Vancouver BC Sumo Fan 65 Posted September 14 Upon arriving at our hotel, my first sumo purchase ever was waiting for me; a yukata given to one of Chiyonofuji's supporters by Chiyonofuji himself back in the 80s. He is my all-time favourite rikishi. I have watched his bouts hundreds of times, and seen all the documentaries multiple times. I had plans for this yukata and you'll hear about them later. My contact at Tatsunami, let's call him Tee, had arranged for me to visit on August 8. I had asked for August 6, my birthday, but they weren't sure they'd be training that day. However, Tee contacted me on August 4 and asked if I'd want to switch to August 6 because the rikishi had decided to get back to training earlier. I was going to Tatsunami ON MY BIRTHDAY. Yes. My partner Vivian and I arrived at Tatsunami beya at about 7:15am. I mildly freaked out and jumped up and down a little. We waited outside and talked to one of the tour guides who was a bit taken aback by a foreigner who actually knew more about sumo than him. He was still calling Fujinokawa his old shikona, Wakaikari, and I corrected him on that. We stood outside until about 7:40am, hearing the "slap slap slap" of the boys getting training going. Seia, the new assistant at Tatsunami, came outside and tried to talk to Vivian and I in Japanese. My guy Tee said to mention that Okami-san knew we were there as official members of the International Fan Club and he ushered us in and pointed to a set of sliding doors that were closed. He must have said "Open on up" as he gestured an "Open the doors" sign with his hands...and I did...and there were all the guys except for Hoshoryu, Hokuyozan, and Mei Sei training away by themselves. Literally just Vivian and I alone watching the guys train. For 15 minutes. Magic. Then one of the assistants came in and asked us to move over to the front far corner from the door and we did so. Kazuto came over and handed us 2 pillows to sit on. "For you", he said. "Arrigato, Kazuto-san." Wow, right? He gave them to us specifically because he knew that paying supporters were coming and they'd be in first before the tourists. The. Guys. Knew. US. All the tourists filtered in behind us and not one of them were given pillows. We were honoured guests. Mei Sei entered the room and you could feel his presence as a sekitori as he was given much respect and glances and he had comments for the rikishi as Oyakata was not there (he and Hosh were off on the summer tour as of that morning, as per a later comment from Okami-san). We then watched them practice for about 2 hours. There was a point where Yukiamami came over to do push ups right in front of us against the stage, like 2 feet from us, and I turned to Vivian and said "Yukiamami!!" in a whisper, but he heard me and smiled a little and nodded, which is a lot coming from the stoic Yukiamami. At the end we were the first people allowed to take photos with the rikishi and all the other tourists were shooed away so we could get the best shots. As the tourists got their pics done after us, some kid ignored Akua giving him a "You're a cool guy" comment and trying to give him a fist bump. I came to see the whole circus aspect of how most tourists treat sumo wrestlers. I did not enjoy that. I then had my first face-to-face meeting with Tee. After months of back and forth talking about the club...this was very, very welcome. Great guy. I gave him a box of maple cookies he said he'd share with his kids. I hope they liked them. All the tourists were then asked to leave. We, however, were not tourists and we got to stay for an hour and hang with the guys. Akua was the chattiest and Yarden was there to act as interpreter as he spoke both English and Japanese very well. Akua gave Vivian a fist bump. Ya. Awesome. He also really liked my tattoos and we chatted it over. He asked us where we were from, what we'd been doing in Japan so far, and asked us if we'd been to Senso-ji yet, which was nearby. We had not and he urged us to go. More on that later... During this talk with the guys we turned around and exclaimed "OKAMI-SAN!" in unison as we saw her at the back of the room. She burst out in a huge smile seeing two foreigners who were obviously fans who knew not only the rikishi but also who she was. Okami-san was very thankful for the gifts that we brought of maple syrup and a drawing of the wrestlers, and was very impressed I gave a gift to Tee. So was so thankful she had the guys film a reaction video to the rikishi seeing the drawing my partner did--expect to see this in a future episode on their YouTube channel! Yep, Vivian and I are for real for real part of the Tatsunami culture now! In thanks for our gifts, we were given an official Tatsunami supporter t-shirt and a pencil case with their logo, which includes the famous Tokyo Skytree, visible from the moment you walk out the front door of Tatsunami beya. Right about now is when Syunrai came into the room and Vivian had Yarden translate a chat back and forth that started with her saying "You're my favourite wrestler here" to him. Syunrai asked why, she said "Because you're the cutest." He pointed at his dimples and said "Because of this?!?" We all laughed and he said he was embarrassed. I mean, like, he IS the cutest. Okaryu and Kazuto also came in, eating huge chilli dogs. I found it funny. We said hello to Okaryu, Kazuto, Kitadaichi, and Taranami by name and they nodded or said hello back. This was right about when Vivian mentioned that it was indeed my birthday. Yarden then motioned to Syunrai to come over and Okami-san and Tee started filming. Yarden and Syunrai then sang happy birthday to me. I was ...so far besides myself I was numb. Best. Birthday. EVER. Ya, I have a video of it! It was also the birthday of hairdresser Tokokei and Okami-san flagged him down for a photo of the two of us flexing our muscles. He then gave me a fist bump and a handshake. He was a real ham, great guy. Okami-san thanked us again and again, and commented how happy she was that we were there. We felt the "party winding down" vibe and started making our way to the door. We were putting our shoes on when we saw the room where they always eat as Taranami (more from him later...) came out. I pointed and went "That's where the dining room is!" and Taranami saw my excitement and grinned. I chatted with Tee for a bit outside and Okamai-san came out for one last thank you and a chat, too. I will treasure all of this forever. Giving and receiving love from those at Tatsunami has been one of the greatest honours of my life. We then hopped in a cab and drove directly to the Ryogoku Kokugikan. I bought a STACK of stuff; Two entire boxes of sumo cards--yes, I got the whole set AND a Daieisho autograph card! Flags for Hoshoryu, Mei Sei, and Kotozakura for me, plus Asakoryu for a friend. Hoshoryu magnets A Mei Sei keychain Replica tegata for Hoshoryu and Onosato. A Terunofuji t-shirt. A huge towel with a cartoon version of Onosato holding the blade and wearing his Yokozuna gear, plus another towel with cartoon versions of all current makuuchi rikishi. Last, a wonderful reversible jacket with the Kokugikan and some cartoon rikishi on one side and incredibly colourful Nobori flags on the inside. The bill hit 50,000 yen and I coulda spent twice as much. They had these cool statues of Onosato as Yokozuna, Atamifuji, Kotozakura, and Ura. The staff laughed as I pointed and exclaimed the name of each statue. Not picking up one is a big regret. Next time... After all this we went back home and rested. We went to Senso-ji in the evening, as Akua suggested. I walked by myself as my family went ahead of me (I had consumed a bottle of sake at this point...it was my birthday). While walking I saw a guy riding a bicycle who looked familiar...and had a top knot! It was Taranami of Tatsunami who I had seen earlier that day! He saw me looking at him with my Terunofuji t-shirt on and gave me a knowing look and a nod. He was not wearing his yukata so I figured he was on time for himself, so I left him alone. What a crazy Tatsunami day! Kokonoe beya The former Kokonoe beya was left to the family of Chiyonofuji when he passed. They turned it into a restaurant called Chanko Nabe Chiyonofuji. He's my all-time favourite rikishi. I had to go, right? I was outside looking at the statue of Chiyonofuji they have out there--a bust--when an old man on a bicycle stopped to point at the statue and say "Chiyonofuji! Chiyonofuji!" I smiled and said "Yes, I know." but he clearly did not speak English. So I gave him the international hand sign for "wait here" with my hands. Remember that yukata I talked about at the start? Yes, I brought it. I pulled it out of my bag and showed the old man the yukata with "Chiyonofuji" written on it over and over and the look on that old man's face...still warms my heart today. A group of 4 women in their early 50s also saw me as they went into the restaurant and didn't seem to understand why this big goofy white guy was flaunting this Chiyonofuji yukata, but they looked intrigued. I put my yukata back in my bag and went in. The first person I saw was, unmistakably, Kumiko--Chiyonofuji's wife. I was so nervous right away and here she was asking me to take my shoes off and showing me where to put them. After taking my shoes off, I told her, via Google translate, that I did not have a reservation and I only needed 1 seat. She said ok. I said I had something to show her and pulled the yukata out. I told her this was from the 80s and was given to one of Chiyonofuji's supporters by the man himself. This yukata was once in Chiyonofuji's hands. She touched her hands to her mouth for a moment and touched the fabric gingerly with a wistful smile. I sat down with my yukata on and ordered the chanko nabe and some rice. Kumiko came over and asked me to follow her. Yes, absolutely, I will follow you literally anywhere. She took me to the dohyo they had preserved and the staff took my phone...they took pictures of me on the dohyo at Kokonoe beya!!!! I'm standing just to the side of the huge Chiyonofuji portrait they have. Those 4 ladies who saw me outside? They all gave me a thumbs up and it got everyone in the restaurant to do the same! Pretty surreal. I had several conversations with Kumiko and the staff. Wonderful people. During a chat with Kumiko I told her that I was going to go to Chiyonofuji's grave tomorrow wearing my yukata to honour him. She seemed touched by this. I did indeed do just that. Wonderful statue of him. The staff asked me how I was doing and I replied "I'm so happy I could cry." I noticed the shirts all the staff had on and asked if I could buy one, whatever cost they felt was fair. They said yes and it's in my shirt drawer right now! Kumiko then came over to me with a paper bag with gifts! She gave me the most recent banzuke, a fresh table placemat, 3 drink coasters, and my staff shirt was in there. "A BANZUKE!?!" I exclaimed and they all smiled and chuckled. I finished eating around now and one of the staff came over with two tea cups--one with Chiyonofuji on it with a fish and Mount Fuji in the background, the other of top-ranked rikishi from his time. "Extra", the staff said. I was, once again, beside myself and saying thank you in every language I knew. Just the best, best time. I asked if it would be ok if I took pictures of the art around the restaurant and they said yes. I had a chat with one of the 4 ladies I saw coming in and she spoke good english so we had a chat and she said she was very happy I was there and knew who Chiyonofuji was. I sat down and the 4 looked over and we raised our glasses to one another. "To Chiyonofuji!" I told them I was ready to pay my bill and they brought over the machine but asked me to wait before I left. I waited in the hallway and a staff member took my picture with all of his trophies and his yokozuna belt they had on display but still they asked me not to leave...Kumiko wanted one more picture with me! I had taken my yukata off at this point but we went outside and took photos of Kumiko and I standing on either side of the Kokonoe logo. As she was saying goodbye she looked down at the shirt I was wearing--Terunofuji. She saw this and laughed saying his name...and patted me on the belly. Chiyonofuji's wife, Kumiko, patted me on the belly. Like a good pal would. I had felt...my nerves go through the roof earlier when our hands brushed as I accepted the bag from her...but this... I left Kokonoe Beya laughing crazier than any Joker laugh and floated the whole way home to the house I'd rented. The. End. Sorry this was so long. I'm a professional writer/editor and love detail. ;-D Uploading photos on here is not easy so I'm gonna skip it. 8 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yarimotsu 637 Posted September 15 No need to apologise for telling the whole story, I was smiling the whole way through. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Morning 94 Posted September 15 Congrats, sounds like your had a lot of fun. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kishinoyama 623 Posted September 15 I wish we could see some of the photos from this adventure! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vancouver BC Sumo Fan 65 Posted September 15 9 hours ago, Kishinoyama said: I wish we could see some of the photos from this adventure! I'll find some time to do some pic uploading later this week! The text had been sitting for a couple weeks and I wanted to tell the story. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vancouver BC Sumo Fan 65 Posted September 19 I decided I don't want to post my face ...anywhere on the Internet, at all anymore. However, behold; my stuff! This is my Chiyonofuji yukata. I bought it from a vintage kimono seller. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vancouver BC Sumo Fan 65 Posted September 19 Reversible jacket, even the zipper switches sides. Both sides are loud...one is LOUDER. Haha. Purchased at the Kokugikan. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vancouver BC Sumo Fan 65 Posted September 19 Alright, Onosato fan towel and buncha rikishi fan towel. Not sure what to do with these, honestly. I don't want to actually rub Onosato all over my wet body. Hang it? I dunno. Very cool. The tegata are Hoshoryu and Onosato, they are printed replicas. All these were purchased at the Kokugikan. The bottom is the placemat and tea cups given to me by Kumiko, Chiyonofuji's wife, at Chanko Nabe Chiyonofuji restaurant. I couldn't find the coasters given to me. Didn't take a pic of the banzuke as you know what that looks like. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vancouver BC Sumo Fan 65 Posted September 19 The paper on the left wrapped the Onosato towel. Looked dope. Have another that's kinda purple from the rikishi towel. Kotozakura, Hoshoryu and Mei Sei flags for me. Hoshoryu magnet and stickers. Midorifuji keychain and Asakoryu flag for friends. All purchased at the Kokugikan. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vancouver BC Sumo Fan 65 Posted September 19 Last one! The staff shirt worn by members of the Chiyonofuji restaurant, purchased there and given to me by Kumiko, Chiyonofuji's wife. The members-only t-shirt given to me by Tatsunami Okami-san. My partner has the pencil case at work. And last, the Terunofuji shirt and Mei Sei keychain purchased at the Kokugikan! All I want is to go back and get more stuff! The NBA and MLB aren't getting a dollar out of me for a while. I need more sumo merch! Oh ya, I might post a video of my complete set of sumo trading cards tomorrow. 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
