mikawa 1,794 Posted July 4, 2016 (edited) Part 1 - The Eagle Takes Flight Location - Mitaka City Sogo Sports Centre, Mitaka, TokyoKeiko - Tuesdays (19:00 - 21:00), Thursdays (19:00 - 21:00), Saturdays (12:00 - 15:00) Based near the city hall in Mitaka City in Western Tokyo, the rise of Mitaka Sumo Club (三鷹相撲クラブ) over the past few years is a story of how to successfully manage and expand a sumo club, and how hard work and dedication pays off in the end. Mitaka Sumo Club was founded in 2008, far younger than most other sumo clubs around Japan, though they do have close ties with several sekitori, Tamawashi and Sokokurai to name a couple. They are on very good terms with Sumida District Sumo Association (墨田区相撲連盟), often inviting them over to Mitaka to particiapte in joint keiko sessions, one of which is shown in this episode of Begin Japanology: Mitaka's club motto is "日々努力 ・ 日々感謝" (work hard everyday, be thankful everyday), and they have a blog which is regularly updated, documenting tournaments and keikos (which take place on Wednesdays and Sundays). They are managed by Wada Mitsuhiro (和田 光広, left in photo), and are coached by Hayashi Kentaro (林 健太郎, right in photo) When they were invited to participate in the 1st Asashoryu Cup in 2009 (where Komatsuryu Dojo came second), Mitaka Sumo Club finished their first round match with a 0-5 loss. One of their members at the time, Sugahara Ichinosuke (菅原 市之助), did manage to get a rare win in the repechage, but they lost that match as well, by a score of 2-3 (including a fusensho): http://www.geocities.jp/hirameki_golf/sumou.htm Fast forward to 2015/2016, when they are officially the second best club in the whole country, claiming 2 titles at both the recent 9th National Chinju-no-mori Kids Sumo Tournament and the prestigious Hakuho Cup (among others), not to mention having more than 30 members enrolled in the club. Their remarkable rise in only 6 years is mainly down to two factors - the first is that their coaches regularly organize sumo taster and training sessions to kids in and around Mitaka (which is a great way to attract new members); and the second is that they've been able to produce 2 top-class rikishi, namely Hanafusa Kai (花房 海): and Kodama Hayato (児玉 颯飛): Edited September 5, 2019 by mikawa 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikawa 1,794 Posted July 4, 2016 (edited) Part 2 - Journey to the Top The start of Mitaka Sumo Club's rise up the ranks came at the 10th Katsushika Sumo Tournament in 2012, when three of their members reached the semi-finals and beyond. First up is Kono Harutaka (河野 元隆, from 0:39) in the Grade 1 semi-finals: The others were Suenaga Hiroaki (末永裕亮) and Hanafusa Kai (花房 海), who faced each other in an all-Mitaka bout in the semi-finals of the Grade 2 competition (from 0:48). Kai would go on to face his arch-rival, Kashiwa Sumo Club's Tebakari Taiki (手計 太希, from 1:44). The two of them have contested many regional finals over the years, with the results about even: Mitaka Sumo Club had a better showing at the 11th Katsushika Sumo Tournament in 2013, where Kono Harutaka (河野 元隆, from 13:10, 15:25 and 17:09) reached the Grade 2 final, getting a shock win against Fuchu Sumiyoshi Sumo Dojo's Ando Shuri (安藤 珠璃) in the semi-finals. Ando Shuri is a Wanpaku quarter-finalist. Grade 3's Hanafusa Kai (花房 海, from 19:36, 21:24 and 22:12) went all the way this time, winning even more bouts using Tsuridashi (it's one of his specialities). That year, Mitaka Sumo Club's primary school team (from 7:54, 27:07 and 35:44) had their best showing in the competition, getting through to the semi-finals, where they faced the eventual winners, Komatsuryu Dojo. Their team consisted of Kono Harutaka (河野 元隆), Koizumi Kei (小泉 慧), Hanafusa Kai (花房 海), Ito Shogo (伊藤正悟) and Yamamoto Junya (山本 純也). Worth noting is that Kai was competing in the Grade 4 or lower slot, and so he faced opponents who were one year older than him, including Komatsuryu's Nanakaichi Koshi (七日市 康士): A week later was the 3rd Hakuho Cup, where Hanafusa Kai (花房 海) claimed Mitaka's first ever national title, by winning the Grade 3 competition (from 5:33 and 7:39). He faced Iruma Junior Sumo Club's Inome Issei (猪目 一颯) in the final, an opponent he knows very well from regional tournaments (and will meet again in a national final 2 years later, in 2015): Having won the Hakuho Cup (as well as various other regional tournaments), Hanafusa Kai (花房 海) was feeling very confident going into Grade 4, thinking that for someone as good as himself, qualifying for that year's Wanpaku Tournament would be a piece of cake. He even started practising the Yokozuna Dohyo-iri during training sessions. Not surprisingly, he breezed his way into the final of the Chofu City qualifiers, where...... he lost against Kitawaki Kyo (北脇 香), a kid with a background in wrestling. And so, he didn't even reach the Tokyo qualifiers that year. Having learned his lesson about complacency, Kai worked even harder than before, and was rewarded with a semi-final finish at that year's Primary School Championships, where he lost to the 2-time Wanpaku Yokozuna and eventual runner-up, Narita Rikido (成田 力道), who was still in Grade 3 at the time: At the same time, Endo's popularity soared with his performances in Juryo and Makuuchi, and with it, a surge in sumo's popularity occurred all over Japan. This meant that Mitaka Sumo Club suddenly attracted a lot of new members, including 2 (relatively) big kids whose names were Yamashita Toma (山下 十馬, middle row, 2nd from right) and Kodama Hayato (児玉 颯飛, middle row, 1st from left): With their addition, 2014 became another breakthrough year for Mitaka Sumo Club, as their team of Kodama Hayato (児玉 颯飛), Sakata Soma (坂田 颯真), Kono Harutaka (河野 元隆), Hanafusa Kai (花房 海) and Tanaka Toranosuke (田中 虎之介, borrowed from Sumida) 3-2'd their entire way to winning the 59th Promotional Examination Sumo Tournament, Mitaka's first ever team championships: That was a week after Hanafusa Kai (花房 海) reached the semi-finals of the 30th Wanpaku Tournament, which would prove to be his only appearance there. Kai started off strongly in his first bout (from 7:30): After that, Kai powered his way through the last 64 (from 2:35), last 32 (from 38:23) and last 16 (from 52:15): Kai faced a tougher test in the quarter-finals against Oita's Murata Daiki (村田 大起, from 23:19), and then came his semi-final against Kagoshima's Sakae Ryusei (栄 龍征, from 35:35), the Wanpaku Yokozuna that year. It was one of the best bouts in the entire tournament (alongside the Grade 5 quarter-final between Tottori's Ochiai Tetsuya 落合 哲也 and Kumamoto's Kawazoe Fuma 川副 楓馬, from 25:36), with Kai being able to nullify Ryusei's power for almost the entire bout: One year later in 2015, Mitaka Sumo Club shocked everyone by finishing second in that year's National Club Championships. Their team consisted of Kodama Hayato (児玉 颯飛), Yamashita Toma (山下 十馬), Kono Harutaka (河野 元隆), Hanafusa Kai (花房 海) and Yamamoto Junya (山本 純也). Hayato was still in Grade 2 at the time, which meant that his opponents were all one year older than him: They faced Iruma Junior Sumo Club, the defending champions, in the final. Here's what should happen, based on their individual results: Samejima Hikaru (鮫島 輝) vs Kodama Hayato (児玉 颯飛): Kodama to win, as he would go on to win the Hakuho Cup in half a year's time Onozawa Ayato (斧澤 亜矢斗) vs Yamashita Toma (山下 十馬): Onozawa to win, as he reached the last 16 at that year's Wanpaku Tournament Kobayashi Arashi (小林 嵐) vs Kono Harutaka (河野 元隆): Kobayashi to win, as he reached the last 32 at that year's Wanpaku Tournament Yoshino Issei (吉野 一颯, previously Inome Issei) vs Hanafusa Kai (花房 海): Hanafusa to win, as he's won the Hakuho Cup, beating Issei in the final Kamiyama Ryuichi (神山 龍一) vs Yamamoto Junya (山本 純也): Kamiyama to win, as he is the defending Middle School Yokozuna In theory, Iruma Junior Sumo Club should just about win this match by 3-2 (as they did in the final of the previous tournament, when they faced Fuji Wanpaku Sumo Club). And this was exactly what happened: If this incredible result wasn't enough, Mitaka Sumo Club sent further shockwaves across amateur sumo later that year, when Kodama Hayato (児玉 颯飛) qualified for the finals of the Grade 4 or lower competition at the National Primary School Championships, whilst in Grade 2! That's only happened twice before, ever: Since then, Hayato has gone from strength to strength, as he won the Grade 2 competition at this year's 6th Hakuho Cup, beating Komatsuryu Dojo's Mashika Takuya (益子 拓也, from 1:12) in the final: 2 months later, Mitaka Sumo Club went even better, when Kodama Hayato (児玉 颯飛) and Hanafusa Kai (花房 海) both triumphed in their respective year groups at the 9th National Chinju-no-mori Kids Sumo Tournament. It would be interesting to see how Kai develops now that he's in middle school, and Hayato is certainly one to watch out for in the next few years, when he will be aiming to qualify for (and perhaps win) the Wanpaku Tournament: Edited March 29, 2017 by mikawa 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikawa 1,794 Posted July 4, 2016 (edited) Part 3 - Names for the Future Mitaka Sumo Club's successes over the past few years can largely be attributed to their 2 star members, and here they are: Hanafusa Kai (花房 海), Middle School, 1st year Wanpaku Tournament: Semi-finals (Grade 5) Primary School Championships: Semi-finals (Grade 4) Hakuho Cup: Winner (Grade 3) National Chinju-no-mori Kids Sumo Tournament: Winner (Grade 6) Kodama Hayato (児玉 颯飛), Primary School, Grade 3 Primary School Championships: Qualified (Grade 2) Hakuho Cup: Winner (Grade 2) National Chinju-no-mori Kids Sumo Tournament: Winner (Grade 3) Edited March 29, 2017 by mikawa 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikawa 1,794 Posted July 27, 2016 (edited) Visited Mitaka Sumo Club today, and was able to watch a training session in full. Because their main keiko session is the Sunday one, only 8 members came today, including a Grade 4, two Grade 3s, two Grade 2s, two Grade 1s, and I'm pleased to say, their ace Hanafusa Kai. Hanafusa is a reserved kid who doesn't talk much. When Hanafusa got there (by riding a bicycle), it was still early, and so he began by removing the cover from the dohyo (and other things, such as bags of soil), others soon joined in. Their coach hadn't yet arrived, so Hanafusa acted as coach, and got his kohai's to do some stretching exercises, some shiko, matawari, suriashi, and rolling exercises. Their mums watched on from the sidelines. Their coach, Yoshiyasu-sensei, arrived just as they were starting a butsukari session, which was then followed by moshi-ai (during which Hanafusa trained at the side of the dohyo). Butsukari wasn't always winner stays on, and there were some funny moments when deciding who should be next. As the bouts rolled in, their coach offered pieces of advice, and stopped a bout when someone's neck got into a dangerous position. After that, the coach had some teaching bouts with the 2 older kids. Even though Hanafusa is quite silent most of the time, when he's in the ring, he certainly showed a lot of determination. The keiko came to a close with the usual warming down exercises, and everyone joined in to get the covers (and other stuff) back on. The kids certainly had a lot of fun doing sumo, and I wished Hanafusa (who's currently in his first year of middle school) good luck at the end. Edited July 28, 2016 by mikawa 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
robnplunder 974 Posted July 27, 2016 The above post reminded me of my dad's boxing gym days in 1970's. My brother and I were 8 & 10 years old, respectively, and trained at the gym. I'd often open the gym, and got things going. Good memories. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikawa 1,794 Posted October 17, 2016 (edited) Main Results in 2016 2016.8.6 - 61st Grading Examination Tournament Grade 3 Competition: Kogawa Yuto 小川 悠人 (3rd place) Middle School Competition: Higuchi Junya 樋口 純也 (3rd place) Team Competition: Mitaka Sumo Club A (quarter-finals) (Kogawa Yuto, Kodama Hayato, Yamashita Toma, Kono Harutaka, Higuchi Junya) Comments: Higuchi Junya initially pushed his opponent out in the semi-final (that guy from Yaizu Junior Sumo Club), but a torinaoshi was called as the Gyoji (an Ozumo rikishi) accidentally influenced the outcome of that bout. Higuchi lost in the replay. Kodama Hayato won all of his bouts in the team competition, despite being placed in the Grade 4 slot (though that was the logical thing to do). However, Kodama lost in the second round of the individual competition to his biggest rival, Komatsuryu Dojo's Mashika Takuya (益子 拓也), in a rematch of this year's Hakuho Cup final. Kodama gave away a moro-zashi during the tachi-ai, and despite a tremendous effort, couldn't turn the tables. Both of them are from the Tokyo area, so it would be interesting to see which one of them qualifies for the Wanpaku next year. 2016.10.9 - 13th National Club Championships Team Competition: Mitaka Sumo Club A (last 16) (Kogawa Yuto, Kodama Hayato, Yamashita Toma, Kono Harutaka, Higuchi Junya) Video of their last 32 match against Moriguchi Sumo Association A: 2016.10.16 - Taito Autumn Sumo Tournament Kindergarten Competition: Kodama Sosuke 児玉 想介 (runner-up) Team Competition: Mitaka Sumo Club A (quarter-finals) Comments: Sosuke's surname might look familiar, as he is actually the younger brother of Kodama Hayato. Whilst in the Kokugikan a couple of months ago, I came across Hayato and Sosuke's grandfather, who explained that Hayato started sumo after he lost a bout at one of the local wanpaku tournaments (wanting to become stronger/better), and showed me some videos on his phone of the 2 siblings training having fun at home. Hayato's already been making a name for himself in amateur sumo, and it seems that Sosuke's starting to do likewise, which is nice to see. Edited October 17, 2016 by mikawa 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikawa 1,794 Posted July 26, 2017 (edited) Found a short documentary interviewing coach Hayashi and various club members, along with some practice and competition footage. The footages are from last year, and are filmed by Spanish director Rupen Ventura. Edited July 26, 2017 by mikawa 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites