New recruits Nagoya 2025

[Akinomaki 41,849]

The rijikai today acknowledged the makushita tsukedashi status of Ryusho Kawakami  川上竜昌 (22). He graduated from Kumamoto Buntoku high before Nichidai. https://www.sanspo.com/article/20250529-4RZCTDRJ2VOJRPAP2OUJZ7POEA/

On 01/05/2025 at 22:03, Katooshu said:

that brings me to a more promising Oitekaze beya recruit - word is that Ryusho Kawakami, Nihon University standout, brother of former juryo Ryuko, and nephew of Onoe oyakata, has joined the heya and is already training there. He has an Ms60TD qualification through a top 8 finish at the student championships. Wouldn't start in Natsu but expect to see him in ozumo soon.

About 187cm/120kg - a bit stiff in his movements, but very strong and stable for his size, likes to tsuridashi opponents and pull out the utchari. Reminds me of a lighter Wakamotoharu. He won a couple tournaments in college and generally had good finishes. He was also a high school and college teammate of Kusano and debuting Hanaoka.

Here he is in black

[Akinomaki 41,849]

The shindeshi kensa for Nagoya is on July 7th (Tanabata) http://www.sanspo.com/article/20250529-IYMWFV72YRLJZLG4Y6QIZYQKVQ/

again a quite late date (shonichi is July 13th) - likely because the basho in the past also had 0 new recruits

[Akinomaki 41,849]

On 29/05/2025 at 16:01, Akinomaki said:

The rijikai today acknowledged the makushita tsukedashi status of Ryusho Kawakami  川上竜昌 (22). He graduated from Kumamoto Buntoku high before Nichidai. https://www.sanspo.com/article/20250529-4RZCTDRJ2VOJRPAP2OUJZ7POEA/

Kawakami joins Oitekaze-beya as the 2nd uchi-deshi of Daieisho after Daimasakari. Shikona is planned to be Ryusho, like his first name, but with the usual sho 翔 of the heya. The father was a classmate of Oitekaze-oyakata at Nichidai. Apart from retired brother Ryuko, he has also a cousin on the banzuke, son of uncle Onoe, Terutaka. Cousins don't get paired against each other either. He will be the 9th from Nichidai presently active, his younger brother is 3rd year at Nichidai. Kawakami has started to live in the heya since before the Natsu basho.

o

Edited July 4 by Akinomaki

[Akinomaki 41,849]

The NSK announced yesterday day that 4 will be at the shindeshi-kensa on the 7th (Tanabata). 2 high school and one late middle school graduate, Akiho Sato 佐藤明峰 (16, Maruyama sumo club/Kashiwa no.2 middle school, Chiba) for Arashio-beya.

For Futagoyama at last Takahara 高原契斗, best 8 at the national Kanazawa tournament.

On 21/03/2025 at 23:28, Akinomaki said:

He wanted to join the heya for Haru, but is injured, so likely a new recruit for Natsu: Keito Takahara 高原契斗 (18) from the sumo club of Asahigaoka high (Odawara) for Futagoyama-beya. He started with sumo in 5th grade, was at national tournaments while attending Odawara-city Kasai middle school (a special sumo club set up then, the school has none) and  lost in the first rounds of the final tournaments at the interhigh and the kokuspo juniors last year (best 32). Aim: sekitori at age 20

The oyakata recently was at the school

o 

son of the owner of the local construction company Takahara

before sumo karate, like his little brother now

o

On 28/06/2025 at 16:22, MrGrumpyGills said:

Yet another new recruit:

https://youtu.be/fE7HHeD1M90?feature=shared

and for Otowayama Kazuma Nishimura from Tottori

o

15 hours ago, Karusoni said:

On 23/06/2025 at 17:19, Katooshu said:

That new recruit looks like former middle school yokozuna and multiple time high school tournament winner Kazuma Nishimura from Tottori - a bit like an Ochiai junior.

Yup, that's him.

https://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2025/07/03/kiji/20250703s00005000320000c.html?page=1

 

 

https://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2025/07/04/kiji/20250704s00005000082000c.html?page=1

Edited July 4 by Akinomaki

[Akinomaki 41,849]

24 minutes ago, Akinomaki said:

one late middle school graduate, Akiho Sato 佐藤明峰 (16, Maruyama sumo club/Kashiwa no.2 middle school, Chiba) for Arashio-beya.

He was on the Fuji TV program about the heya on the 20th, Uwasa no o-kyaku-sama https://datazoo.jp/w/柏相撲少年団/69302051 (wants to become yokozuna) - he was on the same program in 2022, about the Kawashi sumo youth club

still for a while as VOD (J) https://tver.jp/episodes/epfi69sms46

[Yubinhaad 11,975]

On 04/07/2025 at 08:25, Akinomaki said:

Kawakami joins Oitekaze-beya as the 2nd uchi-deshi of Daieisho after Daimasakari. Shikona is planned to be Ryusho, like his first name, but with the usual sho 翔 of the heya. The father was a classmate of Oitekaze-oyakata at Nichidai.

Full shikona Ryusho Hiroyasu (竜翔　裕康 / りゅうしょう　ひろやす) - the given name was used for two basho in 1994 by the shisho (former Maegashira Daishoyama), with less than stellar results.

 

大翔山　裕康　（だいしょうやま　ひろやす）
平成6年3月	西前10		3勝11敗1休
平成6年5月	東十4		0勝0敗15休

[Asashosakari 20,285]

He's not a true rookie for this thread, but as it passed us by in last basho's coverage even though the earliest mention was apparently on the Meitoku Gijuku sumo club Instagram account all the way back during Natsu: Tokitsukaze-beya's Mongolian newbie Buyantogtokh will be competing in maezumo (and presumably beyond) as Tatsubayama Takashi 龍葉山 高志. We'll have to see how many of the five properly banzuke-gai rikishi end up joining him and the three non-Ryusho newcomers, but a minimum of three maezumo days should be assured.

 

On 03/07/2025 at 20:28, Karusoni said:

On 23/06/2025 at 17:19, Katooshu said:

That new recruit looks like former middle school yokozuna and multiple time high school tournament winner Kazuma Nishimura from Tottori - a bit like an Ochiai junior.

Yup, that's him.

https://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2025/07/03/kiji/20250703s00005000320000c.html?page=1

That Sponichi article pointed out that Nishimura was at one point sandanme tsukedashi-eligible, from his finishing runner-up in the 2023 Inter-High School championship. (It took place in August, so he would have needed to turn pro by July 2024 to avail himself of it within the usual one-year time limit.)

Edited July 5 by Asashosakari

[maglor 132]

I don't understand the point of the one-year time limit. At the very least there should be allowances for rikishi who get it during high school or college to turn pro after their respective graduation. Seems like an easy way to draw more talent to the sport. And what's the downside? Some dude doesn't practice sumo for a couple years and goes 2-5 from Sd90TD? who cares

[Asashosakari 20,285]

I agree in principle, although without any publicly given rationale for any of the tsukedashi rules, it's difficult to know why things are the way they are. The short time limit could be on request of the high school and collegiate levels, so that guys who earn TD eligibility early don't have a perpetual off-ramp from their respective teams and/or so that they continue to be motivated to perform.

It used to be two years before the changes back in 2000 that made it tougher to obtain tsukedashi status all around, so certainly at the time it was simply assumed that the one-year time limit was just another part of the whole "we really don't want anybody starting above maezumo if we can help it" package. But obviously it was never confirmed either way. Given that they have rolled back nearly everything else that was changed back then, maybe the short time limit does have reasons that continue to exist.

Edited July 6 by Asashosakari

[Kintamayama 47,335]

4 underwent the tests today. Including Makushita tsukedashi eligible Kawakami.

Edited July 7 by Kintamayama

[Akinomaki 41,849]

49 minutes ago, Kintamayama said:

4 underwent the tests today. Including Makushita tsukedashi eligible Kawakami.

No pics so far, odd. Local TV had a news clip

 

Edited July 7 by Akinomaki

[Akinomaki 41,849]

29 minutes ago, Akinomaki said:

No pics so far, odd. Local TV had a news clip

It didn't take place in the new arena, but a hospital (Chunichi! hospital) - rights restricted for the NSK

Edited July 7 by Akinomaki

[Kintamayama 47,335]

4 hours ago, Akinomaki said:

No pics so far, odd. Local TV had a news clip

 

Looks like Tatsunami Oyakata. A lot.

[Asashosakari 20,285]

Chunichi Shimbun video:

 

[Akinomaki 41,849]

No pics from the NSK, but the papers had some later

Main focus on Kawakami

o o o o

afterwards

o o o

one pic from Nishimura

o

several more videos - bilingual flash news from Kyodo

Aichi TV

 

Edited July 8 by Akinomaki

[Katooshu 3,485]

Nishimura and Kawakami are both very good and it would surprise me if either didn't at least make juryo. Nishimura is mature in body and sumo, so I think can move faster than most high level high schoolers.

Kawakami is very strong and stable, but I do have concerns about how his body will hold up given that he so often uses raw power moves - like tsuridashi-ing a larger opponent halfway across the dohyo. His brother Ryuko retired prematurely at 22 due to injury....

Edited July 8 by Katooshu

[Yubinhaad 11,975]

On 04/07/2025 at 08:43, Akinomaki said:

one late middle school graduate, Akiho Sato 佐藤明峰 (16, Maruyama sumo club/Kashiwa no.2 middle school, Chiba) for Arashio-beya.

Originally from Kesennuma in Miyagi prefecture. Sato intended to enter in March after graduating from junior high school, but he suffered a knee injury in one of his final keiko sessions with his sumo club, and ended up on crutches for a while. Arashio-oyakata (former Maegashira Sokokurai) told him not to rush and enter when he was fully recovered, which he is now. Sato first met him while in elementary school, and like his shisho did, he wants to become a rikishi who will also inspire children to get involved in sumo. On the dohyo, his role model is Wakatakakage, he says he can't keep up with the speed of his techniques in the keikoba but is watching closely to learn from him.

 

Edited July 11 by Yubinhaad

[Naganoyama 6,043]

NSK data:
SHIKONA	KANJI	NAME	HEYA	HEIGHT	WEIGHT	DOB	BIRTHPLACE
Nishimura	西村	Nishimura Kazuma	Otowayama	175	153	12 - June - 2007	Kyoto
Ryusho Hiroyasu	竜翔  裕康	Kawakami Ryusho	Oitekaze	185	122	01 - October - 2002	Kumamoto
Sato	佐藤	Sato Akiho	Arashio	175	117	13 - May - 2009	Tokyo
Takahara	高原	Takahara Keito	Futagoyama	178	119	22 - March - 2007	Kanagawa

 

[Asashosakari 20,285]

Day 3

No additional returnees have turned up, so we're presumably getting a complete roundrobin of the four participants across three days.

Results:

Mz1   Tatsubayama (0-1)       Mz2   Takahara (1-0)
Mz3   Sato (0-1)              Mz4   Nishimura (1-0)

The less informed quarters of the internet have already been doing the usual "he's Mongolian so he must be destined for greatness" song and dance about Tatsubayama across the last couple of months, so here's hoping this loss to Takahara was a bit of a wake-up call. Perhaps it's just me, but he looks less athletic than we're typically used to seeing from upper-tier high school amateurs. Takahara for his part is obviously a bit undersized at 178 cm / 119 kg, but he clearly makes up for it with a large helping of dohyo smarts and in this case he arguably managed to almost match his much larger opponent in power, too, leading to his fairly decisive victory.

(Abema's camera angles made it difficult to see what the post-bout confusion was about. Did Tomosaburo point wrong, then right, then wrong again, and finally right? Or did he have it correct with the West side to begin with and just got flustered by some shimpan remark that briefly made him point East?)

The second match between Sato and Nishimura (or "Nishihara" as I'm pretty sure the yobidashi called out) was roughly what we usually expect to see when a middle school graduate meets a top high schooler, but to his credit Sato didn't get totally rolled over. He's likely to end up winless in this small field, but I'm sure he and Arashio-beya will be able to put it in context and not let it get him down too much. Still, Nishimura didn't have to do much so this hasn't told us a whole lot about him yet.

The standings in simplified form this basho, as it would be really pointless to have multiple columns for just four guys:

Mz1  Tatsubayama  Tokitsukaze  0-1
Mz2  Takahara     Futagoyama   1-0
Mz3  Sato         Arashio      0-1
Mz4  Nishimura    Otowayama    1-0

[Asashosakari 20,285]

Day 4

Procedurally we continue in the usual fashion at least for this day, so it's winner vs winner and loser vs loser.

Results:

Mz1   Tatsubayama (1-1)       Mz3   Sato (0-2)
Mz4   Nishimura (1-1)         Mz2   Takahara (2-0)

Another day, another bout for Sato against an aite who's quite a bit older and 40 kg heavier, and so it also looked quite a bit like yesterday's loss. Regardless, the more interesting matchup of the day was always going to be the other one, and Takahara once again employed his superior maneuverability, catching the larger Nishimura flatfooted, and quickly pounced for the win. I think that has to be considered at least a minor upset. We'll have to see how it plays in full tournaments, but for now I have to say that I'm really liking the casual self-confidence with which Takahara is doing his sumo.

It would be strange if tomorrow's pairings are something other than what will complete the roundrobin, i.e. Takahara vs Sato and Tatsubayama vs Nishimura. In the unlikely case of Sato defeating Takahara, perhaps we'll see an additional match to get somebody to 3 wins (presumably 2-1 Takahara against the winner of the other initial bout), otherwise we should be done after those two matches. I'm looking forward to Tatsubayama - Nishimura; even if it's just maezumo, both arguably have something to prove after their respective losses to Takahara.

Edit: We're already done here, it turns out. How disappointing. The presumed final standings and qualification order:

Mz2  Takahara     Futagoyama   2-0
Mz4  Nishimura    Otowayama    1-1
Mz1  Tatsubayama  Tokitsukaze  1-1
Mz3  Sato         Arashio      0-2

Another edit: Corrected the order of Nishimura and Tatsubayama.

Edited July 21 by Asashosakari

[Asashosakari 20,285]

The standard Kyokai action shots from the two days, plus a spectator video of the first Day 3 bout (Tatsubayama - Takahara), unusually shot from the lowest box seat level.

Okay, and that answers the question: Tomosaburo got it wrong at first.

Edited July 16 by Asashosakari

[Asashosakari 20,285]

Huh, that'll teach me to actually confirm stuff with the torikumi pdf even when things seem obvious. No third day of maezumo this basho after all, so we're already done here. I've re-sorted the Day 4 standings into their presumed finishing order.

[Akinomaki 41,849]

Shinjo shusse hirou today

o

Takahara with a kesho-mawashi of Mita,  Nishimura that one of Kirishima, which he used till day 7, Tatsubayama of Shodai and Sato of Wakatakakage

[Asashosakari 20,285]

The video version of the above. Nishimura was presented ahead of Tatsubayama; I should have seen that coming but didn't, so the final standings in the Day 4 post have undergone another revision.

Shusshin corrections:

• Tatsubayama: モンゴル・ウランバートル Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar (was Tokyo-to, Sumida-ku)
• Sato: 宮城県気仙沼市 Miyagi-ken, Kesennuma-shi (was also Tokyo-to, Sumida-ku)