2010 All-Japan Wampaku, Middle School & High School Championships

[Asashosakari 20,281]

It's that week again... The start was made by the National Wampaku Championships on Sunday, held as usual at the Kokugikan. Results are spotty so far, but just like last year there's plenty of coverage of Taiho's grandson Konosuke Naya - he's at 167 cm / 103 kg now (up from 156 / 90 a year ago), but he suffered an unexpectedly early exit in the quarterfinals of the 5th grade competition this year, blamed on a lingering injury to his left hip sustained in a previous competition.

An oshidashi victory in the third round:

No caption, but I guess this is his quarterfinal loss:

Naya (back, second from left) with 10 others...caption didn't specify it, but I think these are the 12 (minus 1 for some reason) losing quarterfinalists from the three grades, whose performance was commended as "komusubi":

Dad-who-shall-not-be-named in attendance:

[Asashosakari 20,281]

Some random bits and pictures from the wampaku tournament that made it into the general press, mostly via Yomiuri's regional editions:

4th grade runner-up was Mantaro Haruyama 春山万太郎 from Setouchi in Kagoshima prefecture.

Koki Daito 大塔昂貴 (on the left), runner-up of the 5th grade competition from Fukutsu in Fukuoka:

The 5th grade winner was Kenji Tamura 太村健二 from Tokunoshima, also in Kagoshima. I'm not positive if that's him in the picture above against Daito. With their successes Tamura and Haruyama also secured the "group" yusho for their Amami-Oshima region. (Calculated simply as the sum of the performances by each region's 4th, 5th and 6th grade representative, AFAIK.)

The 6th grade runner-up Eiji Kitahara 北原英嗣 (on the left) from Itabashi ward in Tokyo, and no, he wasn't competing in the wrong grade:

[Asashosakari 20,281]

Moving on from Tokyo all the way to Okinawa, site of this year's Inter-High School Athletic Meet. The three-day sumo competition is currently still ongoing (the group finals will take place on Wednesday), but the individual championship has already been decided today: The 2010 high school yokozuna is last year's runner-up, 3rd-year student Daiki Nakamura from powerhouse Saitama Sakae HS, beating Takahiro Yasuda (Kagoshima Shonan HS) by uwatedashinage in a quick three-second final. Let's hope 2010 continues in this auspicious way for the 183 cm / 140 kg Nakamura - competing in the group semifinals last year on the very day after his individual runner-up performance he suffered a massive injury to his right knee. Ouch. Like last year's HS yokozuna Nakade he is planning to go to university before turning pro.

Edited August 3, 2010 by Asashosakari

[Yubinhaad 11,975]

Results are spotty

And the competitors?

[Asashosakari 20,281]

And the competitors?

?

[Yubinhaad 11,975]

And the competitors?

?

Spotty? (Sign of disapproval...)

[Jonosuke 28]

All Japan High School Tournament is currently being held in Okinawa this year but Sumo competitions were all decided this week.

In the group category, Tottori Johoku (Kotomitsuki's alma mater) defeated Okinawa's Chubu Norin in the final to win the yusho.

While in the individual category, arguably the best high school amateur, Saitama Sakae's Taiki Nakamura beat Takahiro Yasuda of Shonan High in Kagoshima. Nakamura defeated Kisaki of Tottori Johoku while Yasuda downed Goto of Takushoku University Koryo HIgh School in the semi-final.

By winning the the tournament, Nakamura was officially crowned as the 2010 High School Yokozuna.

[Ulaanbaatar 0]

All Japan High School Tournament is currently being held in Okinawa this year but Sumo competitions were all decided this week.

In the group category, Tottori Johoku (Kotomitsuki's alma mater) defeated Okinawa's Chubu Norin in the final to win the yusho.

While in the individual category, arguably the best high school amateur, Saitama Sakae's Taiki Nakamura beat Takahiro Yasuda of Shonan High in Kagoshima. Nakamura defeated Kisaki of Tottori Johoku while Yasuda downed Goto of Takushoku University Koryo HIgh School in the semi-final.

By winning the the tournament, Nakamura was officially crowned as the 2010 High School Yokozuna.

Is this Nakamura Mongolian? Only the name Tottori is same in the news

In the Mongolian news, it says, Mongolian student G. Gan-erdene (16years old, 190 cm tall, 155 kg, arrived in Japan April.2010). He won straight 5 times in this tournament.

http://mongolnews.mn/i/8636

Монгол хүү Японы аварга болов

Японы дунд сургуулийн аварга шалгаруулах сүмо бөхийн тэмцээн болж, Тоттори мужийн сургууль тэргүүн байр эзэллээ. Тус тэмцээнд тав дараалан ялсан Г.Ган-Эрдэнэ Тоттори сургуулийн гол хүч байв. 190 см өндөр, 155 кг жинтэй, 16 настай хүү удахгүй мэргэжлийн сүмод орж, цахиур хагалах шинжтэй. Тэрбээр энэ жилийн дөрөвдүгээр сард Японд ирсэн бөгөөд Монголд байхдаа Ж.Мөнхбат аваргын шавь байжээ.

Сонирхогчийн сүмогийн шинэ одыг авахаар Японы олон их, дээд сургууль хөөцөлдөж эхэлсэн ч тэрбээр өөрөө мэргэжлийн сүмод орох сонирхолтой гэдгээ хэлжээ.

Edited August 9, 2010 by Ulaanbaatar

[Jonosuke 28]

He was one of the five members competed and won his bout for Tottori Johoku in the final.

The school beat Chubu Norin by four to one, Gan-erdene beat Fukuisato of Chubu Norin by Tsuri.

He did not participate in the individual category. There was another student from Nagareyama Minami High in Chiba, who sounded like a Mongolian but he lost in his second preliminary bout.

[Asashosakari 20,281]

In the Mongolian news, it says, Mongolian student G. Gan-erdene (16years old, 190 cm tall, 155 kg, arrived in Japan April.2010). He won straight 5 times in this tournament.

Hmm, odd. I was browsing the competition rules last week and it said that transferring students (specifically including foreign students) are barred from the All-Japan HS tournament if it's within their first 6 months after transfer, exceptions only granted if the transfer was for family reasons.

There was another student from Nagareyama Minami High in Chiba, who sounded like a Mongolian but he lost in his second preliminary bout.

Right, Shijirbayar or something like that. He actually qualified for the knockout stage by going 2-1 in the prelims, but lost in the second round after receiving a bye in the first.

Edited August 9, 2010 by Asashosakari

[Asashosakari 20,281]

I had promised results for three tournaments here, so I guess I still have to deliver the middle school results. One note first: At the end of last year's thread I professed to some confusion about which of two different middle school tournaments is actually the one to award the Middle School Yokozuna title. Turns out my first instinct was correct - phenom Tatsu did not receive the yokozuna title for his win in the All-Prefecture Tournament, that honour (since I never actually found this out last year) went to Yusuke Muramatsu 村松裕介 from Takehara in Hiroshima prefecture by winning the All-Japan Middle School Sumo Championship that took place as part of the Middle School National Games a couple of weeks later.

Fast-forwarding to 2010 - unlike with last year's Tatsumania there's been precious little coverage of both tournaments this time around. I still have no idea who won the (apparently somewhat less prestigious) All-Prefecture competition in the first week of August, and I found exactly one line of local coverage of the All-Japan winner and now-reigning Middle School Yokozuna, crowned on August 18: It's Haruki Furukawa 古川晴貴 from Yatsushiro 4th Middle School in Kumamoto prefecture. He's a somewhat well-known name on the circuit, as far as I can figure, having been a semi-finalist of the All-Japan Wampaku tournament as a 6th grader three years ago, with credible appearances in the preceding two years as well. (Following the trend of the last years - Tatsu notwithstanding - I would assume he'll be going to high school and not turn pro yet.) Furukawa's team also won the group competition, beating Tatsu's old stomping grounds Seinanbu Middle School from Ishikawa prefecture by a score of 3-0 in the finals.

Edited September 3, 2010 by Asashosakari