Terunofuji is the 73rd Yokozuna.

[Fujisan 530]

25 minutes ago, Asojima said:

Why did you parachute into a jail?

It seemed like a good idea at the time.

[Naganoyama 5,819]

3 hours ago, Asojima said:

Why did you parachute into a jail?

Even James Bond couldn't get him into the Olympics without a ticket.

[nagora 88]

18 hours ago, ryafuji said:

I would have thought with the condition his body is/was in, and the depths he plumbed, he would be under the least amount of pressure of any new yokozuna. 

I don't know. There'll be a vibe of "we promoted you knowing about your knees - prove us right" I think. Nobody promotes a yokozuna in the expectation that he's going to fall apart immediately.

[since_94 650]

21 hours ago, Seiyashi said:

Isegahama looks happy. Terunofuji looks like a condemned man.

Terunofuji is damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t. Too much gaiety and he’s opening himself to criticism of lacking gravitas. An inopportune smile crosses his face for a fleeting instant and some will conclude he looks smug and self satisfied. Rictus of a forced grin and he’s not genuine enough for those who already want to believe that. He knows he is henceforth subject to relentless public scrutiny, having been thrust into the public eye as he has, and knows the masses will impute their own interpretations and motives to every little thing he does from here on out. Probably worked hard on his poker face and ensured he maintained it throughout.

 

[WAKATAKE 2,624]

He’ll be smiling when he wins the yusho after beating Hakuho

[yorikiried by fate 1,987]

7 hours ago, since_94 said:

Terunofuji is damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t. Too much gaiety and he’s opening himself to criticism of lacking gravitas. An inopportune smile crosses his face for a fleeting instant and some will conclude he looks smug and self satisfied. Rictus of a forced grin and he’s not genuine enough for those who already want to believe that. He knows he is henceforth subject to relentless public scrutiny, having been thrust into the public eye as he has, and knows the masses will impute their own interpretations and motives to every little thing he does from here on out. Probably worked hard on his poker face and ensured he maintained it throughout.

 

Somewhere in there is a curious parallel to newspeople's hairdos.

[Highway 46]

Well done indeed. I also cannot think of a wider swing in terms of a comeback, in any other sport that I follow at least. Maybe Tyson Fury in a way.

[since_94 650]

2 hours ago, yorikiried by fate said:

Somewhere in there is a curious parallel to newspeople's hairdos.

It’s the price of notoriety. I struggle with a similar dilemma at the start of every swimsuit season. It always comes back to the same, age old question:

Is it better to conceal or to reveal?

[sahaven111 167]

21 hours ago, Asojima said:

Why did you parachute into a jail?

Obviously, to have his picture taken!

[Yangnomazuma 77]

I was struck by the obvious grimace of pain when he got into the kneeling position.  I'm quite familiar with that pain and it gives me even more appreciation for the strength of the man.  To work through that pain - it doesn't really get much better unless you're really warmed up, something I'm thinking sumotori rarely achieve.  Mine have the tendency to hurt for a while, go numb until the surrounding muscles get tired, then announce themselves with a hearty "here I am!!!".  Without my braces, some of my activities are just not possible - bowling, racquetball, etc.  At least I still have golf and darts without the braces.

[Saburo 18]

Dumb question but... when's the tsuna-uchi? Used to be the day after the JSA reps came to visit. Is it postponed due to Olympic fever?

Edited July 24, 2021 by Saburo

[Washuyama 634]

4 hours ago, Saburo said:

Dumb question but... when's the tsuna-uchi? Used to be the day after the JSA reps came to visit. Is it postponed due to Olympic fever?

I was wondering that myself.  For some reason I have always enjoyed seeing the pictures/videos of current and retired Yokozuna teaching the newest member of the fraternity how to do the dohyo-iri.  The first one I remember seeing was Wakanohana I and Wajima teaching Wakanohana II back in 1978.

[rhyen 1,801]

9 hours ago, Saburo said:

Dumb question but... when's the tsuna-uchi? Used to be the day after the JSA reps came to visit. Is it postponed due to Olympic fever?

Delayed due to the pandemic. Since all hatsu dohyo-iri at the Meiji Jingu shrine would draw crowds of onlookers. 

[RabidJohn 1,648]

10 hours ago, Saburo said:

Dumb question but... when's the tsuna-uchi? Used to be the day after the JSA reps came to visit. Is it postponed due to Olympic fever?

Seeing as the tsuna-uchi usually involves rikishi from other ichimon heya, it faces the same issue as rengo-keiko during the pandemic. 
I've been wondering if this time they'll wait until the usual pre-Aki window for regular tsuna-uchi, get everybody tested and bubbled, then do it at the Kokugikan during the inter-heya training sessions.
Or they could keep it entirely within the heya. There are 17 rikishi at Isegahama and the boss will be the one to teach the Shiranui ceremony anyway.

37 minutes ago, rhyen said:

Since all hatsu dohyo-iri at the Meiji Jingu shrine would draw crowds of onlookers. 

Not the tsuna-uchi, but yeah, another pandemic-related issue to overcome...

Edited July 25, 2021 by RabidJohn

[Swami 245]

Wouldn't there be a preference to have Terunofuji adopt the Unryu style, given Hakuho does Shiranui?

Hakuho was probably the first who broke the supposed jinx with Shiranui (ie short spells at yokozuna), it might be tempting fate to have Terunofuji run with that.

 

Swami

[Kenneth Minami 60]

8 minutes ago, Swami said:

Wouldn't there be a preference to have Terunofuji adopt the Unryu style, given Hakuho does Shiranui?

Hakuho was probably the first who broke the supposed jinx with Shiranui (ie short spells at yokozuna), it might be tempting fate to have Terunofuji run with that.

 

Swami

It is said he will perform Shiranui dohyo-iri. 
i think Kakuryu and Kisenosato didn’t perform so well with their unryu dohyo-iri. And Hakuho is the greatest Yokozuna in sumo, who is going to retire in a year. Maybe Terunofuji is seen as an heir of Hakuho and his style. 
And we should remember that Asahifuji and Harumafuji from the same Isegahama-beya performed shiranui dohyo-iri.

Edited July 25, 2021 by Kenneth Minami

[Seiyashi 4,068]

10 minutes ago, Kenneth Minami said:

15 minutes ago, Swami said:

Wouldn't there be a preference to have Terunofuji adopt the Unryu style, given Hakuho does Shiranui?

Hakuho was probably the first who broke the supposed jinx with Shiranui (ie short spells at yokozuna), it might be tempting fate to have Terunofuji run with that.

 

Swami

It is said he will perform Shiranui dohyo-iri. 
i think Kakuryu and Kisenosato didn’t perform so well with their unryu dohyo-iri. And Hakuho is the greatest Yokozuna in sumo, who is going to retire in a year. Maybe Terunofuji is seen as an heir of Hakuho and his style. 
And we should remember that Asahifuji and Harumafuji from the same Isegahama-beya performed shiranui dohyo-iri.

I suspect the reason for picking a particular style is a lot simpler than that for each individual yokozuna, but different yokozuna have different considerations.

Harumafuji also selected Shiranui when Hakuho was still active, making it the first time that two Shiranui yokozuna were active simultaneously. In that particular case, he might have picked it because of his shisho, or because Hakuho was a good friend, or both.

Kisenosato on the other hand might have picked Unryu simply to distinguish himself from Hakuho. He could also have plausibly picked Shiranui, since his original shisho, ex-Takanosato, also performed in the Shiranui style.

In Terunofuji's case, it's probably a no-brainer for him because Asahifuji did Shiranui, and I have the feeling that after his re-ascent he's very fiercely devoted to Isegahama. So "of course" he'd pick Shiranui, making it only the second time in history that we have two Shiranui yokozuna.

[Kenneth Minami 60]

23 minutes ago, Seiyashi said:

I suspect the reason for picking a particular style is a lot simpler than that for each individual yokozuna, but different yokozuna have different considerations.

Harumafuji also selected Shiranui when Hakuho was still active, making it the first time that two Shiranui yokozuna were active simultaneously. In that particular case, he might have picked it because of his shisho, or because Hakuho was a good friend, or both.

Kisenosato on the other hand might have picked Unryu simply to distinguish himself from Hakuho. He could also have plausibly picked Shiranui, since his original shisho, ex-Takanosato, also performed in the Shiranui style.

In Terunofuji's case, it's probably a no-brainer for him because Asahifuji did Shiranui, and I have the feeling that after his re-ascent he's very fiercely devoted to Isegahama. So "of course" he'd pick Shiranui, making it only the second time in history that we have two Shiranui yokozuna.

You’re right.

Btw the one who choses the style is Shisho, not the rikishi. Of course, he consults with his “student”, but, as it usually happens in sumo, the final decision remains with the Shisho.

Same with shikona. 

[rhyen 1,801]

The Isegahama ichimon tradition is to have yokozuna do the Shiranui style. 

[Seiyashi 4,068]

53 minutes ago, rhyen said:

The Isegahama ichimon tradition is to have yokozuna do the Shiranui style. 

This tradition, if it is indeed a tradition, is not that ancient, seemingly established only in the modern period. All Tatsunami-Isegahama yokozuna only since Yoshibayama (43rd, 5 after Terukuni) have performed Shiranui. Nishonoseki is also the other major contributor of Shiranui yokozuna in the modern period (Tamanoumi, Takanosato, Kotozakura, and Wakanohana III), although they do have yokozuna who did Unryu.

Before Terukuni, only Tachiyama (22nd, Tomozuna) performed Shiranui; Otori (Miyagino) and Onishiki (Asahiyama) did Unryu.

The above assumes that no elder names (or at least stables) have jumped ichimon - which is probably not justified and a major source of error.

Edited July 25, 2021 by Seiyashi

[RabidJohn 1,648]

You can usually see a reason for the style choice made by/for yokozuna, and heya/ichimon history is usually tied into it.

The one that I never really got was Kisenosato. Takanosato was Shiranui style before he became Naruto-oyakata and recruited Kisenosato, so why didn't his protegé follow suit?

[Gospodin 187]

8 hours ago, Swami said:

Wouldn't there be a preference to have Terunofuji adopt the Unryu style, given Hakuho does Shiranui?

Hakuho was probably the first who broke the supposed jinx with Shiranui (ie short spells at yokozuna), it might be tempting fate to have Terunofuji run with that.

 

Swami

I think Tachiyama broke the "curse" before it was even established . Only beginning with the 70´s were a string of short-lived yokozuna using the Shiranui-style.

Terunofuji seems to have decided for that style as well.

Edited July 25, 2021 by Gospodin

[hakutorizakura 586]

34 minutes ago, RabidJohn said:

You can usually see a reason for the style choice made by/for yokozuna, and heya/ichimon history is usually tied into it.

The one that I never really got was Kisenosato. Takanosato was Shiranui style before he became Naruto-oyakata and recruited Kisenosato, so why didn't his protegé follow suit?

Didn't Takanosato die before Kise reached yokozuna? No direct influence on the decision. And probably as mentioned above Kise wanted to distinguish himself from Hakuho (and Harumafuji), which makes sense.

[Seiyashi 4,068]

5 minutes ago, hakutorizakura said:

42 minutes ago, RabidJohn said:

You can usually see a reason for the style choice made by/for yokozuna, and heya/ichimon history is usually tied into it.

The one that I never really got was Kisenosato. Takanosato was Shiranui style before he became Naruto-oyakata and recruited Kisenosato, so why didn't his protegé follow suit?

Didn't Takanosato die before Kise reached yokozuna? No direct influence on the decision. And probably as mentioned above Kise wanted to distinguish himself from Hakuho (and Harumafuji), which makes sense.

Takanosato was quite the influence on Kisenosato though, at least early on in his career. One would have thought that a homage to a respected and departed shisho would have been a strong enough pull factor for Kisenosato to pick Shiranui, especially as there already was an Unryu yokozuna (Kakuryu) by then. 

That said, I can also completely see how differentiation from two active and very distinguished Shiranui yokozuna would have been a primary consideration for Kisenosato.

[RabidJohn 1,648]

5 hours ago, hakutorizakura said:

Didn't Takanosato die before Kise reached yokozuna? 

Yoshibayama died before Hakuho was even born, but I've no doubt his revival of Miyagino-beya is the reason why Hakuho is Shiranui rather than Unryu like his hero Taiho.

4 hours ago, Seiyashi said:

That said, I can also completely see how differentiation from two active and very distinguished Shiranui yokozuna would have been a primary consideration for Kisenosato.

Even though I'm not superstitious, I'd probably have been thinking that the Shiranui 'curse' was clearly lifted and I'd have jumped on the winning ship.

Ever wondered if that career-ending injury was the kami angry at Kisenosato for not honouring his deceased shisho?

No, definitely not superstitious!