Latest set of urakata promotions - 38th Kimura Shonosuke! Tate yobidashi!

[Yubinhaad 11,546]

The rijikai has decided this year's round of promotions among the gyoji, yobidashi and tokoyama - most notably we'll see a Kimura Shonosuke again after almost nine years, and a new tate yobidashi for the first time in four years. The promotions are effective from December 25th, release date of the Hatsu basho banzuke. The new Shonosuke will have only five basho in the role, as he reaches retirement age next September.

Gyoji:

41st Shikimori Inosuke > 38th Kimura Shonosuke

Kimura Hisanosuke > Sanyaku

Shikimori Seiichiro > Makushita
Kimura Sakuranosuke > Makushita

Shikimori Komei > Jonidan
Shikimori Tomokimi > Jonidan

 

Yobidashi:

Jiro > Tate

Katsuyuki > Fukutate

Shigejiro > Makushita

Yuji > Sandanme
Hiroshi > Sandanme

Kenta > Jonidan
Takeru > Jonidan

 

Tokoyama:

Tokomasa > Itto
Tokokuwa > Itto

Tokoryu > Nito
Tokoami > Nito

Tokomitsu > Santo

Tokoshun > Yonto

Edited September 28, 2023 by Yubinhaad

[Akinomaki 39,796]

Wow, a last present for Inosuke, he really did his best last basho

Kyokudozan's brother now to sanyaku

Edited September 28, 2023 by Akinomaki

[Akinomaki 39,796]

o o o o  o

o

They also waited with Jiro quite a while so that we have a tate-yobidashi again, after 4 years without any tate-yobidashi when Takuro had to quit, Jiro wasn't even promoted to fuku-tate and remained at sanyaku - one year we still have to hear his voice, but only once a day now.

On 13/11/2019 at 10:16, Akinomaki said:

One maybe pleasing side effect of this result - for Kintamayama at least - is that we might have to hear less of Jiro a little bit sooner

On 07/04/2017 at 18:20, Akinomaki said:

Tate yobidashi - Takuro, Kasugano-beya 24.02.1956

On 07/04/2017 at 17:07, Kintamayama said:

I guess the totally tone-deaf yobidashi (forgot the name..) who does the two before musubi bouts (no less..) is there for the affection, then. I don't get how he got this high. So he does it with style and charm, then (not!!).

Sanyaku yobidashi - Jiro, Kasugano-beya 19.01.1960

We'll have to wait another 4 years so that we have him at least reduced to only one bout and then 4 more years to get rid of him.

Jiro may get promoted to the top a few basho earlier with this - for quite a while though we have to endure him for the last 2 bouts, where his voice is most conspicuous

Edited September 28, 2023 by Akinomaki

[Kintamayama 44,354]

Jiro definitely has a fingernails on blackboard effect. Maybe he is good natured. 

[RabidJohn 1,665]

Oh good, purple's my favourite colour, so I'm happy for the old bugger.

Inosuke 42 will be decided on seniority, no?

Be interesting to see how long they wait before announcing that one.

[ryafuji 807]

I don't take much interest in who the gyoji are to be honest, but hasn't this Shikimori Insoke made rather a lot of high profile errors lately? Why would they reward him with a promotion? 

[Bunbukuchagama 688]

Just now, ryafuji said:

I don't take much interest in who the gyoji are to be honest, but hasn't this Shikimori Insoke made rather a lot of high profile errors lately? Why would they reward him with a promotion? 

Competence is nothing, seniority is everything. 

[ryafuji 807]

1 minute ago, Bunbukuchagama said:

Competence is nothing, seniority is everything. 

I don't think that's necessarily true. If you make a lot of errors, you get passed over for promotion. They've managed without a Shonosuke for a long time now. 

[Bunbukuchagama 688]

1 minute ago, ryafuji said:

I don't think that's necessarily true. If you make a lot of errors, you get passed over for promotion. They've managed without a Shonosuke for a long time now. 

He is approaching mandatory retirement age, they are throwing him the last bone.

[Tsubame 356]

2 hours ago, ryafuji said:

Why would they reward him with a promotion? 

Short answer: to save his face.

You know, this japanese thing...

[Bunbukuchagama 688]

40 minutes ago, Tsubame said:

Short answer: to save his face.

You know, this japanese thing...

Honour and shame, yes.

[Muhomatsu 224]

And now the second highest ranked gyōji, Kimura Tamajirō,  submitted his retirement papers.  
 

https://www.nikkansports.com/m/battle/sumo/news/202309290000600_m.html

a small protest, perhaps, at not being promoted now?  At the Innosuke promotion? 

[Tigerboy1966 1,376]

Question for gyoji specialists...

According to Wikipedia, the two "families" of gyoji use slightly different styles and gestures. So, if Shikimori Inosuke becomes Kimura Shonosuke is he ging to have to change his style? It seems like a bit of a tall order for a chap so close to retirement.

[Akinomaki 39,796]

1 hour ago, Tigerboy1966 said:

Question for gyoji specialists...

According to Wikipedia, the two "families" of gyoji use slightly different styles and gestures. So, if Shikimori Inosuke becomes Kimura Shonosuke is he ging to have to change his style? It seems like a bit of a tall order for a chap so close to retirement.

No problem, he started as Kimura Waichiro in 1975 and most of the time was a Kimura - switch to Shikimori Kandayu in 2012. Gyoji switch families all the time.

- maybe he was a bad Inosuke because he was only Kimura for 37 years

Edited September 30, 2023 by Akinomaki

[RabidJohn 1,665]

16 hours ago, ryafuji said:

I don't take much interest in who the gyoji are to be honest, but hasn't this Shikimori Insoke made rather a lot of high profile errors lately? 

No, he hasn't - at least not in terms of sachi-chigae. I don't do statistical analyses, but my subjective view over the last few years is that Inosuke 41 had no more decisions reversed than any of the sanyaku gyoji, including forum fave Konosuke. The last thing he really got some stick for was failing to retie a mawashi, but that wasn't an error.

[Asashosakari 18,786]

Well, and the lack of dohyo awareness and/or mobility which caused him to get in the competitors' way rather frequently. 

[Amamaniac 2,078]

More light has been shed on this issue:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A74SJKlxQ9c

IMHO, having a relatively incompetent Kimura Shonosuke (nice guy or not) cheapens the overall quality of oozumo.  The way I look at it, there are many wonderful things in Japan, like sushi and oozumo.  You can enjoy authentic sushiya sushi or settle for kaizen zushi, just like you can enjoy competent oozumo refereeing or you can settle for Kimura Shonosuke (XXXVIII).  

I wish him all the best, but seeing him struggle in performing his duties is, simply put, disappointing.

[dingo 1,160]

If this new info is true, it seems the issue was really mishandled. But personally I can't be certain that this particular source won't put a spin on anything. 

[Gurowake 3,922]

On 30/09/2023 at 05:44, Asashosakari said:

Well, and the lack of dohyo awareness and/or mobility which caused him to get in the competitors' way rather frequently. 

I'd say this is far more important than making the right call, since bad calls can be overturned.  Getting in the way of the rikishi can only be solved by not doing it.

[RabidJohn 1,665]

Whilst I have sympathy for Inosuke 41, I'm not blind to his shortcomings since he had a stroke. He's been rendered incapable rather than incompetent, IMO.

What I don't get is why Hakkaku doesn't see it, why he keeps saying "Nah, mate. Could've happened to anyone" every time he receives the resignation papers. 

Surely "Just go kyujo until you retire next September" is a viable option.

[Gurowake 3,922]

11 minutes ago, RabidJohn said:

What I don't get is why Hakkaku doesn't see it, why he keeps saying "Nah, mate. Could've happened to anyone" every time he receives the resignation papers. 

The offering to resign and refusal to accept it is all theater.  

[Yamanashi 3,726]

1 hour ago, Gurowake said:

The offering to resign and refusal to accept it is all theater.  

For all the brouhaha about his quitting, if Hakkaku had actually accepted one of  his retirement offers, that would have been a major scandal.

[Akinomaki 39,796]

On 28/09/2023 at 14:41, Akinomaki said:

after 4 years without any tate-yobidashi when Takuro had to quit, Jiro wasn't even promoted to fuku-tate and remained at sanyaku - one year we still have to hear his voice, but only once a day now.

On 28/09/2023 at 23:19, Kintamayama said:

Jiro definitely has a fingernails on blackboard effect. Maybe he is good natured. 

Tabloid Shukan Bunshun picks up the issue and the concerns of sumo fans: Jiro the too tone-deaf yobidashi, who drains the strength of the ringside sekitori when he calls them out.

Jiro is an expert in dohyo making, other yobidashi tasks are taiko, but from the name of his profession, calling out is the main part of the job

 Previous tate-yobidashi Takuro, same Kasugano-beya:

"Jiro worried about the calling out being his weak point since he joined. At the end of a call the pitch has to be raised, but his drops down. I was often told "teach also Jiro a bit" by those in the heya. If worried about training in front of people, one can do it at karaoke. I invited him to practice with me, but he never asked for it. ... I have no idea what all the oyakata thought by recommending his promotion, because there is an appropriate call out for yokozuna and ozeki mounting the dohyo."

Phone interview with Jiro after last basho, first congratulations:
...

- If I may be so bold to say, there are some who say there is trouble with your pitch

"Ah, is that so. Yes, yes, well, I think, is that so, well. On my part there's particularly nothing. Yes. yes, yes ..."

ex-NHK Fujii: Sumo fans are connoisseurs of vision and sound and at the same time enjoy unique characters. There may be many who have fun analysing his ongoing call out performance, like "a semitone down", this is part of the depth of sumo.

http://bunshun.jp/articles/-/67419

with video - without comparison to other gyoji one would only say audio quality is miserable

Edit: it will be virtually impossible to spot his voice now, because Abema and NHK will always have some announcer/commentator talking over it

Best here from the HQ spectator video of the guy who regularly posts whole events - final bout 2023 Takakeisho-Kirishima: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inxNFraXMG0&t=51m34s

Shigeo for comparison: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inxNFraXMG0&t=10m42s

none of the higher yobidashi has a voice big enough to win against the background noise

Edited December 6, 2023 by Akinomaki

[Kintamayama 44,354]

5 hours ago, Akinomaki said:

 

Shigeo for comparison: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inxNFraXMG0&t=10m42s

none of the higher yobidashi has a voice big enough to win against the background noise

Zambara here. Nobody does it like Kunio, Kintamayama tells me. It's not a question of semitone or baritone. His pitch is non-existent. Or so Kintamayama tells me. Kintamayama dono will be back soon, after his punishment is over.

Edited December 6, 2023 by Kintamayama

[Akinomaki 39,796]

Izumo has an exhibition corner in a shopping plaza at Izumo station to honour the new tate-gyoji from their city, with about 40 photos and items - it started on day 1 of the basho and will go on for about a month

oo

The city PR publication in December had the Izumo jungyo on the front page http://www.city.izumo.shimane.jp/www/contents/1699489662423/index.html