Yasashiryu

Happy and sad for him at the same time.

Yoshikaze always pulls the exotic/uncommon kimarite, not sure it's premeditated or just "oh crap i'm in dire straits, let me pull a leg or an arm!", regardless, great fun to watch. Not a fan of Kisenosato but it looks like he's standing way too tall, he has a great abiliy to lower his center of gravity (for a guy of his size) and standing tall like he has done in the past 2 bouts ends up opening lots of space for the opposed rikishi. Great stuff today specially with Guro's videos now having sound! :D

Yeah, very one sided perspective, doesn't make much sense considering you see this happen all the time on the higher division.

Is it possible to have sound? Also what sort of capture program are you using? Cheers and thanks for this.

Great pictures, feel free to share more all. :) A ton of old historical stuff, including women in fundoshi: https://www.flickr.com/photos/okinawa-soba/sets/72157604412233226

Henka has always been a part of sumo and legal; sure, people can discuss the validity, spirit of the act and their own morally charged view about it but it remains as valid as any kimarite (although, like the name suggests, it's not a kimarite but rather a strategic change of flow/move to set up a kimarite proper). Said it better than myself: http://www.sumoforum.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=13872&p=131573

Sigh, after watching 14 minutes without understanding a word though I did get the general gist of most things I guess it's time to learn japanese, would love for us filthy westerners to have subtitled versions of these interviews, not just with the big guys but overall the interviews and special broadcasts about different rikishi, etc, I bet it would help project sumo much more outside Japan and increase revenue as well as popularity of the art.

Well, today was zabuton day, (ノ°□°)ノ彡回

You sound bitter and somewhat judgemental towards non-Japanese rikishi, specially a certain muslim one. Maybe you should check your bias at the door. The comment about baldness and age is hilarious, i've met people of all races who go bald at a very early age, japanese included. Who cares anyway, both Endo and Oosunaarashi are fun to watch and clearly "rookies" learning the ropes. I have a bias against brute-force. It is a shame when sumo turns into an athletic spectacle. I liked Oosunaarashi at first but the kachi-age turned me off and then some. I don't like seeing people getting knocked-out unless I am watching boxing (or watching a bully get what's coming to him/her). I love Kaisei, Kyokutenho, Baruto, Terunofuji, Kakuryu, etc. I have no problem with Ichinojo, Takanoyama, Gagamaru, Kotoushu, Musashimaru, etc., etc., etc. They're not Japanese. Like it or not, hair is an important part of sumo culture and the totality of sumo culture is what I am interested in. I couldn't care less about some silly combat spectacle. Should I check my opinion at the door? Not at all, you seem far more knowledgeable about sumo than me, I'm merely a newcomer. Mind you, I said check your BIAS not your opinion. That said, I agree entirely and the culture of sumo is what also interests me; I sincerely hope it grows but stays true to its origins instead of starting to lose it's soul like (recently) kendo and iaido which are being basically prepackaged and sold to the West and increasingly becoming less and less budo/art forms and more "sports". In short, and just leaving this link here: http://sumodb.sumogames.de/Rikishi.aspx?r=6036 let me add that rikishi's chonmage changed with the cultural trends of the time, first with shaved pate like the samurai and later without, so it's not inconceivable to imagine rikishi having a certain leeway, given the influence of other factors on your hair (health, diet, male genetic pattern baldness, etc). It's like the "once they start going bald they are pressed to get out" myth, it's only a myth. Sure, the influx of foreigners is troubling but it as revitalised the culture of sumo and AFAIK, aside from minor incidents, most of them are truly fans of the art and the spirit of sumo.

You sound bitter and somewhat judgemental towards non-Japanese rikishi, specially a certain muslim one. Maybe you should check your bias at the door. The comment about baldness and age is hilarious, i've met people of all races who go bald at a very early age, japanese included. Who cares anyway, both Endo and Oosunaarashi are fun to watch and clearly "rookies" learning the ropes.

I'll have to see from other angles but as far as I can tell it looks like Harumafuji rushed too quickly trying to push the egyptian out and Osunaarashi simply side stepped him and he fell down without much effort or even needing a slap down. It seems Osu really rattled the cage with that victory over Kakuryu but as much as I like the guy I still think he won't win versus Hakuho.

Fellow Osunaarashi fan chiming in but also troubled to see him continue to use his forearm to the face trick over and over again. It's easy as a fan of a rikishi to look the other way and mention that, for example, today there were lots of slaps to the face, neck pushes, head pull downs and Hakuho and his "recent" foul temper to try and justify Osunaarashi's fighting methods but the fact remains that it's damaging to him as a rikishi and sumo itself. He seems to be a great guy with a great heart, I hope he sets his mind in the right direction.

I'm all for equality and the spread of traditional culture but this is just silly and borderline mockery of the art of sumo. Reminds me of those people that trained judo or iaido for a week and suddenly feel like they are entitled to teach their "brand" of the budo they just learned about and the result is the spread of a corrupted, crappy version of the original. I'm all in favour of a international competition but it needs the equivalent of a Kano Jigoro figure to have it set up properly with the correct protocols, curricula, etc.

Come on, your "google search" kimarite weak today? :P ichimon - A group of related heya. There are six groups: Dewanoumi, Nishonoseki, Takasago, Tokitsukaze, Isegahama, and Takanohana. Until 1965, wrestlers from the same ichimon did not fight each other in tournament competition. These groups, led by the stable by which each group is named, are in order of size: Dewanoumi ichimon, Nishinoseki ichimon, Tokitsukaze ichimon, Takasago ichimon, Isegahama ichimon, and the splinter group led by Takanohana stable that broke off in in February 2010 after going against JSA accepted Board of Directors election procedures; see here. The founding dates listed below are for the current incarnation of each stable; in most cases this is not the first stable to exist under a given name, however. The number of stables peaked at 54 with the opening of Onoe stable in August 2006, following which the Japan Sumo Association introduced new rules that September greatly raising the qualifications needed by ex–wrestlers wishing to branch out (namely, those ranked below yokozuna or ozeki must have spent at least 60 tournaments in the top makuuchi division or 25 in the titled sanyaku ranks). Discounting the special circumstances of the temporary closure of Kise stable from 2010 until 2012, there were no new heya established for more than six years, while eleven folded, bringing the number of active heya down to 43. This sequence was ended by the opening of former yokozuna Musashimaru's Musashigawa stable in April 2013.

Old age? The guy has 41 years! Well, he looks older! It seems male asians in general look older than they actually are, at least in my eyes, I'm 32 (and European) and people always think i'm 25 or so while most rikishi look MUCH OLDER than they actually are (case in point).

Takanohana lost a LOT of weight, I always assumed most rikishi kept a very large frame, he looks positively skinny in his old age. I'm a newbie but Hakuho's dohyo-iri looks very serious, like he is affecting on purpose a serious face. I personally really liked Asashoryu's, he had a certain "Mongolian Attitude" that even pre-bout was visible in the way he cleaned the salt from his hands.

Ah thanks. I get NHK World via cable, I'm guessing they might have a sports' section on their newscast.

Are those Sports casting news from Channel 9 always dubbed? Oh wow, would love to get sub/dubbed sumo news on a daily basis. :-O

Hi there! Portuguese 32 year old, been interested in sumo since I was a kid but never really had the chance to sit down, watch and learn about it until recently. Started watching the current basho via Arabira's coverage and multiple other youtube/vimeo sites, learning the lingo, the traditions, the kimarite, who the rikishi are, etc. So far, loving it, really thinking of setting a page in english and portuguese dedicated to it, collecting the kimarite, reworking the japanese gifs to work properly, etc. Well, glad to be here. :D