sumojoann

I saw something strange but interesting in the dressing area after the Meisei/Okinoumi bout, and I'm wondering if any of y'all saw it, too. Meisei lost the bout and was almost in tears. Then Isegahama Oyakata began talking to him in the dressing area and making hand gestures, as if he was coaching him on what he (Meisei) should have done to win the bout. Meisei repeated the hand gestures and Isegahama Oyakata nodded. Then Meisei quickly bowed his head & said something (probably "thank you") and they parted ways. Interesting since Meisei belongs to Tatsunami Beya.

Now that you've edited your comment, I must say I don't know what TNY means.

I'm not sure I would rule out Tobizaru just yet. In his Makuuchi debut in Sept 2020, which I realize was almost 2 years ago, he came close to winning the Yusho. On the last day, he had to defeat Shodai to force a playoff. He lost. However, if he had ended up winning the Yusho, he would have become the first rikishi since Ryogoku Kajinosuke in 1914 to Yusho in his first Makuuchi basho (per wikipedia).

Yes, that's true. However, if several heyas are found to be infected just a few days prior to the start of the newly rescheduled Week 2, they would be dealing with the same problem of being forced to go kyujo. And with the latest Covid variant being so contagious, that's unfortunately a definite possibility.

Shodai ..... 5-4 now with 6 more days to go. Will he get his KK and save his rank? It seems that on daily basis, we never know which Shodai is going to show up. The lethargic, defeated-before-the-bout-starts Shodai, or the big strong uninjured Ozeki who dominates?

In the Wakatakakage/Kotonowaka bout, did anyone notice that Wakatakakage was trying to shift to his left, right at the edge when the gyoji got in his way? I think this might have been the deciding factor in him losing the bout.

The potential problem I see with doing Week 2 in a couple of weeks is that by then, who knows how many other heya might be infected and have to go kyujo.

Please don't feel bad. In all the years I've known you, this is the first time I'm aware of any mistakes you've made. You're very reliable. Thanks so much for the correction.

On Kinta's video, the English announcer commented that the gyoji should not have stopped the bout because "there was still movement" between the 2 rikishi. Is that true? The full quote was "Can't stop it there. Terrible decision by gyoji. There's still movement. Can't do that."

In my 9 years of watching sumo, I've never see anything like this, not under these circumstances. I think Wakamotoharu got robbed.

It's always a pleasure to read the story about each new kesho-mawashi -- the symbolism, why certain colors were chosen, why certain fruits or vegetables were added. A big thank-you to all who have researched these and provided this information. Speaking of which, does anyone know the meaning of the large green spinach-looking leaves on Chiyosakae's new kesho-mawashi?

Yes, that's right! And sometimes tsuppawi. And the lesser known winning kimarite okatidashi. In Akinomaki's thread (see above), Yamanashi says the winning kimarite is often katenage. And Churaumi asked where the meowbidashi was.

Wishing you a Happy Birthday today and many more! Hope you enjoy your special day!

That's a hilarious thread! I especially liked the comments about the cat sumo bout (loved the photo of the 2 cats), specifically the comment by Churaumi, "Hope they pack the dohyo hard...loose sand might cause unfortunate confusion..." As if the cats might think the dohyo was a littler box if the sand wasn't packed hard enough. LOL

Some additional information from wikipedia --- Etymology The spoken word sumō goes back to the verb sumau/sumafu, meaning "compete" or "fight". The written word goes back to the expression sumai no sechi (相撲の節), which was a wrestling competition at the imperial court during the Heian period. The characters from sumai, or sumō today, mean "to strike each other". There is also an alternate spelling of 角力, which can be found in the Nihon Shoki. Here, the first character means "corner", but serves as a phonetic element as one reading of it is sumi, while the second character means "force". Sumō is also a general term for wrestling in Japanese. For example, udezumō (腕相撲, "arm sumō") means "arm wrestling", and yubizumō (指相撲, "finger sumō") means "finger wrestling". The professional sumo observed by the Japan Sumo Association is called ōzumō (大相撲), or "grand sumo".

I sent an email to Jeff at buysumotickets.com regarding which wrestler is retiring on Sept 30 & he said Kotoshogiku.

Did Aminishiki ever get his danpatsu?

If I recall correctly, it's Sept 30 of this year. Aren't there several danpatsu that had to be postponed due to Covid? It's probably one of those. buysumotickets.com is fantastic! Jeff knows that my husband used to go the the Nagoya basho every year so he would always contact us when he was about to start taking pre-orders. He never just waited for us to contact him. If you have a question, they usually answer right away, sometimes in less than an hour! 100% accuracy in all my tickets. I've only been to one basho (Sept 2014), but I bought 8 tickets for me and 3 for my husband. Jeff will try his best to get you the seats you want but if he can't, he asks you ahead of time to tell him your priorities -- do you want to downgrade to a lesser seat on the same day OR do you want him to try another day? He's very detail oriented. I can't say enough good things about him.

I agree with you that you can wing it but only if, like you said, you've been to Japan before and are familiar with getting around and have a flexible schedule. But for someone like Yamanashi who has never been to Japan before, a lot of pre-planning is essential, as you mentioned, in order to have a dream holiday. Even booking a hotel requires pre-planning, especially if you want to stay in a budget hotel close to the Kokugikan during a basho. I can certainly understand that you like to wing it and can generally be successful at it. I must admit that I'm the pre-planning type as is my husband, even though we've been to Japan several times. We don't want to risk missing out and then being disappointed. Before the pandemic, there were occasions when an entire Toyoko Inn (business hotel) was booked by a Chinese travel agency so no rooms were available even 6 months ahead of time! Regarding buysumotickets.com, even before the pandemic, Jeff began offering to help customers obtain tickets to baseball & soccer/football events. He is now offering tickets to NJPW and other pro wrestling events. He has always, or at least for a long time, offered tickets to danpatsu-shiki as well as jungyo events. I looked at his site just now & he's offering tickets to a Sept 30 danpatsu-shiki event. He's also offering tickets to what I think are jungyo events in Aug in several cities, and also tickets to the annual sumo charity event in Feb 2023. A Japanese friend of mine (lives in Japan) buys his ticket to the basho from buysumotickets.com because it's so convenient. I'm sure it's been tough to keep afloat during the pandemic, but by diversifying, he's managed to stay in business. Plus he's honest and 100% reliable. A thought just occurred to me. Another crucial factor that I'm sure has helped his business is the fact that he ships tickets to people's homes and businesses. By using his services, the Japanese wouldn't have to go anywhere (and be exposed to Covid) to purchase their tickets -- just wait for them to come in the mail. Regarding the food, yes, you're right about being able to find good affordable food at and around train stations. And as you of course know, there's a JR train station very close to the Kokugikan with a street right around the corner with numerous little inexpensive places to eat. Also a couple of convenience stores. Even a multi-story McDonald's (try their teriyaki burger. It's good!). That's great that you have a friend who could give you a list of good places to eat. Can't beat that! Now if Japan would just open up to tourists .................................

It never hurts to dream big. Plan your trip with a basho in mind. May and Sept are usually great times to be in Tokyo. Plan months ahead to secure a room in a budget hotel (there's one a 3-min walk from the Kokugikan). Very small but clean. Eat around the corner -- lots of inexpensive little places. Pre-order your basho tickets from Jeff at buysumotickets.com. He's honest & reliable. Plane tickets have really gone up, unfortunately. That's what credit cards are for. Dream big. Make it happen. PM me if you would like further information.

I admire all y'alls hard work and dedication to the sport of sumo. Indeed, what an honor to host Robert Fuimaono and Justin Kizzart. Justin must be in his late 30s, yet he is in amazing condition. Questions -- Will any of the members of the Dallas Sumo Club be attending the World Games as spectators? By the time you make your next video, will the Games be over? It would be interesting to hear the impressions of anyone who attended.

I purposely chose to use the word "before" to distinguish which zero I was referring to since there are 3 other zeros in the telephone number. I made the decision that it would be easier to understand for some people. And once again, my focus was on Japan, not "many countries", since Japan was the subject of the discussion along with Kakuryu. If anyone wishes to discuss telephone systems of the world, may I suggest starting a new thread?

That's correct that the initial zero is commonly dropped when dialing internationally. We were discussing Japan in this thread, not the rest of the world.

I would hardly say that "Event Planner" is the "most appropriate" for Yokozuna Kakuryu!

Yes, I agree that adding your country access code (prefix) is not unusual. However, when you are inside Japan, I believe you always dial a zero before the telephone number, at least in the larger cities. When you call from outside Japan, you drop the zero before the telephone number. In this case, I'm referring to the zero in front of the 3. The telephone number as shown on Facebook has dropped the zero (before the 3), leading me to conclude that either whoever set up this Facebook page is expecting to receive calls from outside Japan or not expecting to receive calls from within Japan. OR, a mistake was made & the zero was accidentally left off the Facebook page. (I'm a retired AT&T employee with 27 years of service. Please excuse my focus on such details!). In any case, the key tip-off that the Facebook account was NOT set up by Kakuryu himself is "event planner" listed next to his name at the top. Like you, Stupidface, I would like to hire him for my next "event!" lol But yours would be higher priority than mine!