Taikoubana

How disappointing. At this rate we may never see sumo in an olympics opening ceremony again. I guess they thought Nagano 1998 was good enough to warrant never including it in the schedule a second time. (Half-joking.)

I'm almost positive I saw something important in the world of sumo that was crafted by an older lady and a younger man. Maybe it had to do with the fibers that they're laying in the fabric of the rope in the above video? Anyway, thank you for the link, @Seiyashi

I was excited to watch the promotion ceremony with my family. Saddened to see how he seemed to have only worry written on his face, not really any sense of accomplishment or pride. A heavy burden rests on his shoulders. It will be bittersweet if the 73rd really has such a short run at the top. (Somewhat unrelated, but does anyone happen to have a video of a Yokozuna tsuna being crafted? I saw it once, being crafted by an older lady and presumably her son, but I haven't been able to find the video since.)

I love the way he accidentally said "juryo yusho" in his interview before correcting himself to say "makushita yusho." His head's already in the next tournament.

Instead of a trophy, a macaron, and a myriad of prizes, I vote that the winner of this tournament gets a blue ribbon and a pat on the back. But in seriousness, I'm rooting for Terunofuji. This is a good opportunity to make a push for his return to Ozeki, which I consider one of the best storylines in sumo presently. And maybe an Ura juryo yusho...

Ryuko J9w

Preceded by the appetizer, a swordfish-bearer.

We've lost another one to the "I must gambarize" demons... It's astounding how any rikishi who tears their ACL looks at rikishi with the same injury of the past who had forgone surgery, and thinks "Y'know, it really went well for those guys, this must be the right decision."

I've been a collector of the rikishi keychains sold at the kokugikan shop for the past couple years, the acrylic ones done by the artist Kototsurugi. But because I've never been to japan, I've always purchased them through online sellers. My problem is I no longer have means of purchasing them at a reasonable price, as the few sellers who do offer the keychains are charging for around 100% profit these days. Could anyone point me in the direction of someone who sells Kototsurugi's keychains and ships to the US for a more reasonable price? Or a trustworthy forwarding service that will purchase the keychains from the kokugikan and ship them to the US? Or does the kokugikan actually ship internationally and I've been going about this the wrong way all along? Any info and any help would be appreciated. (Mods, feel free to move this thread if I posted in the wrong forum.)

You missed out on the first foreign (Hawaiian) Yokozuna, Akebono, and his great rivalry with Yokozuna Takanohana, the youngest of two Yokozuna brothers, that lasted throughout the 90s. I recommend watching some matches between them on youtube; I believe their record against eachother was an even 25-25. The "Mongolian invasion" began somewhere in the early 2000s I believe, which lead to four Mongolian Yokozuna in a row (two of them now retired, another may soon follow). One of them, Yokozuna Hakuho (promoted in 2007), has earned himself 44 championships, far exceeding the record of 32. There have been many Mongolian high-rankers, some of which are currently active, such as former-Ozeki Terunofuji, who has been making a dramatic rise back to the top ranks after his fall to nearly the bottom division in 2018. Besides Terunofuji, and the two current Yokozuna, the only other Mongolians in the top division right now are Tamawashi, Ichinojo, Kiribayama, Chiyoshoma, and up-and-comer Hoshoryu; the nephew of the first Mongolian Yokozuna. I would say the Japanese public have grown more accustomed to the reign of Mongolians since the wave began . For those who did want to see Japanese rikishi return to dominance, there was the most recent Yokozuna, Kisenosato, who was promoted in 2017 to a very thrilled Japanese public. Unfortunately, due to an injury he was inflicted with around this time, he sat out nearly every tournament he had as Yokozuna, and retired at the dawn of 2019. Right now, we seem to be in a phase between the old guard fading away, and the new guard taking the spotlight. The new guard have been rather lackluster so far, but there is potential in these younger rikishi. The most exciting stories right now are Terunofuji vying to become Ozeki once more (and perhaps even Yokozuna, but we shall see), and the last championship winner, Ozeki Takakeisho, aiming to become Yokozuna in the upcoming tournament. One of the Yokozuna, Kakuryu, is nearly assured to be retiring within the next two months. Two of the newest Ozeki are already kadoban. The ever-popular 5'4 Enho just hit a big wall with a sad 3-12 record. Relatives of former Yokozuna such as the aforementioned Hoshoryu (nephew of Yokozuna Asashoryu) and Ooho (grandson of Yokozuna Taiho) are making their steady rise to the high ranks. Sumo isn't in an especially exciting phase at the moment, but there are certainly some interesting stories to follow. NHK World has a lot of great content to help refresh you, such as Sumopedia, and the Sumo Highlights during tournament days, all of which are commentated in English. Welcome back to sumo!

In 'Discover Sumo' — a book I've read that was written by a former top-ranked yobidashi — it's said that they don't believe a foreigner could become a yobidashi, as the kanji would be too hard for them to read/pronounce. To my knowledge, there have been no foreign yobidashi or gyoji thus far.

And thus we bid farewell to one of the greatest Yokozuna prospects of our time.

If they're smart, they'll isolate for a few more weeks, even if they are out of the hospital. I've heard this thing can be carried and spread for 20+ days after recovery.

Who are the men in the photos at 1:20?

Takayasu just can't catch a break.

http://www.realmofdarkness.net/sb/crowd/ An audience soundboard, for anyone who wants to enhance the experience.

I hope the pro sumo scene honors Byamba in some way.

This is such heartbreaking news. I remember first seeing him with his appearance on Whose Line Is It Anyway, and I saw him on many entertainment shows while watching Japanese variety TV growing up. Seemed like such a chill guy. Such a big man leaves such a big hole in life. May he watch over the dohyo and all who wrestle on it.

Just when I thought the NSK might finally make some smart decisions, I wake up to this. Although I shouldn't be surprised. They've never truly cared for the rikishi's health on a beneficial level. These band-aid solutions, like not sharing water, isn't going to cut it. These men are making full body contact every match. If even one of these guys has the coronavirus, it can still easily spread. How many would have to go forced-fever-kyujo before the NSK thinks to themselves, "Hmm, maybe this wasn't wise after all." Yes it could all go perfectly swell, but I don't see the point of all this unnecessary risk. Do they really need the TV and ad revenue that badly?

Matches without an audience might remind the sekitori of their jonokuchi days.

Still rare to see a 50-0 though, but you are right.

Wow! Asanoyama is either suddenly in really bad shape or Kakuryu is suddenly in really good shape.

This would be a wonderful time for aaaaaaall these rikishi currently nursing injuries to actually take more than two months to properly rest up. Even if they still do keiko, at least they won't be competing in a tournament, which is where a lot of these injuries happen or worsen. Frankly I would love to see how they all preform after a 4 month, maybe 6 month break. I just hope the virus doesn't get into one of the heya. Infiltrating one heya still equals a lot of infected rikishi and staff.

I haven't seen Terunofuji up close since the photos of him at his lowest, and wow, he's really come back into form. Dunno yet about the quality of his sumo but he's rebuilt his body quite well.

Yago J9w