2009 All-Japan Senior High School, Wampaku...

[Asashosakari 20,287]

(Last year's results here...oddly enough concerning that thread, just a couple of days ago I found out what the deal with the tsukedashi height restriction was. Apparently the general 173 cm limit was only voided permanently for tsukedashi qualifiers in 1995, with Nakao and Tochitaiki the first beneficiaries of the rule change. Anyway, on to the actual news...)

This year's high school yokozuna is 18-year-old Yuma Nakade, a 3rd-year student from Kanazawa City Engineering HS in Ishikawa prefecture. School alum Dejima, himself the high school yokozuna in 1991 (and who just expressed his desire to raise an Ishikawa-born sekitori last week, hmm) had swung by their training camp before the tournament and exhorted him to "do your best", and so he obviously did. The 185 cm / 165 kg migi-yotsu specialist survived a scare early on in the second knockout round, when he was dropped quickly by Saitama Sakae's Daisuke Sasaki (winner of a tournament in Hirosaki earlier this year), but the shimpan ordered a restart of the bout in which Nakade yorikiri'ed Sasaki out of the ring.

After that momentum builder he cruised through to the final, where he beat Daiki Nakamura (Saitama Sakae, 2nd year I believe) with oshitaoshi to become the fourth HS yokozuna from Ishikawa after Shigeru Masuda (1969, later Masudayama and now Chiganoura-oyakata), Shoichi Inaba (1984, didn't turn pro I guess) and Dejima. Third place was an all-Kanazawa affair as well with Tomoaki (?) Ansai (also Kanazawa Engineering, lost to Nakade by kakenage in the semis) and Shogo Kawabata (Kanazawa Gakuin East, 3rd year).

Said Nakade after his victory, "I was able to do my own sumo without worrying about the consequences.* I've been at it since elementary school, but this is definitely my happiest time in sumo." Regarding his career plans he added, "While I've managed to get to the top in high school, I'd still like to see if my stuff plays at the university level, too. I'll decide whether to join ozumo after that."

* Or something like that. Anybody with a more idiomatic translation of 「がむしゃらに自分の相撲が取れた。」, please?

Nakade on the right:

---

And right as the high school championships took place in Kyoto, Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan hosted the 2009 wampaku championships where 9-year-old Konosuke Naya (156 cm / 90 kg), third son of Takatoriki and grandson of Taiho, finished runner-up in the 4th grade competition. He promised to win it next year. (I am not worthy...) Old-timey powerhouse Aomori nearly swept the competition this year, not just starring 4th grade champion Yasushi Yamauchi who beat Naya by uwatenage in the final, but also the 6th grade winner and the 5th grade runner-up. Approximately 400 students participated across the three grades.

Final bout, Naya on the right:

5th grade final:

Shiyo Tokinaga (Kagoshima, in the back) yorikiri Tomoki Echigoya (Aomori)

6th grade final:

Hiroshige Kikuchi (Aomori, on top) uwatenage unnamed opponent

Edited October 19, 2009 by Asashosakari

[Washuyama 662]

9-year-old - 90 kg

Holy crap!!

[Kintamayama 47,338]

Or something like that. Anybody with a more idiomatic translation of 「がむしゃらに自分の相撲が取れた。」, please?

"I managed to do my own sumo with reckless abandon".

[Sasanishiki 57]

In the teams competition at the National High School Athletic Meet, Saitama Sakae High School beat Aichi Kogyo Daigaku Meiden HS in the final to win their 7th title and their first in three years.

[Harry 67]

I was in Ryogoku on Sunday and saw that they were set up for sumo as I was returning to the subway station but I was too stupid to know about this event and whether or not I could have attended! The doors were open later in the afternoon and I could see the dohyo was set up, tsuriyane and fusa hanging from the roof but I'm pretty sure it must have been over by that time. Stupid, stupid, stupid (of me not to know)... There was bon dancing later too if I'd stayed though there was rain on and off that day. I had sunburn from visiting 3 parks the previous day and walking around the museum all afternoon having fried my brain is the only excuse I can give myself.

Thanks for the reports and pictures though.

Edited August 4, 2009 by Harry

[Harry 67]

I was in Ryogoku on Sunday and saw that they were set up for sumo as I was returning to the subway station but I was too stupid to know about this event and whether or not I could have attended!

Should have given me a shout. I went to watch some of it. Was on from 7am to 6pm and free. Keep an eye on the bottom of the main page of the forum for upcoming events. Since you are here are you going to try sumo yourself by the way?

Indeed. PM sent.

[Orion 431]

I was in Ryogoku on Sunday ... There was bon dancing later too if I'd stayed though there was rain on and off that day.

I put in about an hour's nonstop dancing that day -- as rain threatened I was wearing an old Dewanoumi yukata rather than the really good Narumi shibori one I'd sported the day before (bought on a side trip from the Nagoya basho).

Orion

[Johnofuji 232]

I was in Ryogoku on Sunday ... There was bon dancing later too if I'd stayed though there was rain on and off that day.

I put in about an hour's nonstop dancing that day -- as rain threatened I was wearing an old Dewanoumi yukata rather than the really good Narumi shibori one I'd sported the day before (bought on a side trip from the Nagoya basho).

Orion

How can it be nonstop dancing if you only did it for an hour? You should still be dancing. (In jonokuchi...)

Are there any special sumo dances apart from the two step?

I forget the names of the dances but what is the one where they are looking at the moon and digging?(I didn't quite understand the explanation about that one)

[Asashosakari 20,287]

I don't know what they're putting into the water in Ishikawa lately, but the winners of the 2009 All-Japan Prefectural Middle School Championships also hail from there. 3rd-year 達 綾哉 (absolutely no idea what the reading is...) from Seinanbu Middle School in Kanazawa not only led the Ishikawa team to victory at the Kokugikan yesterday, but the 192 cm / 136 kg youngster also took the title in the individual competition. (Note: This isn't the All-Japan Middle School Championship that awards the middle school yokozuna title; that one takes place in two weeks.) Yamaguchi prefecture was the team runner-up, with third place going to Aomori and Chiba.

The 15-year old winner is originally from Nanao (also in Ishikawa), hometown of yokozuna Wajima, and he is described as an allrounder who is equally adept at tsuki-oshi and hidari-yotsu. "I am happy to win this championship - my goal is to become like Hakuho-zeki!" he proclaimed, and he's planning to get right on it: Freshly-enthroned Takadagawa-oyakata (ex-Akinoshima) has already recruited him for when he finishes his middle school studies early next year. "He's still growing, and might hit 2 meters when he's done", the excited future shisho commented around a hearty handshake with the tournament winner.

Edited August 10, 2009 by Asashosakari

[Kintamayama 47,338]

3rd-year 達 綾哉 (absolutely no idea what the reading is...)

Satoshi Ayakana??

[Sasanishiki 57]

達 綾哉 (absolutely no idea what the reading is...)

Tatsu Ryouya

[Asashosakari 20,287]

Photo op for the victorious team at their home newspaper:

[seb 0]

per accident i came across a video of the/a final match between ishikawa and yamaguchi-prefecture, but doesn't look like that the man-without-name the 1,92m-guy is involved.

Edited August 11, 2009 by seb

[yamaneko 2]

I wish that huge brazilian kid who looks like a mini akebono could compete here.

[Asashosakari 20,287]

(Note: This isn't the All-Japan Middle School Championship that awards the middle school yokozuna title; that one takes place in two weeks.)

So, did this actually take place this past weekend? There's a curious absence of any news articles on the event...

[Otokonoyama 2,735]

Read it was held last weekend in Kagoshima, but no results given.

[Gernobono 467]

is it possible to find the results of wanpaku-finals from 2005 or 2006 in the kokugikan (the doc was from 2006)

there was a documentary named "sumokids" on german tv some days ago and i wanted to try to see if any of the featured boys (then 12 yo.) made some movement towards ozumo in some kind....

btw: the film got the facts right and was very nice.....

[Asashosakari 20,287]

I don't know what they're putting into the water in Ishikawa lately, but the winners of the 2009 All-Japan Prefectural Middle School Championships also hail from there. 3rd-year 達 綾哉 [Ryoya Tatsu] from Seinanbu Middle School in Kanazawa not only led the Ishikawa team to victory at the Kokugikan yesterday, but the 192 cm / 136 kg youngster also took the title in the individual competition. (Note: This isn't the All-Japan Middle School Championship that awards the middle school yokozuna title; that one takes place in two weeks.)

FWIW, Ryoya Tatsu is now listed as this year's middle school yokozuna on Wiki, so perhaps I was wrong about the relative importance of those two tournaments. The lack of coverage of the later tourney would probably support that, too.

Incidentally, that other tournament was won by the Nō Middle School team from Itoigawa-shi in Niigata, pictured below. Their member Hayato Miwa also earned runner-up honors in the individual competition.