New recruits-May 2014

[Akinomaki 40,817]

Yōta Takiguchi (18, 170cm, 140kg) from Funabashi, Chiba, is to enter Onomatsu-beya: with his mother and ani-deshi Wakakoyu - also from Funabashi - and a handshake with the mayor

http://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/chiba/20140423/CK2014042302000140.html

[Akinomaki 40,817]

American football background (rare for a Japanese rikishi) Hiromi Fudano (札野, 大海) (22, 176cm, 143kg) to enter Azumazeki-beya
http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2014/04/26/kiji/K20140426008044930.html

[Akinomaki 40,817]

3 new recruits for Musashigawa-beya, Shimizu (15) etc.
(first child of his present 2nd wife (3rd in all) to the oyakata to be born in July)
http://www.chunichi.co.jp/chuspo/article/sumo/news/CK2014042702000169.html
Daily

[Kintamayama 45,543]

We have 9 in all. 3 of them to Musashigawa. If they pass, fledgling Musashigawa will have 8 rikishi.

And I will have an omelet, as I am very hungry.

[Couginishiki 33]

We have 9 in all. 3 of them to Musashigawa. If they pass, fledgling Musashigawa will have 8 rikishi.

And I will have an omelet, as I am very hungry.

Nice to see the Oyakata building his heya.

And I'll make you an omelette if you come by the house. I made a kalbi beef one last week... Tomorrow it's taco beef and salsa with sour cream.

[Itachiyama 119]

One more than last year!

[Yubinhaad 11,768]

Merger with this topic maybe? :-) Some pictures from the shindeshi-kensa.

Chiganoura-beya welcomes 18-year-old Daiki Ishii from Chiba, 177cm and 161kg. He arrives from high school sumo where he had some decent results, and says he wants to try and emulate Chiyotairyu's style of oshi-zumo. Height and back strength measurements:

Onomatsu-beya's Takiguchi being measured, 170cm and 134kg. Although he's over the minimum height requirement anyway he couldn't resist trying to tiptoe a little. Sharp-eyed oyakata Asahiyama and Isegahama spotted him.

Shikoroyama-beya's Hirokawa being measured. He originally intended to become an actor and has apparently appeared in a couple of commercials.

For Minezaki-beya we have 20-year-old Takumi Baba from Kumamoto, another shindeshi with a change of career plan. He originally intended to become professional track cyclist. He now clocks in at 183cm and 120kg, and wants to do back-pedalling sumo. (Not really)

15-year-old Nakayama, one of the three Musashigawa-beya recruits. He became interested in sumo after watching it on TV.

While Tamanoi-oyakata (former Ozeki Tochiazuma) takes the height measurements, Izutsu-oyakata (former Sekiwake Sakahoko) is the man watching the scales for the weight measurements.

Eye tests.

Nakayama on the right with his fellow Musashigawa recruits. On the left is 15-year-old Shimizu who is giving sumo a try after encouragement from his father. And in the middle is 16-year-old Yamamoto, who gave up baseball to give sumo a try.

[krindel 675]

Glad to see that Musashimaru is getting busy, but there's nothing better than a rikishi's prospects than reading that he gave up baseball to try sumo, or that he wanted to be an actor but ended up here instead :-).

I guess, this being Natsu, the surprising part is not that most of these guys just dropped by after the crash of some other career plan or lack thereof, but that there actually is a recruit that has a background in sumo!

[yorikiried by fate 2,029]

He now clocks in at 183cm and 120kg, and wants to do back-pedalling sumo. (Not really)

:-D Thanks for that laugh!

[Akinomaki 40,817]

American football background (rare for a Japanese rikishi) Hiromi Fudano (札野, 大海) (22, 176cm, 143kg) to enter Azumazeki-beya

From the Kanto関東 univ. for Azumazeki東関-beya.

http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/sumo/news/f-sp-tp3-20140502-1294470.html

at the shindeshi-kensa

Shikoroyama-beya's Hirokawa being measured. He originally intended to become an actor and has apparently appeared in a couple of commercials.

Hiromasa Hirokawa, 22, 179cm, 123kg, grip strength - left 86, right 80kg , 195kg back strength. He also was an extra in a popular drama "R(L)egal High", after high school he worked in a bread factory, as truck driver etc.

http://www.hochi.co.jp/sports/sumo/20140502-OHT1T50338.html

http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/sumo/news/p-sp-tp3-20140503-1294987.html

http://www.daily.co.jp/sumo/2014/05/03/0006928719.shtml

For Minezaki-beya we have 20-year-old Takumi Baba from Kumamoto, another shindeshi with a change of career plan. He originally intended to become professional track cyclist. He now clocks in at 183cm and 120kg, and wants to do back-pedalling sumo. (Not really)

Thigh 68.7cm

http://www.daily.co.jp/sumo/2014/05/03/0006928721.shtml

Edited May 3, 2014 by Akinomaki

[Raishu 208]

He now clocks in at 183cm and 120kg, and wants to do back-pedalling sumo. (Not really)

:-D Thanks for that laugh!

I second that! (Sign of approval...)

[kuroimori 1,634]

He now clocks in at 183cm and 120kg, and wants to do back-pedalling sumo. (Not really)

:-D Thanks for that laugh!

Yes, nice one!

... and should he reach the sekitori ranks one fine day, it would be fair to say that he has come full cycle...

[kuroimori 1,634]

He now clocks in at 183cm and 120kg, and wants to do back-pedalling sumo. (Not really)

:-D Thanks for that laugh!

Yes, nice one!

... and should he reach the sekitori ranks one fine day, it would be fair to say that he has come full cycle...

shikona suggestion:

二ツ車

Futatsuguruma

(half of former rikishi Yotsuguruma?)

[Gurowake 4,109]

I'm amused seeing the recruits having their eyes tested one-by-one, given that (at least, according to Wikipedia that cites some book) the great Futabayama was blind in one eye.

[Asashosakari 19,682]

Glad to see that Musashimaru is getting busy, but there's nothing better than a rikishi's prospects than reading that he gave up baseball to try sumo, or that he wanted to be an actor but ended up here instead :-).

I guess, this being Natsu, the surprising part is not that most of these guys just dropped by after the crash of some other career plan or lack thereof, but that there actually is a recruit that has a background in sumo!

The good news is that there are actually 8 of the "no sumo experience" guys here instead of the 2 or 3 we'd get not so long ago. And I think a 15-year-old with a pretty good build like Nakayama's could well succeed if he has an aptitude for sumo and is able to gain weight...the issue with many of today's recruits isn't that they're coming in green (that used to be true for the great majority some decades ago), but that they're often horribly out of shape and not ready for any sport.

[krindel 675]

Glad to see that Musashimaru is getting busy, but there's nothing better than a rikishi's prospects than reading that he gave up baseball to try sumo, or that he wanted to be an actor but ended up here instead :-).

I guess, this being Natsu, the surprising part is not that most of these guys just dropped by after the crash of some other career plan or lack thereof, but that there actually is a recruit that has a background in sumo!

The good news is that there are actually 8 of the "no sumo experience" guys here instead of the 2 or 3 we'd get not so long ago. And I think a 15-year-old with a pretty good build like Nakayama's could well succeed if he has an aptitude for sumo and is able to gain weight...the issue with many of today's recruits isn't that they're coming in green (that used to be true for the great majority some decades ago), but that they're often horribly out of shape and not ready for any sport.

Actually, joking aside, anyone trying sumo is not a bad thing of course. And I definitely have no problem with "no sumo experience", especially in 15 year olds with athletic builds like Nakayama :).

I do have a concern with the "I tried baseball for a year, acting for three months, spelunking for a week and sewing for a semester before discovering sumo" category. Sumo needs people who have a minimum level of persistence, that's why I have a very soft spot for the Moriurara's of the sumo world, and value their presence a lot. Of course there's no real downside to letting them try, natural selection will separate the ones that want to stay soon enough :)/

[Naganoyama 5,949]

NSK data:

SHIKONA	KANJI	NAME	HEYA	HEIGHT	WEIGHT	DOB	BIRTHPLACE
Baba	馬場	Takumi Baba	Minezaki	182	117	15 - December - 1993	Kumamoto
Fudano	札野	Hiromi Fudano	Azumazeki	179	143	24 - August - 1991	Kanagawa
Hirokawa	広川	Hiromasa Hirokawa	Shikoroyama	179	123	16 - April - 1992	Saitama
Ishii	石井	Daiki Ishii	Chiganoura	177	161	07 - October - 1995	Chiba
Nagahama	長濱	Koyo Nagahama	Sakaigawa	178	102	08 - February - 1999	Nagasaki
Nakayama	中山	Shota Nakayama	Musashigawa	175	75	28 - July - 1998	Tokyo
Shimizu	清水	Hirotaka Shimizu	Musashigawa	181	135	11 - July - 1998	Gifu
Takiguchi	滝口	Yota Takiguchi	Ounomatsu	170	134	13 - June - 1995	Chiba
Yamamoto	山本	Takumi Yamamoto	Musashigawa	181	127	13 - November - 1997	Tokyo

[Asashosakari 19,682]

Day 3, many thanks to araibira as always:

Results:

Mz1 Enshunada (1-0) Mz2 Yoshimura (0-1)

Mz3 Issei (0-1) Mz4 Sadahikari (1-0)

Mz6 Takiguchi (1-0) Mz5 Sadanogo (0-1)

Mz7 Shimizu (0-1) Mz10 Fudano (1-0)

Mz8 Nakayama (0-1) Mz11 Ishii (1-0)

Mz9 Hirokawa (1-0) Mz13 Takunoumi (0-1)

Mz12 Yamamoto (0-1) Mz2 Yoshimura (1-1)

Enshunada, Yoshimura and Issei are back in action after missing 3+ tournaments each, while Sadahikari is last basho's new Mongolian Narantsogt from Sakaigawa-beya. Sadanogo is the other Sakaigawa recruit Nagahama, and Minezaki's would-be cyclist Baba is now known as Takunoumi 拓ノ海.

Sorted standings:

Mz1 Enshunada Kitanoumi 1-0 | Mz3 Issei Shikoroyama 0-1

Mz2 Yoshimura Dewanoumi 1-1 | Mz5 Sadanogo Sakaigawa 0-1

Mz4 Sadahikari Sakaigawa 1-0 | Mz7 Shimizu Musashigawa 0-1

Mz6 Takiguchi Onomatsu 1-0 | Mz8 Nakayama Musashigawa 0-1

Mz9 Hirokawa Shikoroyama 1-0 | Mz12 Yamamoto Musashigawa 0-1

Mz10 Fudano Azumazeki 1-0 | Mz13 Takunoumi Minezaki 0-1

Mz11 Ishii Chiganoura 1-0

Not the most auspicious start for Musashimaru's new trio.

Edited May 17, 2014 by Asashosakari

[Jakusotsu 6,052]

(Please, somebody merge the other topic into this one...)

Done.

[Asashosakari 19,682]

Day 4:

Results:

Mz7 Shimizu (0-2) Mz3 Issei (1-1)

Mz8 Nakayama (0-2) Mz5 Sadanogo (1-1)

Mz12 Yamamoto (1-1) Mz13 Takunoumi (0-2)

Mz1 Enshunada (2-0) Mz4 Sadahikari (1-1)

Mz6 Takiguchi (2-0) Mz2 Yoshimura (1-2)

Mz9 Hirokawa (1-1) Mz10 Fudano (2-0)

Mz11 Ishii (2-0) Mz2 Yoshimura (1-3)

They actually made an effort to avoid a rematch here, as Yoshimura's win in his additional bout yesterday normally should have made him Enshunada's opponent again just like yesterday. And Takunoumi really needs to learn some sumo technique to go with his decent physical tools, or he'll just be spinning his wheels as a sumotori. (Sorry...)

Sorted standings:

Mz1 Enshunada 2-0 | Mz2 Yoshimura 1-3 | Mz7 Shimizu 0-2

Mz6 Takiguchi 2-0 | Mz3 Issei 1-1 | Mz8 Nakayama 0-2

Mz10 Fudano 2-0 | Mz4 Sadahikari 1-1 | Mz13 Takunoumi 0-2

Mz11 Ishii 2-0 | Mz5 Sadanogo 1-1

Mz9 Hirokawa 1-1

Mz12 Yamamoto 1-1

(Had to scrap the heya names for space reasons...I'll add them back in for the qualifiers starting tomorrow,)

The first "qualification playoffs" tomorrow should be Enshunada-Fudano and Takiguchi-Ishii, both fairly heavyweight affairs with all participants weighing in at 130+ kg.

Edited May 17, 2014 by Asashosakari

[Asashosakari 19,682]

I'm a bit late, but here's Day 5, with extra thanks to araibira for going out of his way to bring us the recordings:

Results:

Mz7 Shimizu (0-3) Mz13 Takunoumi (1-2)

Mz1 Enshunada (3-0) Mz10 Fudano (2-1)

Mz6 Takiguchi (2-1) Mz11 Ishii (3-0)

Mz3 Issei (1-2) Mz2 Yoshimura (2-3)

Mz9 Hirokawa (1-2) Mz4 Sadahikari (2-1)

Mz12 Yamamoto (2-1) Mz5 Sadanogo (1-2)

Mz3 Issei (2-2) Mz8 Nakayama (0-3)

Mz6 Takiguchi (3-1) Mz10 Fudano (2-2)

Yoshimura's win against Issei probably prevented him getting an additional bout for the third day running.

Sorted standings:

Qualified:

#01 Mz1 Enshunada Kitanoumi 3-0

#02 Mz11 Ishii Chiganoura 3-0

#03 Mz6 Takiguchi Onomatsu 3-1

Still active:

Mz2 Yoshimura Dewanoumi 2-3 | Mz5 Sadanogo Sakaigawa 1-2

Mz3 Issei Shikoroyama 2-2 | Mz9 Hirokawa Shikoroyama 1-2

Mz4 Sadahikari Sakaigawa 2-1 | Mz13 Takunoumi Minezaki 1-2

Mz10 Fudano Azumazeki 2-2 | Mz7 Shimizu Musashigawa 0-3

Mz12 Yamamoto Musashigawa 2-1 | Mz8 Nakayama Musashigawa 0-3

[Asashosakari 19,682]

Day 6:

Results:

Mz3 Issei (2-3) Mz2 Yoshimura (3-3)

Mz7 Shimizu (0-4) Mz4 Sadahikari (3-1)

Mz8 Nakayama (0-4) Mz10 Fudano (3-2)

Mz9 Hirokawa (2-2) Mz5 Sadanogo (1-3)

Mz12 Yamamoto (3-1) Mz13 Takunoumi (1-3)

Weird schedule today, and not so happy times for the winless Musashigawa-duo, having to face strong two-win guys. Then again, the way they're fighting they'd probably have lost against any other choice, too...

Issei-Yoshimura (Day 5) and Yamamoto-Takunoumi (Day 4) were rematches from earlier days, with a repeat winner in both cases.

Sorted standings:

Qualified:

#01 Mz1 Enshunada Kitanoumi 3-0

#02 Mz11 Ishii Chiganoura 3-0

#03 Mz6 Takiguchi Onomatsu 3-1

#04 Mz2 Yoshimura Dewanoumi 3-3

#05 Mz4 Sadahikari Sakaigawa 3-1

#06 Mz10 Fudano Azumazeki 3-2

#07 Mz12 Yamamoto Musashigawa 3-1

Still active:

Mz3 Issei Shikoroyama 2-3

Mz9 Hirokawa Shikoroyama 2-2

Mz5 Sadanogo Sakaigawa 1-3

Mz13 Takunoumi Minezaki 1-3

Mz7 Shimizu Musashigawa 0-4

Mz8 Nakayama Musashigawa 0-4

A bit of a messy schedule coming up for the final round on Day 7, too, what with the 2-win guys and the 0-win guys being do-beya and impossible to match up. And all four are sitting on the East side, so even the most straight-forward solution (two Shikoroyama-Musashigawa matchups + Sadanogo-Takunoumi) will require some adjustments.

[Asashosakari 19,682]

Day 7:

Results:

Mz3 Issei (3-3) Mz7 Shimizu (0-5)

Mz9 Hirokawa (2-3) Mz8 Nakayama (1-4)

Mz5 Sadanogo (1-4) Mz13 Takunoumi (2-3)

Mz9 Hirokawa (3-3) Mz13 Takunoumi (2-4)

An unexpected bonus bout thanks to Nakayama's surprise ashitori win over Hirokawa, which left the latter as a possible opponent for the winner of Sadanogo-Takunoumi. And with that, we're done here.

Final qualification order:

Qualified:

#01 Mz1 Enshunada Kitanoumi 3-0

#02 Mz11 Ishii Chiganoura 3-0

#03 Mz6 Takiguchi Onomatsu 3-1

#04 Mz2 Yoshimura Dewanoumi 3-3

#05 Mz4 Sadahikari Sakaigawa 3-1

#06 Mz10 Fudano Azumazeki 3-2

#07 Mz12 Yamamoto Musashigawa 3-1

#08 Mz3 Issei Shikoroyama 3-3

#09 Mz9 Hirokawa Shikoroyama 3-3

Remaining order:

#10 Mz13 Takunoumi Minezaki 2-4

#11 Mz5 Sadanogo Sakaigawa 1-4

#12 Mz8 Nakayama Musashigawa 1-4

#13 Mz7 Shimizu Musashigawa 0-5

[Asashosakari 19,682]

Presentation:

[Yubinhaad 11,768]

Many thanks for your coverage of this as always, and to Araibira for the vids. (Sign of approval...)

Sakaigawa's Sadahikari is 佐田輝 and Sadanogo is 佐田の豪, if Doitsuyama would like to add that to the database.

Also, last basho's newcomers Kototakigawa and Kotokimura are missing their Koto- prefix on the English side.