Keiko mawashi stolen!!

[Kintamayama 45,345]

Takasago beya, day 2 of the July basho. Makushita Terasawa hangs his keiko mawashi (which is also the mawashi he wears when he fights..) to dry on the heya's rear entrance wall. At 2 PM, a truck arrives in the alley, the driver swipes the mawashi and takes off. "He was a 40-50 year old man," said an eyewitness neighbor. The perpetrator has not been found yet. Terasawa did not have a bout that day, but as Asanoyama's tsukebito, was at the venue with him and was notified of this in the shitakubeya. He then went out and with the help of a gyoji, bought a new one for 8000 yen (75 bucks). Later , the okamisan took it upon herself to pay for it. Terasawa was scheduled to fight on day 3, but due to the urgency of the matter, was switched to day 4. And that is not all. Inside the mawashi, in one of the folds, he had the remains of his beloved 7 year old male pet rabbit Lalky, who had passed away. He has had the remains concealed there since he was an amateur wrestler and he was in deep shock from all this. Maybe the mental aspect of this shock contributed to his going makekoshi (3-4) in July. The police were called and inspected the footage from the CCTV cameras at the heya. Since everything happened very quickly, the cameras did not show the perpetrator's face clearly. There were 4-5 mawashis hanging out there at the time, but Terasawa's was in the middle and was the one taken. "I have been in the sumo world for 40 years and I've never heard of anything like this happening," said my friend ex-Ichinoya, the manager of the heya, and the guy I'm talking to in my avatar, since nobody ever asked..

Keiko-mawashi: Made of cotton and black for those under Juryo. It used to be that a  keiko-mawashi was washed only upon the Oyakata's death, but lately this has changed  and is cleaned using a *deck-brush, among other things. A black mawashi costs about 1000 yen ($9) per meter. The sekitori use a silk mawashi (shimekomi) during basho and jungyos, while the nonsalaried wear the same black cotton mawashi they usually train in during bashos as well, as I stated before. I'm pretty sure this is the most bizarre article I have ever translated.

*Deck brush:

Edited August 13, 2020 by Kintamayama

[Benevolance 2,501]

Orchestrating this heist was a brilliant - albeit complicated - way to create a natural segue to discuss your avatar. I salute you and your purloined bunny bits. 

[Kintamayama 45,345]

5 minutes ago, Benevolance said:

Orchestrating this heist was a brilliant - albeit complicated - way to create a natural segue to discuss your avatar. I salute you and your purloined bunny bits. 

Shhh...

[sumojoann 1,267]

The whole time I was reading this I thought it was his KESHO-mawashi that was stolen!!  lol  I kept wondering why it was hanging up on the wall to dry!  And which fold he would he put his little rabbit's remains in.  And what was this about wearing it to fight??!  I didn't recall any rikishi wearing kesho-mawashi that were black and made out of cotton!!  FINALLY, when I read that they were cleaned with a deck brush, I realized I really needed to start over reading this post!!!

Seriously, this is very sad for so many reasons.  What a blow to this young rikishi.  It probably did cause him to go makekoshi.  I doubt if he'll ever get it back...... it's heartbreaking.

Edited August 14, 2020 by sumojoann

[Yamanashi 3,874]

Tourist:  "Eeew, you mean they wear the same disgusting cloth thingy every day, and clean it with a garage broom?"

Tour guide: "Ma'am, maybe you'd better sit down while I tell you the story of the 'fossil bunny mawashi'."

[Yokozuna Hattorizakura 153]

I thought the used mawashi trade was just a myth...

 

[Katooshu 3,265]

Keeping rabbit remains in his mawashi sounds a bit....interesting

[Johnofuji 232]

48 minutes ago, Yokozuna Hattorizakura said:

I thought the used mawashi trade was just a myth...

 

As uncomfortable as I was about doing it , I sold one to an American for $100 and I don't think they did sumo. It was all done impersonally via our Sumo Federation email so I'm not sure if they would get excited or not to know that it had been worn by a large sweaty  Samoan , Tongan or Maori for a TV commercial. 

I have heard of some prolific undie thieves in Japan but I thought they were just isolated incidents. I made the mistake of looking it up and it's way too common. Just recently an upskirt photographer got arrested with 2700 pairs. Ewww.

Do you think we could cheer up Terasawa by getting him a new rabbit?

A mawashi is a very personal item for a rikishi. New ones are very uncomfortable and take a very long time to soften up . The first few times really take the skin off but at least the black ones are a little softer due to the dyeing process. 

  

[Kamitsuumi 401]

It reads like the rabbit died when Terasawa was 7. That bunny has been in a mawashi longer than it was alive.

[Eikokurai 3,437]

I like to imagine it was some guy caught with his pants off by the husband of his mistress, so he fled, grabbing something from the nearest available washing line to cover his modesty. Then only when he started to unravel it did he realize he’d grabbed nowt but a loincloth ... 

Edited August 14, 2020 by Eikokurai

[Kintamayama 45,345]

4 hours ago, sumojoann said:

The whole time I was reading this I thought it was his KESHO-mawashi that was stolen!!  

Makushita rikishi don’t have keshomawashis. At first I read it that way as well, but it didn’t make sense. Then I found my glasses.

[sumojoann 1,267]

3 minutes ago, Kintamayama said:

Makushita rikishi don’t have keshomawashis. At first I read it that way as well, but it didn’t make sense. Then I found my glasses.

Hahaha!!  At least you had to go and find your glasses!  I was already wearing mine so I have no excuse!!

I know that Makushita rikishi don't have kesho-mawashi but in my confusion, I thought that maybe Asanoyama had given him one, albeit a cheap black cotton one!

Edited August 14, 2020 by sumojoann

[Eikokurai 3,437]

8 minutes ago, Eikokurai said:

I like to imagine it was some guy caught with his pants off by the husband of his mistress, so he fled, grabbing something from the nearest available washing line to cover his modesty. Then only when he started to unravel it did he realize he’d grabbed nowt but a loincloth ... 

... which he promptly puts on, joins the keiko session to hide from the irate husband, discovers he’s rather good at sumo and a star is born.

The greatest opening to a slapstick Japanese sumo-themed comedy movie never made.

Edited August 14, 2020 by Eikokurai

[hakutorizakura 634]

Wth... This is the first thing I read in the morning and I know already that it's going to be my read of the day!

Underwear theft doesn't seem to be uncommon in Japan (once happened at the place where I lived, girl undies), but mawashi........... 

Poor guy and his bunny.

[Jakusotsu 5,995]

6 hours ago, Kintamayama said:

...said my friend ex-Ichinoya, the manager of the heya, and the guy I'm talking to in my avatar, since nobody ever asked..

Ahem...

 

[Kintamayama 45,345]

1 hour ago, Jakusotsu said:

Ahem...

 

OH, didn't see that.. Excellent, sir.. 

[RabidJohn 1,816]

8 hours ago, Kintamayama said:

... ex-Ichinoya, the manager of the heya, and the guy I'm talking to in my avatar, since nobody ever asked..

I didn't even realise it was you in the photo - and it wasn't just the hair that threw me. 

The perspective of the shot made me wonder "Who's the giant in denim?"

So, was Ichinoya very short, or were you standing on a box?

[Jakusotsu 5,995]

2 hours ago, RabidJohn said:

I didn't even realise it was you in the photo - and it wasn't just the hair that threw me. 

The hair appears to be a cap.

[Atenzan 1,084]

35 minutes ago, Jakusotsu said:

The hair appears to be a cap.

There is hair under it. It's hard to believe, but I suppose there was a time... 

[Kintamayama 45,345]

3 hours ago, RabidJohn said:

I didn't even realise it was you in the photo - and it wasn't just the hair that threw me. 

The perspective of the shot made me wonder "Who's the giant in denim?"

So, was Ichinoya very short, or were you standing on a box?

Ichinoya was short, and I'm not that short..

[Kintamayama 45,345]

18 minutes ago, Atenzan said:

There is hair under it. It's hard to believe, but I suppose there was a time... 

I can still grow hair if I so wish. I choose the bald look.

[ryafuji 815]

4 hours ago, RabidJohn said:

So, was Ichinoya very short, or were you standing on a box?

He's 5'5" (165cm). All the more remarkable that he kept fighting until he was nearly 47. 

[Akinomaki 40,666]

Maybe Terasawa will carry this photo published of his rabbit ラルキ Raruki in his new mawashi instead

o

[Kintamayama 45,345]

1 hour ago, Akinomaki said:

Maybe Terasawa will carry this photo published of his rabbit ラルキ Raruki in his new mawashi instead

o

Do you know what Raruki means or If it is a common pet name or did he mean to call him Lucky but his English is bad?

[Yamanashi 3,874]

2 hours ago, Kintamayama said:

I can still grow hair if I so wish. I choose the bald look.

Too bad Ichinoya can't do the same thing about his height.