see him now you would never believe he was a former sumo rikishi.

Rikishi have a morning training session called Asageiko from around 5:30 till 10:00. Then they eat their first chanko meal of the day. Higher ranking rikishi may have a spare time to take a nap after the meal but lower ranking rikishi may not have enough time to do so as they have quite a few chores to do during their day.

Then they have their evening meal around 6:00 so they only eat twice a day, again having another round of chanko nabe. But the chanko nabe is not the only thing they eat, there are other side dishes of vegetables, meat and fish.

There are many sumo beya based chanko restaurants around Ryogoku and it's well worth a visit if you are in Ryogoku (there are other more main stream chanko restaurants like the one operated by the former yokozuna Wakanohana III called Chanko Dining Waka in other major shopping areas of Tokyo). The chanko dish served in these restaurants have a similar taste to the actual one served at a sumo beya but they may serve it differently as for instance they would put udon noodles at the end. That is because it's customary to serve noodles at the end for a Japanese hot pot meal and the patrons expect it.

I also should mention that most foreign born rikishi especially non-Asian rikshi did not find Chanko to be their liking initially. If I recall Akebono first needed to put ketchup in before he could eat it.

[kaiguma 0]

Azumazeki Oyakata might speak some English...

Oh yeah!

[sound of palm slapping forehead, repeatedly]

[Jejima 1,000]

Musashigawa-beya is another heya ('stable') that might be worth contacting. They have always been friendly when I visited them for morning practice in the past, and still have a few top division rikishi ---- plus at least one person connected with the heya is fluent at English.

[Guest markblack]

Thanks for being so helpful. It is very much appreciated.

To answer a few of your questions:

1. I don't need to do an phone interview with Nihon Sumo Kyokai, I need to arrange for our crew to film over there. I don't have anyone in the office who speaks Japanese, so it'd be a little easier if someone at the NSK office spoke some English.

2. Similar in some ways to The Thirsty Traveler, but obviously a lot more emphasis on food and cooking.

You guys have been fantastic.

You've given us some great ideas and I really appreciate it.

Thank you so much!

[Jonosuke 28]

Discovery Canada Channel people did a week long Japan special feature a couple of years ago. One of their features was the physics of sumo and they visited sumo beya to film their training. You may want to check how they did it.

[Guest markblack]

Hi All,

Still working on our upcoming trip and I had a few more questions.

I'm not sure you can answer all of these, but if you have any insight into any of the questions, that would be super.

Here we go:

-What is the usual menu at a heya? Is it just Chankonabe? Or is supplemented with other foods?

What precisely are those other foods?

-How are breakfast, lunch and dinner served? Is there a dining hall in each Heya?

-What is the historical context behind the sumo meals and meal traditions?

-How many wrestlers are usually at a table and who else joins them for the meal?

-How many people would typically work in the kitchen at a heya?

-Any special "food" days (aka Sunday big dinner day, etc.)

-Could someone give me a brief synopsis of what a grand champion can earn and how it will affect his

life and that of the house that trains him?

Thanks for even bothering to look at this.

I do, very much appreciate it!

Thanks,

Mark

[Gusoyama 64]

There are definitely other foods that are served, if you look in this thread, which is the translated blog of one of the heyas, you will find all sorts of different food being eaten, such as:

gyoza

McDonalds(obviously not served in the heya itself, but as a lunch)

sukiyaki

And thats all on the first page!

Also, it is of note that the chanko and rice is served in order of rank, with the top ranked rikishi eating the lions share, and the bottom runged guys often only getting rice and broth, if that.

Edited October 2, 2007 by Gusoyama

[Kintamayama 41,271]

Also, it is of note that the chanko and rice is served in order of rank, with the top ranked rikishi eating the lions share, and the bottom runged guys often only getting rice and broth, if that.

And lately, lower rankers can get some beer as well.

[Jonosuke 28]

More chanko nabe story in here.

1. Rikishi traditionally eat only lunch and dinner (they start out their morning training session, then take a bath and eat).

2. They usually eat on their first floor grand hall by lining up tables (they don't sit on chairs so tables are low). So a big heya will have more rikishi eating at the same time depending on their rank. First to eat is the heya's oyakata and his guests (if any). If the heya has higher ranked rikishi like yokozuna, ozeki or even Sanyaku, and Makuuchi and Juryo, they may eat at the same time. Then Makushita follow and down to Jonokuchi rikishi. So basically lower the rank rikishimay be eating more rice and less meaty food. However this is simply a traditional structure. Those who are trying to gain weight may be forced fed by the oyakata and others - they will have to eat until they are ready to throw up. For rikishi, eating is training, it is serious business. Most light weight rikishi consider a meal time to be a pure hell.

3. How may guys are in a cooking duty? This will pretty much depend on a heya as some heya don't have that many rikishi and everyone has to chip in. Other heya may have a long time non-sekitori rikishi whose sole existence may be to cook a chanko (they are carrying on the heya's tradition with the heya's secret recipe). But most heya will have several guys on the duty while same or other guys accompany the okamisan to go to a market to buy the food in the morning.

4. A big dinner day is every day at sumo heya. However some days the heya's supporters or senior rikishi may invite other rikishi for a meal at a BBQ restaurant or something. That is always a treat for them.

As for the last question about yokozuna, there are answers already elsewhere, like on Wikipedia.

[Guest markblack]

You are all fantastic!

Thank you so much.

You've made my director happy.

[Jonosuke 28]

I also recommend you check out a few Chanko restaurants to get some sampling yourself before you venture into a heya.

Former yokozuna and just now divorced Masaru Hanada (Wakanohana III) has a chain of two dozen chanko restaurants all over Japan plus one in Seoul. His head restaurant is in a fashionable district of Tokyo, Roppongi district where you can also check out such other trendy sites as Roppongi Hill and Roppongi Midtown where an ultra trendy dining/bar called Billboard Live just opened its doors. I believe a 80s mega duo, Air Supply, will be gushing out their love songs there next week.

If you are also checking up the next tournament in Fukuoka, then you may want to check a just opened chanko restaurant by a former yumitori (baton twirler) Ouga called Chanko Ouga which promises to be more traditional than Chanko Dining Waka. Unfortunately his heya's (stable) yokozuna won't be visiting Fukuoka this basho so you will unlikely see him there but you are bound to bump into other members of his former heya.

Good luck.

[Washuyama 588]

Wow.... After reading this thread, I'm kinda hungry... (Holiday feeling...)

[Guest markblack]

Is anyone familiar with the Magaki Beya?

Can anyone tell me about that beya, its training, wrestlers and background?

[Jakusotsu 4,992]

Is anyone familiar with the Magaki Beya?

Can anyone tell me about that beya, its training, wrestlers and background?

Nishinoshima will be the one to ask.