14th National Club Championships (2017-10-15)

[mikawa 1,794]

第14回全国少年相撲選手権大会

Winner
Kashiwa Sumo Club A (柏相撲少年団, Chiba)

 

Runner-Up
Komatsuryu Dojo A (台東小松竜道場, Tokyo)

 

Semi-Finals
Mitaka Sumo Club A (三鷹相撲クラブ, Tokyo)

 

Katsushika Shiratori Sumo Club A (葛飾白鳥相撲教室, Tokyo)

 

Videos

Semi-finals
Kashiwa Sumo Club A (Chiba) vs Mitaka Sumo Club A (Tokyo)
Komatsuryu Dojo A (Tokyo) vs Katsushika Shiratori Sumo Club A (Tokyo)

 

Final
Kashiwa Sumo Club A (Chiba) vs Komatsuryu Dojo A (Tokyo)

 

Comments

3 of the 4 sumo clubs who made it to the semi-finals this year were from Tokyo, but it so happens that the team from Chiba won. That's just typical isn't it?

However, take nothing away from Kashiwa Sumo Club, as they put out a very strong team this year (they will be featured soon). Whilst I'm not able to discern who their Grade 3 rikishi was, their Grade 4 should be Tsukamatsu Raumu (束松 良優夢), and their Grade 5 is the 4-time Hakuho Cup winner and Wanpaku semi-finalist Nishijima Yura (西島 悠来). Though Nishijima dropped his bout in the semi-final (which was an incredible result, but we'll get to that later), he was able to execute a strong sukuinage in the final against the equally as big Mashiko Takuya (益子 拓也), which is saying something as Mashiko is one year younger than Nishijima.

Kashiwa's Grade 6 rikishi needs little introduction, as you may recognise him as Kinboshi Sumo Club's ace, Kanazawa Sorato (金澤 空大). Sorato's sumo is getting better and better, though he is still getting pushed to the edge quite often as a result of attempting pulls (likely a habit from his wrestling background). However, his wrestling talents are such that he was able to, in the end, win against Mitaka's Yamashita Toma and Komatsuryu's Saito Chugo (齋藤 忠剛), both of which were important to the team. Thanks to the scouting of Kinboshi Sumo Club, Sorato is now a national champion in sumo as well.

It took me a while to figure out who the middle school rikishi for Kashiwa was, but I am 95% certain that it is Wanpaku finalist Sakamoto Hirokazu (坂本 博一), eldest son of Tokitsukaze-oyakata (former Tokitsuumi). A couple of months prior to Taiho's grandson Naya Konosuke (納谷 幸之介) winning both competitions at this year's Kokutai, Sakamoto won the team competition at this year's middle school championships with Team Chiba. Sakamoto's opponents in the videos, Hanafusa Kai and Yanagisawa Tsubasa, are both very good rikishi in their own right, but Sakamoto won both bouts impressively nonetheless. His semi-final win against Mitaka's Hanafusa proved to be especially important, as it helped Kashiwa survive a 2-2 (otherwise Mitaka could well have won this competition for a second time).

Runner-up Komatsuryu Dojo had a good showing this year, with their A Team finishing second, and their B Team reaching the quarter-finals. Komatsuryu A consisted of Hata Daishi (秦 大士), Yoshioka Ryudai (吉岡 竜大), Mashiko Takuya (益子 拓也), Saito Chugo (齋藤 忠剛) and Yanagisawa Tsubasa (柳澤 翼). This is an interesting team because both Mashiko Takuya and Saito Chugo are competing in the year above, which is something that Mitaka Sumo Club have always done with Kodama Hayato. They probably did this because they felt that no other club member would fill these 2 roles better, what with Mashiko's size and Saito's skill. Also, Yanagisawa was filling in for the injured Kitano Soma (北野 颯馬), though Yanagisawa is nearly as good.

Komatsuryu's semi-final match against their biggest rivals, the recently featured Katsushika Shiratori Sumo Club, was a back-and-forth affair, as Komatsuryu's Yoshioka Ryudai and Katsushika's Aino Shogo both showed their worth to take the match to 2-2, where Yanagisawa eventually won the match for Komatsuryu (and getting reprimanded for a fist pump along the way). Komatsuryu Dojo wrote a detailed article on their blog on their teams' performances yesterday, in which they praised Ryudai for his zensho performance and Tsubasa for his composure under pressure. This is the best result that Komatsuryu Dojo have ever gotten at the National Club Championships.

Mitaka Sumo Club, in line with what they have always done, chose their best member for each year group except for Kodama Hayato (児玉 颯飛), who was placed in the year above. This again proved to be an effective strategy as it took them all the way to the semi-finals. At 1-1 against Kashiwa A, Kodama Hayato came up against the 4-time Hakuho Cup winner Nishijima Yura, who not only is a bigger rikishi, but is also one year older. It was an almighty struggle for both, and as Kodama was pushed to the edge, he was able to wrap his left arm around Nishijima's neck, and pull off an impressive kubinage. Whilst Kodama would undoubtedly do well in the year above, I must admit that I didn't think he would be able to beat Nsihijima. How wrong I was. Kodama's incredible arm strength has shades of Narita Rikido about him, albeit not as big, but in my opinion, more skilled.

Alas, despite Kodama's efforts, Hanafusa Kai couldn't win against his older opponent Sakamoto Hirokazu, otherwise Mitaka would have stood a very good chance in the final against Komatsuryu, and we would have seen the next chapter in the Kodama-Mashiko rivalry. Mitaka Sumo Club will have virtually the same team for next year's National Club Championships, and they will be a contender again.

Former winners Katsushika Shiratori Sumo Club did very well this year to reach the semi-finals, as Aino Shogo was the only big name in their team. In other results, Tachikawa Renseikan Sumo Dojo A reached the quarter-finals, and will have a slightly stronger team next year.

Edited October 16, 2017 by mikawa