University Banzuke 2019

[mikawa 1,794]

It's now time for the final banzuke in our "Amateur Sumo Banzuke" series for 2019. Every year, there are 10 national level tournaments on the college sumo calendar, some of which also feature wrestlers from other walks of life (such as corporate sumo). The red numbers next to each rikishi denote which year group they are in. Without further ado, let's get started!

This banzuke takes into account the following tournaments:

• 36th All Japan College Sumo Uwajima Tournament
• 59th All Japan College Sumo Usa Tournament
• 29th All Japan College & Society Sumo Kyushu Tournament
• 57th All Japan College & Corporate Sumo Wakayama Tournament
• 9th All Japan College Sumo Kanazawa Tournament
• 54th All Japan College Sumo Towada Tournament
• 67th All Japan College & Corporate Sumo Kariya Tournament
• 74th Kokutai (Senior Division)
• 97th National Student Championships
• 68th All Japan Amateur Championships

 

But before that, here are the top 10 Universities of the past year, based on their results in the team competitions:

1 - Nippon Sport Science University (日本体育大学), Tokyo
2 - Toyo University (東洋大学), Tokyo
3 - Nihon University (日本大学), Tokyo
4 - Chuo University (中央大学), Tokyo
5 - Kindai University (近畿大学), Osaka
6 - Tokyo University of Agriculture (東京農業大学), Tokyo
7 - Takushoku University (拓殖大学), Tokyo
8 - Doshisha University (同志社大学), Kyoto
9 - Kyushu Institute of Information Sciences (九州情報大学), Fukuoka
10 - Meiji University (明治大学), Tokyo

 

Comments

Last year turned out to be a three-horse race for the title of best college sumo club in Japan, with only a whisker separating Nippon Sport Science University, Toyo University and Nihon University. In fact, those three teams were level on points going into the final two team events (Kariya and National Student). Winning the Kariya Tournament ultimately proved to be the difference for Nippon Sport Science University as they only just pipped their two challengers to top spot

Whilst NSSU were impressive in the best-of-5 matches, they were almost unbeatable in the best-of-3s. Usually they would just race to a 2-0 win because of how good their first two members are (you'll see just how good they are when I publish the banzuke tomorrow). Even during the off chance that one of them gets taken down, their final member Ishizaki Takuma would just step in and finish what they started.

This was precisely what happened when they faced Wakayama Prefectural Office in the final of the Kariya Tournament. It was such an important win for them as it gave them enough separation for them to ensure the #1 spot. NSSU are in the blue mawashi:

 

Toyo University were the best college sumo team for the past two years running. A major reason for this was their effective recruiting of high school talents. Another reason was that they were led by the best college rikishi for both 2017 and 2018. That man, Shiroyama Seira, was set to lead them to a third win in a row when, after just three tournaments, he suddenly went AWOL (more on that tomorrow). Just imagine, Toyo University were able to secure second spot without their club captain, what would they have been capable of if they had Seira for the entire year?

 

The year started slowly for Nihon University, NSSU's biggest rivals, as they could only manage a quarter-final finish in the first two tournaments. However, they gradually got better and better as the year went on and won three of the last four tournaments. They were even able to secure key victories against the super strong NSSU team, mainly thanks to one of their members, Yersin Baltagulov (all credits to John Gunning for the spelling), figuring out NSSU's virtually unbeatable Nakamura Taiki.

Speaking of, here's when Nihon University faced Nippon Sport Science University (blue mawashi) in the semi-finals of the National Student Championships. One of the best college team matches of the year for sure.

 

Edited April 24, 2020 by mikawa

[Katooshu 3,132]

The Kariya final got a bit tense there before the 3rd match finally started! That's always a very exciting moment in amasumo--championship team match tied at 1-1 or 2-2 and everything riding on the last pairing.

Edited April 24, 2020 by Katooshu

[mikawa 1,794]

East Yokozuna - Nakamura Daiki (中村 泰輝), Nippon Sport Science University, Tokyo (1)
West Yokozuna - Purebusuren (プレブスレン デルゲルバヤル), Nippon Sport Science University, Tokyo (3)

East Ozeki - Tanaka Daisuke (田中 大介), Chuo University, Tokyo (4)
West Ozeki - Hatsuyama Sho (羽出山 将), Toyo University, Tokyo (2)

East Sekiwake - Fukai Takuto (深井 拓斗), Toyo University, Tokyo (4)
West Sekiwake - Nishikawa Toki (西川 登輝), Chuo University, Tokyo (3)

East Komusubi - Osanai Koju (長内 孝樹), Kindai University, Osaka (3)
West Komusubi - Suguro Ibuki (勝呂 歩紀), Takushoku University, Kyoto (4)

East Maegashira 1 - Enami Masashi (榎波 将史), Nihon University, Tokyo (4)
West Maegashira 1 - Tanioka Koshiro (谷岡 倖志郎), Kindai University, Osaka (4)

East Maegashira 2 - Nakamura Yusei (中村 悠星), Chuo University, Tokyo (4)
West Maegashira 2 - Matsuzono Taisei (松園 大成), Nippon Sport Science University, Tokyo (3)

East Maegashira 3 - Hashimoto Yukihiro (橋本 侑京), Waseda University, Tokyo (4)
West Maegashira 3 - Kanno Yota (菅野 陽太), Chuo University, Tokyo (3)

East Maegashira 4 - Miyazaki Rei (宮崎 麗), Nihon University, Tokyo (3)
West Maegashira 4 - Sawada Hitoshi (沢田 日登志), Nihon University, Tokyo (4)

East Maegashira 5 - Ishizaki Takuma (石崎 拓馬), Nippon Sport Science University, Tokyo (3)
West Maegashira 5 - Yersin Baltagulov (イェルシン), Nihon University, Tokyo (3)

East Maegashira 6 - Munkubatto Munkusaihan (ムンクバット ムンクサイハン), Kyushu Institute of Information Sciences, Fukuoka (3)
West Maegashira 6 - Daito Koki (大塔 昂貴), Toyo University, Tokyo (2)

East Maegashira 7 - Yamaguchi Reo (山口 怜央), Kindai University, Osaka (3)
West Maegashira 7 - Yamanaka Shinya (山中 晋也), Kyushu Institute of Information Sciences, Fukuoka (4)

East Maegashira 8 - Ishioka Mikiya (石岡 弥輝也), Nihon University, Tokyo (2)
West Maegashira 8 - Takahashi Yuta (高橋 優太), Nippon Sport Science University, Tokyo (2)

East Maegashira 9 - Suguro Ruki (勝呂 隆稀), Takushoku University, Kyoto (3)
West Maegashira 9 - Kanzaki Taiga (神崎 大河), Kindai University, Osaka (2)

East Maegashira 10 - Thurutokutoho (トゥルトクトホ), Doshisha University, Kyoto (4)
West Maegashira 10 - Higashi Ryuki (東 龍輝), Meiji University, Tokyo (1)

East Maegashira 11 - Tanaka Hiroki (田中 宏樹), Doshisha University, Kyoto (4)
West Maegashira 11 - Kato Shota (加藤 翔太), Nihon University, Tokyo (4)

East Maegashira 12 - Shiroyama Seira (城山 聖羅), Toyo University, Tokyo (4)
West Maegashira 12 - Shiga Yuto (志賀 裕人), Tokyo University of Agriculture, Tokyo (4)

 

Sanyaku Photos

East Yokozuna - Nakamura Taiki (中村 泰輝), Nippon Sport Science University, Tokyo

 

West Yokozuna - Purebusuren (プレブスレン デルゲルバヤル), Nippon Sport Science University, Tokyo

 

East Ozeki - Tanaka Daisuke (田中 大介), Chuo University, Tokyo

 

West Ozeki - Hatsuyama Sho (羽出山 将), Toyo University, Tokyo

 

East Sekiwake - Fukai Takuto (深井 拓斗), Toyo University, Tokyo

 

West Sekiwake - Nishikawa Toki (西川 登輝), Chuo University, Tokyo

 

East Komusubi - Osanai Koju (長内 孝樹), Kindai University, Osaka

 

West Komusubi - Suguro Ibuki (勝呂 歩紀), Takushoku University, Kyoto

Edited April 24, 2020 by mikawa

[Katooshu 3,132]

I hope at least part of the year is salvaged, Nakamura was on track that first year for a college career right up there with the all-time amateur greats!

[mikawa 1,794]

Comments

We are finally here folks! A month of amateur sumo banzuke have been building up to this list, which features some of the best sumo wrestlers outside of Ozumo. We are thought that it was amazing when a 2nd year rikishi claimed the East Yokozuna spot two years ago, and yet, here we are. The best college rikishi of the year is Nakamura Daiki, a Freshman!

Sure, Daiki enterend Nippon Sport Science University as one of the best new recruits in the country, but did anyone, even his club-mates, really expect him to make much of an impact in his first year? And yet, "making an impact" would be a huge understatement, as Daiki stormed the competition to become both Kokutai Yokozuna AND Student Yokozuna. He also impressive in most of the other events, even winning the Wakayama Tournament.

Aside from a certain Yersin Baltagulov, nobody has been able to deal effectively with Daiki's sumo. The guy is very good at thrusting his opponent out of the ring, and he's also very good on the belt. This means that it doesn't matter if you fight on the belt or not. Either way, he usually finds a way to win, a bit like in these two videos (Daiki wears a blue mawashi):

 

 

And if you think you've finally found a way to counter his moves? He just goes and does this to you:

 

Not only was 2019 a fantastic year for Nakamura Daiki individually, his team (Nippon Sport Science University) also performed fantastically to have the best results of any college sumo team. And it's no wonder they did, if you notice that West Yokozuna Purebusuren just so happens to be Daiki's team-mate. Although somewhat overshadowed by his team-mate's achievements, the Mongolian third-year also had a great year in college sumo. So good in fact that he only finished four points behind East Yokozuna Daiki, and well ahead of third place Tanaka Daisuke.

Here he is weathering West Ozeki Hatsuyama Sho's attacks and turning the bout in his favour. Purebusuren is on the far side.

 

Speaking of, I'm very happy to see that two of my Tachikawa Renseikan club-mates were able to make it onto this list. Those being West Ozeki Hatsuyama Sho and West Maegashira 4 Sawada Hitoshi. Renseikan's Sagawa-sensei is an incredibly good coach. He always gives you great advice on how to improve your sumo, and even gives you demonstrations of many useful skills and techniques.

So when their two teams, Toyo University and Nihon University, met each other in the final of the National Student Championships, it was sort of like a Renseikan derby. Sho is third up for Toyo (far side), while Hitoshi is fourth up for Nihon (near side).

 

Before we finish, I feel like we have to talk about Toyo University's Shiroyama Seira. He entered university as the TWO-time defending High School Yokozuna, and topped the University Banzuke in both his second and third years in college, winning the Kokutai both years.

As we entered 2019, everyone expected the now fourth-year and club captain Seira to rise to even greater heights. He started the year well, with very good finishes in each of the first three tournaments. After that however, Seira just disappeared. As in, he didn't feature at all, not in the individual competitions, nor in the team competitions.

As everyone wondered where Seira has gone, news emerged late last year that the Toyo team captain has QUIT the sumo club. No reason was ever given for this. All we know is that Shiroyama Seira, undoubtedly the biggest star of college sumo for the past three years, has probably left the sport entirely.

This was a guy with so much talent that he was referred to as the next Omichi Hisashi (aka Mitakeumi), who happens to be his Toyo University senpai. However, with Shiroyama Seira's sudden absence, we may well have lost ourselves a future star of Ozumo. His professional career seems to have ended before it even had a chance to begin. I sincerely hope that we get to see him in the ring again someday, but, for now, we can only wonder what could have been......

Shiroyama Seira (城山 聖羅), Toyo University, Tokyo

Edited April 24, 2020 by mikawa

[mikawa 1,794]

Many thanks for taking the time to read through all six banzuke in this series, it is always much appreciated. It's always fun to see how the wrestlers rank at the end of each season.

However, as Katooshu pointed out above, due to current circumstances, not many amateur tournaments are likely to take place this year (if any at all). However, even without any tournaments, you can still expect multiple new posts coming to the Amasumo Section throughout the year (the Class of 2020 for example). The "Featured Clubs / Dojos" series also deserves some new entries.

If an amateur banzuke series for the 2020 season is not possible, then I guess it's goodbye for now, and let's meet again in spring 2022!

[Katooshu 3,132]

Anyone ever find out what happened to Shiroyama? Going from the top competitor in high school and college sumo, to quitting the sumo team and disappearing makes for quite the mystery. 

His lesser achieving high school rival Kotonowaka is making some waves now.

Edited April 11, 2022 by Katooshu

[mikawa 1,794]

9 hours ago, Katooshu said:

Anyone ever find out what happened to Shiroyama? Going from the top competitor in high school and college sumo, to quitting the sumo team and disappearing makes for quite the mystery.

I can't find any information regarding why he quit the Toyo University sumo club. It might be that something happened, but he didn't want to make anything public? We may never know......

[Katooshu 3,132]

Ya, you're probably right.

He'll always be a case of what might have been.

I bumped this thread because I was watching an old high school tournament he won. Takakeisho, Kotonowaka, and Tohakuryu lost in the same tournament, and now all 3 are sekitori and he's nowhere to be found.

Edited April 11, 2022 by Katooshu

[Inside Sport Japan 760]

He put on a mawashi and trained six months ago at what looks like Komatsuryu Dojo's home ring.