16th National Club Championships (2019-10-06)

mikawa · October 6, 2019

mikawa · October 6, 2019

For Tsubasa

Ever since last year, early October has a very special meaning for John Gunning's Komatsuryu Dojo - it marks the anniversary to the passing of Yanagisawa Tsubasa, a talented member, a great role model for the club's youngsters. He had such a bright future ahead of him, but alas, illness took its toll, and 16 years is far too short.

So going into this tournament, up against 66 other teams from around Japan, everyone at Komatsuryu Dojo wanted to give it their all, to win it for Tsubasa.

They made it all the way to the final, where they would face their biggest and fiercest rival - Katsushika Shiratori Sumo Dojo from across the Arakawa River. Let the photos speak for themselves.

And so, their team (from left to right) of Mashiko Takuya, Hata Taishi, Suekawa Atsuki, Saito Seigo (captain), and Kumagai Kyuta brought home Komatsuryu's first ever triumph in this tournament. Tsubasa-senpai, we hope we made you proud!

mikawa · October 6, 2019

Practical Considerations

The tournament programme listed every member from every team participating, but wait, there's one glaring omission - there were barely any teams from outside Kanto. Out of the 67 teams in total, a staggering 57 teams were from either Kanto or Chubu. The most likely reason for this is that the Monday following this tournament is a working day, so clubs from further away may have felt it was too difficult to get back to their normal lives in such a short turnaround.

Why is it Always 2-3?

Tachikawa Renseikan Sumo Dojo sent out four teams today (only Bunkyo Harigaya Sumo Club had more), hoping to repeat last year's heroics. Although Renseikan C and Renseikan D couldn't make much of a headway against strong competition, everyone were optimistic following Renseikan A cruised through the preliminaries 5-0 and 5-0, and Renseikan B made it to the pre-finals playoffs.

Beating Hyogo's Soshindo Sumo Club meant that only Gifu Mokuyo Sumo Club stood between Renseikan B and a place in the knockout rounds. Things were looking good with Renseikan B going into a 2-1 lead, but then that became 2-2, and then 2-3. The team members were distraught after that.

However, there was still hope. With the way Renseikan A were performing, and with Hirano Juito beating older opponents left, right and center, another quarter-final finish was certainly looking likely. That is until they faced Komatsuryu C and trailed 1-2 after three bouts. Up stepped Miyazaki Keijiro, who had the hopes of the entire dojo upon his shoulders. His task? To beat Nakazawa Musashi, a member of Komatsuryu's golden generation.

Everyone got so excited after Keijiro managed to get a double inside grip, that is, until he got pushed out anyway. Even with Mizuno Kentaro winning the final bout, Renseikan A still ended up losing 2-3. Everyone tried their best, but today, it wasn't enough.

Renseikan A

Renseikan B

Renseikan C

Renseikan D

The Future isn't Orange

When former Wanpaku Yokozuna Kodama Hayato parted ways with Mitaka Sumo Club last year, it was uncertain where his new path would lead. Now we have confirming - both of the Kodama brothers, Hayato and Sosuke, have joined Fuchu Sumiyoshi Sumo Club just north of where they live in Inagi City. Kodama Hayato has shown today that he has now added leg trips to his arsenal, not relying so much on his incredible arm strength any more. But whilst Hayato now has a Plan B, most of his new team-mates don't, so what ended up happening is that the Kodama siblings would win their bouts, but their team would go on to lose 3-2.

As for the reason they left their old club? Apparently there were disagreements between their parents and Mitaka. The plot thickens......