shimodahito

much thanks, jonosuke. oonami and shima are off to a good start.

good day all, were there any shikona changes? i can't seem to find tochinonami (last jk1w) and shima (last jk40w). also did daibanjaku (last sd28w) retire? thanks. -shimodahito

good day all, i am leaving town for the weekend and won't be near a computer before tomorrow's deadline. so at the risk of giving my opponent an edge i must put my day 7 picks here, as i don't know who the gyogi is for the day. could someone please pass on to the BS makuuchi gyoji. with regrets, shimodahito 4 asashoryu 3 kyokushuzan 3 jumonji 2 chiyotaikai 2 wakanosato b1 aminishiki b2 hokutoriki b3 kakizoe b4 takamisakari b5 kyokutenho

good day all, and a photo of one of the platters at the head table. the arrangement of the meat is the traditional mongolian way for important feasts. that's the head on the top facing away from the camera. -shimodahito

and these?

and these?

good day all, believe me, this rikishi was NOT familiar with the eagle dance. how about these blokes?

thanks, but how do i insert more than 1 image per message. "PICTURE" text, text, text. "PICTURE" and how can i write some text after i insert the image? -

good day all, and here's a shot of the rikishi doing his best performance of the eagle dance that mongolian wrestlers do before and after matches. can anyone identify who he is? -shimodahito

good day all, it was a long day for asa and tamir. i'm not sure how their morning went, but the actual ceremony started at 5 pm outside in the back yard of the mongolian president's residence with drums beating. they both rode in on horses, dismounted, and walked to a large cauldron that was about 10 meters in front of the head table. they stirred the airag, filled some cups and offered drinks to their parents that were already seated at the head table. the whole time this was going on, contortionists were bending and twisting; and the three bands were playing (the mongolian national symphony, the national folk orchestra, and the national military band). both were dressed in traditional mongolian attire. then they sat and speeches and good wishes were given as dinner was served to the approximateley 300 guests. dolgorsuren, asa's father, gave a speech and toast. dinner continued as the national song and dance ensemble performed, symbolic gifts of a bow and arrow were presented to asa (he set the arrow and stretched the bow, aiming to the nearby mountains, but did not shoot); and a mori khuur, which is a square, cello-looking instrument with a wooden carved horse-head on the top was also presented. famous player batchuluun, played a song with the instrument before giving it to asa (asa sat down and attempted to pluck out a tune.....which got a big laugh from the guests). more dinner, more songs, more entertainment including a mongolian fashion show. this is when a light rain started falling. guest and head tables had canopies over the top, but the musicians were left without cover. selected guests, including the japanese ambassador, gave public congratulatory wishes. then asa (who had changed during the fashion show) performed a dohyo-ri ceremony. afterwards, 15 mongolian wrestlers plus 1 rikishi from asa's stable held a mongolian wrestling tournament. the rikishi was eliminated in the first round. the rain was heaviest during the last rounds of the tournament, then it quit. more words from tamir's and asa's fathers, then asa and tamir gave a speech of thanks to all who attended. he was in tears for parts of the speech. then more music and singers performed as the couple went around to each table and personally thanked every guest that attended. tamir was impressive. i think she is very smart and sincere. when she thanked the guests (most of whom she didn't even know)....she really meant it. more speeches from guests, more dancing from the ensemble, and more folk and opera singers. finally, kisses were given to the parents and the horses arrived to take them away. that was half the evening. can someone list all the participants in the dohyo-ri?

good day all, i have some .jpg pix that i'd like to share with the forum. but my computer knowledge is limited and i can't figure out how to cut and paste them in the text of my message. the 'IMG' button asks for a URL link.....huh? and the 'browse' button allows me to find only one image from my hard drive, but only the file name, rather than the picture itself shows up when i use the 'preview post' button. a simple cut and paste doesn't seem to work either. H:\sumo\wedding\rikishi-1.JPG

good day all, speaking of choking..... (and i haven't had a chance to search all the posts to see if someone else mentioned this)..... during the asa-hoku playoff, i really think i heard the yobidashi singing "chiiiiiyoooo...hokuuutoooriiiiiiiiiiiikiiiiiiii" when he anounced the west side. he started singing chiyotaikai. did anyone else catch that? -shimodahito

good day all, asashosakari...THANKS....that's a fantastic web site. the reason i asked the question was because i read that in this tournament a lower division rikishi had set the record for most consecutive make-koshi bashos. -shimodahito

good day all, does anyone know how i can find the list of top 10 rikishi for most consecutive kachi-koshi tournaments. i think musashimaru has the record with 52, but i'm interested in who #2 through #10 are, and if there are any active rikishi on the list. thanks. -shimodahito

good day all, did anyone watch this bout? kasuga was backing kaiho up, and kaiho--assuming he was going to lose--gave up and relaxed....but did NOT step out of the ring. kasuga on the other hand--assuming he would win after kaiho relaxed--kept walking forward and stepped out of the ring. even on the replay, i noticed it. kasuganishiki's foot touched well ahead of kaiho.... but the gyoji gave kasuga the win....there was no mono-ii. i'm not sure if dale has the replay, but i'd like to know if anyone else noticed this. -shimodahito by the way....what a great basho. in ulaanbaatar, every car radio had the matches on, two TV stations, and NHK for cable owners. you could hear cars honking the day asa jr. beat kokkai, and the day he beat kaio. and again when asa sr. beat chiyo.

good day all, sorry...i've been away from the forum for awhile. i've moved, and i'm trying to get settled into my new digs....ulaanbaatar. i still want to work on this project about the first gaijins of sumo. anyone know about that kid who came from peru to become a short-lived rikishi? -shimodahito

thanks all, this is a good start. i didn't know about mr. strange. did he compete in any basho? what was his final record and highest rank? does anyone have anything on the other gaijin's i mentioned? - shimodahito

good day all, before i make my request, i just want to say that moti's web page sparked my curiosity on this topic. i'm trying to get a photo of the first gaijin (foreign) rikishis from each represented country. sort of a who's who of imported rikishi pioneers. i'd also like a short (paragraph or two) brief on their career highlights, notable events during their life, real name, hometown, and maybe how they got involved with sumo enough to make the trip to japan. if they are no longer in sumo, i'd like to know how/why they left. getting pictures and info of the ones that never really moved up the banzuke will be the hardest part. here's my guess on who was the first. argentina - hoshitango or hoshiandesu? brazil - wakaazuma or ikemori (kuniazuma)? bulgaria - kotosho canada - kototenka (i've got enough info and pix on him) china - nakao? czech republic - takanoyama georgia - kokkai (i've got the picture) kazakstan - i've got to wait until the new kid gets on a banzuke......moti will need a new color for his home page :) korea - kimu (kasugao)? if so, i've got the picture. there may be controversy here because there may have been japanese of korean descent or japanese born in korea before. let's just stick with the first korean from korea....and then maybe add some footnotes. mongolia - kyokushuzan (i've got enough info and pix on him) peru - nagai russia - orora tonga - minaminoshima and hisanoumi united states - takamiyama (i've got enough info and pix on him) western samoa - nankairyu (i've got enough info and pix on him) i'd also like to know about wakanami yoshimitsu from karafuto (sakhalin). he made it to M19 sometime between 1935 and 1942. was he the first from karafuto? is yokozuna taiho from hokkaido or sakhalin? is sumo still popular on sakhalin? or better yet, was it ever popular? maybe wakanami was just a rare exception. finally, were these two japanese, or ainu? thanks. shimodahito.

good day all, i made this suggestion a few months ago....it's worth a second look. expanding the divisions doesn't bother me too much, but this kosho proposal........it seems the kyokai council is going from one extreme to the other. current rules: if you're injured and sit out a tournament you maintain your rank. new rule: if you're injured and sit out a tournament you drop 15. how about a solution that falls somewhere in the middle.... if i were rijicho for a day, this would be my new rules: rule 1A. any rikishi from the rank of maegashira all the way down to jonokuchi that sits out a tournament will automatically be demoted 3 ranks on the next banzuke. they will not be allowed to retain their rank as the current rules allow. rule 1B. if the rikishi is absent for a 2nd consecutive tournament, he will be demoted 6 more ranks on the next banzuke. a 3rd consecutive tournament equals a demotion of 12 positions. 4th equals 24. 5th equals 48. this will continue to double until the rikishi is in the last position on the banzuke. rule 2A: any rikishi ranked komusubi or sekiwake that sits out a tournament will automatically be demoted 1 rank on the next banzuke. rule 2B: if a rikishi was demoted to maegashira #1 from komusubi because he sat out a tournament and decides to sit out another tournament, rule 1A and 1B will take effect. rule 3A: any rikishi ranked ozeki that sits out a tournament will automatically be demoted to sekiwake on the next banzuke. rule 3Ai: 10 wins during the next basho will promote him back to ozeki. rule 3Aii: if he his absent the next basho, rule 2A and 2B will take effect. rule 3Aiii: 8 or 9 wins will keep him at sekiwake indefinitely until 10 wins can be achieved. rule 3Aiv: a make-koshi will leave him at the mercy of the banzuke committee. rule 4A: rules for injured yokuzuna rikishi will not change. benefits of the above rules: ** knowing that you will be demoted, there is incentive not to sit out a tournament. this is especially true if you're on the bubble.....sitting out = juryo. ** eliminates doctors who may be inclined to declare inaccurate healing times for injuries. or might say an legitimate injury did not happen during a basho, resulting in an 0-15, non kosho record. ** it is somewhat of a compromise of the current options for rikishi who sit out. currently, if they get kosho there is no punishment. if they don't get kosho, they could drop up to 15 positions. this is absurdly biased. a guy with no kosho status that sits is probably really hurting! and a guy with kosho status is possibly well enough to compete. that's crazy! ** allows rikishi to sit out a tournament for a non-injury reason without getting hit too hard. i personally don't care why a rikishi sits out. maybe for injury. maybe to grieve for a death in the family. maybe to take the wife on vacation. i don't care....because whatever the reason, they WILL be demoted. it's a decision each rikishi (and oyakata) will have to make. the banzuke committee (and doctors) will hate my rules because it takes power away from them. the number of positions a rikishi drops due to absence is now standardized. to counter their resistance i would remind them that they have great responsibility in deciding the ranking of a rikishi who misses a portion of a basho. where do you place someone who finishes 6-2-7? or 7-0-8? or 7-6-2? or 7-7-1? 5-0-10? this is where the wisdom and integrity of the committee is greatly valued. that's it. tear it up, praise it, agree, disagree, change it, blast it, or quietly slip it into rijicho's pocket. -shimodahito

good day all, i thought 4-5 rikishi had an outstanding tournament. can anyone explain or speculate why the kanto-sho was not awarded? -shimodahito

yeah...i'm a bit shocked no one answered. maybe they are still researching. personally, i think there may have been more than 10.....but i bet 10 is the highest without an ozeki or yokozuna's name in the mix. i'd still like to know.....so i'll wait. have the sumo stat gurus really been stumped???? -shimodahito

yeah...i'm a bit shocked no one answered. maybe they are still researching. personally, i think there may have been more than 10.....but i bet 10 is the highest without an ozeki or yokozuna's name in the mix. i'd still like to know.....so i'll wait. have the sumo stat gurus really been stumped????

good day all, on day 8 there were 10 rikishi tied for the lead. is this a nakabi record? -shimodahito

good day all, it seems we have two extremes. an 0-0-15 record WITH kosho will allow a rikishi to maintain rank, while an 0-0-15 record WITHOUT kosho can drop a rikishi by as many as 15 spots. this is my suggested rules if i were rijicho for a day. rule 1A. any rikishi from the rank of maegashira all the way down to jonokuchi that sits out a tournament will automatically be demoted 3 ranks on the next banzuke. they will not be allowed to retain their rank as the current rules allow. rule 1B. if the rikishi is absent for a 2nd consecutive tournament, he will be demoted 6 more ranks on the next banzuke. a 3rd consecutive tournament equals a demotion of 12 positions. 4th equals 24. 5th equals 48. this will continue to double until the rikishi is in the last position on the banzuke. rule 2A: any rikishi ranked komusubi or sekiwake that sits out a tournament will automatically be demoted 1 rank on the next banzuke. rule 2B: if a rikishi was demoted to maegashira #1 from komusubi because he sat out a tournament and decides to sit out another tournament, rule 1A and 1B will take effect. rule 3A: any rikishi ranked ozeki that sits out a tournament will automatically be demoted to sekiwake on the next banzuke. rule 3Ai: 10 wins during the next basho will promote him back to ozeki. rule 3Aii: if he his absent the next basho, rule 2A and 2B will take effect. rule 3Aiii: 8 or 9 wins will keep him at sekiwake indefinitely until 10 wins can be achieved. rule 3Aiv: a make-koshi will leave him at the mercy of the banzuke committee. rule 4A: rules for yokuzuna rikishi will not change. benefits of the above rules: ** knowing that you will be demoted, there is incentive not to sit out a tournament. this is especially true if you're on the bubble.....sitting out = juryo. ** eliminates doctors who may be inclined to declare inaccurate healing times for injuries. ** eliminates stupid doctors that might say an legitimate injury did not happen during a basho (takonowaka comes to mind), resulting in an 0-15, non kosho record. ** it is somewhat of a compromise of the current options for rikishi who sit out. currently, if they get kosho there is no punishment. if they don't get kosho, they could drop up to 15 positions. this is absurdly biased. a guy with no kosho status that sits is probably really hurting! and a guy with kosho status is possibly well enough to compete. that's crazy! ** allows rikishi to sit out a tournament for a non-injury reason without getting hit too hard. i personally don't care why a rikishi sits out. maybe for injury. maybe to grieve for a death in the family. maybe to take the wife on vacation. i don't care....because whatever the reason, they WILL be demoted. it's a decision each rikishi (and oyakata) will have to make. the banzuke committee (and doctors) will hate my rules because it takes power away from them. the number of positions a rikishi drops due to absence is now standardized. to counter their resistance i would remind them that they have great responsibility in deciding the ranking of a rikishi who misses a portion of a basho. where do you place someone who finishes 6-2-7? or 7-0-8? or 7-6-2? or 7-7-1? 5-0-10? this is where the wisdom and integrity of the committee is greatly valued. that's it. tear it up, praise it, agree, disagree, change it, blast it, or quietly slip it into rijicho's pocket. does all the discussion and debate about kadoban/kyujo/kosho stimulate interest and attract new fans? or is the debate a frustrating irritant (like mawashi rash) that loses sumo fans off? -shimodahito