Manekineko

Some more pictures

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Does anyone know where the picture of the 3 yokozuna was taken?

No idea but they're pounding rice to create mochi, some kind of rice pur

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As promised elsewhere I'll show you images of kodomo-zumo where a rikishi "fights" against a bunch of boys. First we have a demonstration by Kaio who's close of disposing of his first opponent but there are five more. Judging by the blondness of the kids, this must be from either Australian or Canadian koen.

kaiokids.jpg

Maru fares even worse. He's knocked over one lilliputian but there are five more determined to apply some good old okuridashi on the giant! If only they could decide which direction to push. Those two kids on his hips mainly intend to make him slimmer.

marukids.jpg

Meanwhile Tenzan has that Check this out, the funny gaijin posts pictures of us look on his face.

tenzanpose.jpg

I'm not sure who the lady here is and what she and Dejima attempt to accomplish by stretching their tongues. :-D

dejimapose.jpg

Finally, salt... First it's thrown around copiously a la Kitazakura...

saltthrow.jpg

... then Tosanoumi the Dohyo Diver dives for it in Hatsu Basho 2002.

saltytosa.jpg

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For Takanohana's fans!

Takahanada and Wakahanada during keiko

photo_sumo.jpg

Takanohana II : medal's profile!

photo_title_1.jpg

Takanohana II during an hard training

photo_3.jpg

Takanohana II

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Here's a tribute to Akebono.

My, who would believe that this boy will grow up to be the first gaijin yokozuna... Ake when he just joined sumo:

Ake_shindeshi1.jpg

And when he was ichiban shusse, wearing a borrowed kesho-mawashi:

Ake_shindeshi2.jpg

Here he is with a happy (or terrified?) fan:

Ake.jpg

This picture fills me with nostalgia: three future yokozuna in their carefree maegashira youth... Look at the brilliant smile at Taka's face!

Ake_Takawaka.jpg

Ake serving as Chiyonofuji's tachi-mochi, with Mitoizumi as tsuyu-harai.

Ake_tachimochi.jpg

Ake with his oyakata and okamisan, accepting the promotion to yokozuna:

Ake_yokozuna.jpg

Ake with his oyakata, showing his new shikona (can you spot the difference), while Azumazeki-oyakata shows the old.

Ake_shikona.jpg

Ake as white swan in the "Swan lake" ballet. :O

Ake_Swan.jpg

I wish this picture was bigger...

Ake doing his dohyo-iri.

Ake_poster.jpg

Ake in pool, his content of fat is being measured, I think.

Ake_pool.jpg

And finally, his danpatsu-shiki... hair cut by a future yokozuna:

Ake_danpatsu.jpg

and his greatest rival...

Ake_danpatsu1.jpg

Edit: Ha! Two yokozuna tributes posted almost simultaneously...

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Wow, what great pictures!  Thanks to everyone who posted!

Ake when he just joined sumo:

Cool pictures.  Already with a knee bandage -- telling of things to come??

Ake with his oyakata, showing his new shikona (can you spot the difference), while Azumazeki-oyakata shows the old

The only difference is the little square in the middle right side of the shikona, right?  Does it have a literal meaning?

First we have a demonstration by Kaio who's close of disposing of his first opponent

Looks like it's as easy for him hold that kid as it is for me to hold a tennis ball.  Kind of scary  (Hehe...)

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This time I'll post only images of the yokozuna and stuff related to them.

First some of Akebono that I haven't seen posted yet. This one must be from late Eighties when his sport of choice was still basketball.

akebasketball.jpg

Here at the very end of his career lowering down his small son onto the dohyo in his last dohyo-iri.

akeandson.jpg

Finally his tenteki ready for the honour of snipping some of his hair.

aketakadanpatsu.jpg

Then some of Musashimaru. Here Fia celebrates one of his numerous makuuchi saiko yusho with that festive fish called aka-tai.

maruakatai.jpg

Here putting on the tsuna (tsunashime) is displayed, most likely from a jungyo tour. Take note of the white gloves his tsukebito wear in order to not ruin the tsuna with dirt.

marutsunashime.jpg

Then two images of Wakanohana II, variations of the same drawing. Below them two images of Wakanohana III; latter to be shown to those relatives who claim those sumo guys are made of only of fat.

waka3-1.jpg

waka3-2.jpg

wakakeiko.jpg

wakamuscle.jpg

In the previous image you can see well the Shiranui type of tsuna with its characteristic two loops. Here's Takanosato's tsuna which is also of the rarer Shiranui style.

takanosatotsuna.jpg

To remind you about the difference, here are the two types side by side. On the left (or top) Shiranui, on the right (or bottom) Unryu style tsuna.

shiranui.jpgunryu.jpg

That's it for tonight. :-9

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Then four images of Wakanohana III Masaru. Two variations of the same drawing, practise shot and an excellent image to show to those relatives who claim those sumo guys are made of only of fat.

Are you sure that's really Wakanohana-III in the drawings? I could have sworn it was actually Wakanohana-II. Hard to say for sure though.

wakanohana2.jpg

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I could have sworn it was actually Wakanohana-II.

You're right! How come the image names of these files have always been "WakaIII..." on my hard drive? Either I made a mistake or someone who originally posted these somewhere. Anyway, thanks to you it's now corrected. (Thumbs up...)

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Nice tsuna pictures.  I didn't know they had two styles.  Is the yokozuna allowed to choose what style he wants?

Yes. It's the Unryu-style (symbolizing defense) and the Shiranui-style (symbolizing offense). They have the names from two early yokozunas (number 10 and 11 I believe) who supposedly used styles similar to the two now existing ones (although in reality this is supposed to come from a misunderstanding of a sumo guru in the early 20th century, Kozo Hikoyama, and the reverse is rather true).

Unfortunately several injury-prone and relatively old yokozunas have chosen the Shiranui-style so in the name of superstition, it has become increasingly  uncommon. The last Yokozuna to use it was Wakanohana-3 and before that Asahifuji.

The actual difference is the way they hold their hands when moving upwards, straigthening the legs, within the dohyo-iri (I don't remember the term, but I'm sure Kotoseiya will provide it). In Unryu, one arm is bent inwards (the left I think) and one is stretched out, while in Shiranui, both are stretched out. There is also the way the tsuna is tied in the back, where Unryu uses one loop and Shiranui two loops.

I'm sure there are better explanations on sumo FAQs around the web, but this should suffice as a start I think. Note that Asashoryu chose Unryu as well as Akebono, Takanohana and Musashimaru. I hoped he would be brave enough to go for Shiranui, but I will have to wait a bit longer for somone to choose that again it seems...

  • Thanks 1

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An off-the-sleeve prophecy:  when Kaio becomes Yokozuna, he will choose the Shiranui style... but will get re-injured in his first basho as Yokozuna, and retire two basho later with recurring back and arm problems, thus reinforcing the superstition! :D

Cheers

Zenjimoto

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Hehe, I had exactly the same vision. If the effect of the superstition is THAT strong to Zenjimoto and me, how must it be for Sumotori who are notoriously superstitious? I believe we won't see for a long time, unless a brave rikishi actually wants to put the jinx on him...

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Hehe, I had exactly the same vision. If the effect of the superstition is THAT strong to Zenjimoto and me, how must it be for Sumotori who are notoriously superstitious? I believe we won't see for a long time, unless a brave rikishi actually wants to put the jinx on him...

Well, it is quite difficult once the jinx has formed in rikishis heads. The only one who would dare use Shiranui now is someone who doesn't expect a long career anyway, so most who would dare use it only strengthens the jinx.

It's hardly possible that Kaio would stay more than 2 or three years as yokozuna even if he is hardly hampered by injury problems, because of his age and already cronic ailments. On the other hand, if a young, hopeful-strong-yokozuna-to-be still takes on the Shiranui style, it's probable any problems of his, whenever they occur, would suddenly be accounted to the jinx.

Personally I think more of the later days of Kitanoumi, with constant injuries and difficulties to make good results would be in memory of people, had he chosen Shiranui, and he would suddenly have been an example of the weak Shiranui-style yokozunas instead of an example of strong dai-yokozuna... The power of the jinx is mighty.

As I understand it, it is not so uncommon Haguroyama, who really had a marvellous career, is seen as one of the "rather weak" Shiranui-style yokozunas, whereas he really had the longest yokozuna career of all, including a high number of yusho in a time with fewer basho than now, and probably only is robbed of being called a great yokozuna, because he happened to be contemporary with the great Futabayama, and never was allowed to match strength with him.

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It's the Unryu-style (symbolizing defense) and the Shiranui-style (symbolizing offense).

(...)

They have the names from two early yokozunas (number 10 and 11 I believe)

(...)

a misunderstanding of a sumo guru in the early 20th century, Kozo Hikoyama, and the reverse is rather true

(...)

The actual difference is the way they hold their hands when moving upwards, straigthening the legs, within the dohyo-iri (I don't remember the term, but I'm sure Kotoseiya will provide it).

(...)

In Unryu, one arm is bent inwards (the left I think)

I've understood that while Shiranui represents solely offense, Unryu represents a harmony of defense (arm bent towards torso) and offense (arm stretched outwards). Shiranui style is likened to a swan taking off. I personally much prefer it. ;-) Even "my" own shisho (Sadogatake Oyakata, moto-yokozuna Kotozakura) performed Shiranui. No wonder my profile page shows me wearing a Shiranui tsuna...

Trivia: Kitanofuji performed
once
Shiranui style dohyo-iri (outside honbasho) acting as a substitute of his fellow yokozuna Tamanoumi who was also his good friend. Tamanoumi was at the time suffering from complications of an operation on his appendix (appendicitis + thrombosis; Dr. Kaikitsune might explain the terms...) to which he unfortunately deceased. :~-( Perhaps this incident spoiled Shiranui's reputation the most of all individual incidents.

I think I had an image of this dohyo-iri on my hard drive in summer '01 when I messed up its partition table. Never read Oliver Sacks while doing such delicate operations.

Unryu was indeed #10 but there were two Shiranuis, #8 and #11. Not knowing which one is the correct man bugged me and still does as I didn't find conclusive evidence to clear the confusion. Anyway both were yokozunas in mid-1800's (#8, 1844-1848 and #11, 1863-1869). Unryu was promoted to yokozuna in 1865, so more likely #11 (Shiranui II) is the correct man.

Indeed. (Laughing...) Hikoyama mixed the styles.

I will? I will. I'm so predictable. Seri-agari.

Yes, the left hand. Here's Futabayama in a stamp.

futabayamastamp.jpg

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As I understand it, it is not so uncommon Haguroyama, who really had a marvellous career, is seen as one of the "rather weak" Shiranui-style yokozunas

Funny how a person's memory starts to fail. I could've sworn that Haguroyama (who quite rightly is said to have lost his chance of becoming even more legendary by having the adverse luck of being Futabayama's coeval and do-beya (stablemate)) was an Unryu yokozuna but you're correct (as you tend to be).

And here's the proof.

haguroyama.jpg

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Still some to be shown. This time I'll upload pictures of some of less known rikishi.

Tochisakae with and without glasses. I believe he squints slightly. Is that dirt in his hair?

sakae1.jpg

sakae2.jpg

Wakakosho stretching.

wakakoshostretch.jpg

Then three pictures of Great Anchor of Isenoumi-beya, Oikari.

oikarihair.jpg

oikari2.jpg

oikari.jpg

Tamanoshima after his komusubi promotion. What is he gesturing?

tamanoshima.jpg

Tochinohana with chonmage, cauliflower ear and black eye.

tochinohana.jpg

Asanosho suffering in tokoyama's hands. He retired some time ago because of a heart (?) condition.

asanosho.jpg

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I got a request of Tosanoumi. Unfortunately I have only few proper images of him. (Laughing...)

Here finishing ozeki Chiyotaikai in nakabi of Aki Basho 2001 with an oshidashi.

tosataikai.jpg

Two days later maegashira hitto Asashoryu lost to him by tsukiotoshi. This is probably an aftermath of a matta (?). Take note of sanyaku-kaku's full red tassels. Sometimes they officiate also all-maegashira bouts.

tosaasa.jpg

Finally two portraits.

tosanoumi1.jpg

tosanoumi2.jpg

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Let's see some of Gojoro as found by Kintamayama-zeki. (Thumbs up...)

First as a tachimochi of Wakanohana III. Tsuyuharai seems to be Wakanosato, right?

gojoro18.jpg

Then posing in front of Magaki-heya with a dobeya of his. Wakatenro, isn't it?

gojoro10.jpg

Somewhat unusual motif in a kesho, don't you think?

gojoro14.jpg

Here's the explanation! He's a fisherman!

gojoro1.jpg

gojoro2.jpg

gojoro3.jpg

gojoro4.jpg

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For old fans!

Yokozuna Kitanoumi

4.jpg

Ozeki Masuiyama II

5.jpg

Futabayama yokozuna dohy

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hutabayama.jpg

What an excellent view of the shihon-bashira!

shihon-bashira
, pillars supporting tsuriyane until September 1952; since 1858 those were decorated using same colors as busa are coloured nowadays, see aka-busa, ao-busa, kuro-busa, shiro-busa, mizuhikimaku, agemaki

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