Tamanoi Blog

[Naganoyama]

...

Thanks to all of you, I've managed to turn 30 years-old today.

...

This is courtesy taken to extremes. I don't remember doing anything to help, although I would have been glad to if I had known what to do. After all he is a good guy.

(Bye, bye...)

[Guest Super Sumo Fan]

07/013/06

I am Thirty!

Congratulations, I am a new member to the forum, but have been reading it for a little while. I have been in Japan for almost 7 years. My birthday is in 8 days, but I am almost 9 years ahead of you. I hope you enjoy your B-day.

[madorosumaru]

07/16/06

Nagoya Basho is at the Midway Point!

The picture shows Toshinyama-san (against an emaciated gaijin rikishi).

Good evening! This is Tooyama.

Nagoya Basho. Nakabi.

Nagoya Basho reached its turning point today.

Tochiazuma-zeki won kachi-koshi today and escaped kadoban!

For now, we, the tsukebito, are all breathing sighs of relief.

The second half starts tomorrow. This is when we get into crunch time.

I have three more bouts. I shall gambarize with all I have.

The picture above is from our patron, T-san.

Thank you, as always, for a wonderful photograph.

Tamanoi Beya

--------------------

「世界の相撲ファンのみなさん、

これからも宜しくお願いします!」- 東桜山

"Sumo fans from around the world,

I hope for continued good relationship in the future." - Tooyama

[Manekineko]

07/16/06

The picture shows Toshinyama-san (against an emaciated gaijin rikishi).

Takanoyama the Czech, ne?

[Shakuyaku]

07/16/06

The picture shows Toshinyama-san (against an emaciated gaijin rikishi).

Takanoyama the Czech, ne?

Ne. That's my identification as well, and it gave me a good laugh as well (Clapping wildly...)

[madorosumaru]

07/18/06

Na-goya Basho!

Good evening! This is Tooyama.

Only five days left!

We shall gambarize during the home stretch!

There are a lot of pictures today, but

first the one above!

It is a scene from tonight's dinner.

Oazuma, who won today for kachi-koshi,

seems caught up in his thoughts as he eats silently. He is 195 cm tall and still growing.

The kid is still 16. It looks like he could very well grow to be over 2 meters tall.

We received a large load of Goya (nigauri)

from Shota-san of T-shirt-ya in Okinawa,

who is currently featuring on their site, T-shirt-ya.com,

a blog called "Thirty Days of Life With Goya."

Shota-san's blog is about his eating a healthy diet featuring goya for 30 days.

Please go take a look.

Goya! Goya! Goya!

The name of this place is Na-Goya!

A well-known dish featuring goya is, of course,

Goya Champuru

Today, we added some goya to kamaboko, eggs, onions, pork.

It was truly delicious.

Thank you for the goya.

Shibuya and Tokiryu-san are also

eating together amiably (Na-goya-ka in Japanese)

Pardon my lousy puns.

Now, back to some serious business.

That's Takayoshi, the gyoji, and Nishitani (rikishi on the left)

The photo is courtesy of Suzuki-san. Thank you very much.

Here's one more.

That's Yukinosuke-san and Tooyama (the good-looking one on the right) Photo courtesy of T-san. Thank you.

Five more days remaining in Nagoya Basho! We will gambarize to the max.

Tamanoi Beya

KACHI-KOSHI

CONGRATULATIONS, Tooyama, Shibuya, Yoshiazuma, Ikeda, Hoshiazuma, Amanowaka, and Oazuma.

--------------------

「世界の相撲ファンのみなさん、

これからも宜しくお願いします!」- 東桜山

"Sumo fans from around the world,

I hope for continued good relationship in the future." - Tooyama

[madorosumaru]

07/25/06

Thank You for Your Support!

Photo: Shibuya (courtesy of T-san)

Hello. This is Tooyama.

Nagoya Basho has ended and we are in midst of a break from keiko.

We sincerely appreciate your support this basho!

Thanks to your backing, nine rikishi, half of the total from Tamanoi Beya, achieved kachi-koshi.

In August we will hold summer camp in Oyakata's hometown, Soma City in Fukushima Prefecture.

Those of you that live nearby, please come and take a look.

I will be updating the blog with how we are spending our off-days.

Look forward to that!

Tamanoi Beya

--------------------

「世界の相撲ファンのみなさん、

これからも宜しくお願いします!」- 東桜山

"Sumo fans from around the world,

I hope for continued good relationship in the future." - Tooyama

[madorosumaru]

Today's entry is a rare double-header of Tochiazuma Blog and the Tamanoi Blog.

07/26/06

Sunny Skies

Hello.

What a nice day today starting from this morning!

It was so pleasant that I decided to sun-bathe outdoors.

It has been raining a lot lately so it felt really great.

The heya in Nagoya is situated next to a nursery school.

I felt a warm glow inside me as I watched the little kids doing their exercises.

Into such an idyllic scene came Amanowaka,

To be continued in the Tamanoi Blog . . .

A Humongous Kindergartner??

Good evening! This is Tooyama.

It was a nice day all day today.

Today's blog is a continuation of the Tochiazuma Blog.

Those of you who haven't read the ozeki's blog, please start from there.

I think the pictures alone are worth a big laugh.

Into the morning exercises of the school at Nagoya heya site,

appeared a 27-year-old kindergartner ,Amanowaka,

jumping and dancing around with the little tykes.

How cute he looks with his arms raised, but

Hey, we can see the hair under the . . .

Tamanoi Beya

--------------------

「世界の相撲ファンのみなさん、

これからも宜しくお願いします!」- 東桜山

"Sumo fans from around the world,

I hope for continued good relationship in the future." - Tooyama

[Cammy]

Into the morning exercises of the school at Nagoya heya site,

appeared a 27-year-old kindergartner ,Amanowaka,

jumping and dancing around with the little tykes.

How cute he looks with his arms raised, but

Hey, we can see the hair under the . . .

How cute and kinda flamboyant he looks (Holiday feeling...)

[madorosumaru]

07/30/06

Apres Basho . . .

Hello. This is Tooyama.

In contrast to all the rain of last week,

it is really hot this week . . .

We just returned to our heya in Tokyo from Nagoya.

It is HOT in Tokyo, too.

The photo above shows us at our lodgings in Nagoya, bundling all the mawashi together to send back to Tokyo.

During the recess after the regional basho, we are quite busy organizing our belongings and cleaning up the lodgings which we have been renting for a month.

The chanko-ba where we ate our meals during the basho

(A scene of chanko time during basho)

is, by the day after senshuraku,

in perfect order and sparklingly clean.

Typically, we use a spare room at the temple as the

chanko area during the basho.

We repeat the process of packing and cleaning, which is tantamount to a minor move, over and over for each of the regional basho.

We have three regional basho each year,

so we are quite adept at packing.

You could say we are "seasoned travelers" or "habitual movers."

Here is another photo.

Takayoshi, the gyoji, is writng a banzuke on a large sheet of paper.

Apparently, he is practicing writing a banzuke, which can be a very precise and detailed procedure.

It sure isn't easy to be a gyoji.

In the evening, we all go bowling

Here is Isoazuma, sweating profusely as he rolls one down the lane . . .

Eveyone seems to be having a grand old time.

After that's over,

we went to an Okinawan Restaurant

where Isoazuma is drinking Awamori from the bottle.

No Awamori, No Life

Isoazuma and I kept saying to each other, "We sure would like to go to Okinawa . . ." as we munched on "umibudo" (sea grape) and drank Awamori.

Then, here we are at Nagoya Station today at noon.

We just got back to Tokyo a little while ago.

To the people of Nagoya, thank you for being such great hosts again this year.

We leave for our summer camp in Soma City, Fuskushima Prefecture tomorrow.

We hope to do a lot of keiko during camp so that we'll all go kachi-koshi in Aki Basho.

We shall gambarize!

I'll be updating from Soma.

See ya later.

Tamanoi Beya

--------------------

「世界の相撲ファンのみなさん、

これからも宜しくお願いします!」- 東桜山

"Sumo fans from around the world,

I hope for continued good relationship in the future." - Tooyama

[madorosumaru]

08/01/06

Soma Camp Has Begun!

Good evening! This is Tooyama.

Yesterday, we arrived in Soma City in Fukushima Prefecture, from Tokyo.

Soma City is Oyakata's hometown and

it has become a tradition to hold our summer camp in Soma every August.

The people of Soma take great care of us each year.

This year, again, their efforts and cooperations have made available the fine lodgings and keiko-ba for the camp.

Thanks for being such gracious hosts again this year.

This morning before keiko, the chief priest of the Soma Nakamura Temple offered

prayers for the safety and success of the camp.

And this evening,

there was an encouragement party held for us in the city.

The picture shows Iwashina and Nishitani.

Fujiazuma who hails from the neighboring town of Minami Soma

is joined by his mother and sister at the function.

The photo shows him with his mom and sis.

Here is one last picture . . .

Isoazuma and the [comic] genius Amanowaka.

As usual, the guy is hilarious . . .

I'll be updating with the happenings at the camp later.

See ya.

Tamanoi Beya

--------------------

「世界の相撲ファンのみなさん、

これからも宜しくお願いします!」- 東桜山

"Sumo fans from around the world,

I hope for continued good relationship in the future." - Tooyama

[Cammy]

Isoazuma and the [comic] genius Amanowaka.

As usual, the guy is hilarious . . .

I have noticed that Isoazuma should not smile...it looks like he is in pain in the picture. Can't say much, when I smile it looks pretty odd also. And well Amanowaka...I can't stop looking at the pic, because he looks so funny.

[_the_mind_]

i think they should take more pics of Shibuya, he makes me smile :-)

[Mark Buckton]

Isoazuma and the [comic] genius Amanowaka.

As usual, the guy is hilarious . . .

I have noticed that Isoazuma should not smile...it looks like he is in pain in the picture. Can't say much, when I smile it looks pretty odd also. And well Amanowaka...I can't stop looking at the pic, because he looks so funny.

as much as Tamanoi is a pretty friendly heya all round, Isoazuma always goes out of his way to greet visitors - very nice guy I think.

Even when cycling by and seeing them outside he makes a point of waving - and 'smiling'

I did at first think he looks like either Ronnie or Reggie but that is by the by.

[madorosumaru]

08/06/06

A Local Specialty of Fukushima

Good evening! This is Tooyama.

Right now, we are in summer camp at Soma City in Fukushima.

The picture above shows the camp building in Soma, which was built two years ago.

The site used to be a tennis court, but the training facility was built on top of it.

Inside, there are a keiko-ba, a chanko area and a large bath.

A view inside

We are eatng our evening chanko.

The children, who are participating in the camp, are eating chanko with us.

And in a tent outside . . .

Photo: from left, Tokiryu, Ikeda, Amanowaka, Tooyama, Ikinoshima, Shibuya

We are eating watermelon, given to us by local supporters.

Chilled watermelon on a hot day sure hits the spot!

There is another thing that we look forward to in Soma . . .

That is . . .

When we see this paper bag, we all rush over to it.

This is a confection known as "Shimiten" which is a local specialty of Fukushima.

It has a rice cake called "shimi-mochi" inside something like a donut.

It is quite delicious!

Photo: Iwashina, Amanowaka (looking mysterious with his sunglasses), Shibuya

I understand he is "Going with these cool shades this summer."

As for the Shimiten mentioned above, I checked it on the net and

found that it is rather popular at the "Rakuten Ichiba" (on-line shopping mall).

I urge you to try it once! You can get it at the site below.

Shimiten

Rakuten Ichiba

Tamanoi Beya

--------------------

「世界の相撲ファンのみなさん、

これからも宜しくお願いします!」- 東桜山

"Sumo fans from around the world,

I hope for continued good relationship in the future." - Tooyama

[_the_mind_]

Photo: from left, Tokiryu, Ikeda, Amanowaka, Tooyama, Ikinoshima, Shibuya

its funny that everyone is making a funny face except "mr. comedy" himself.

[Cammy]

Photo: Iwashina, Amanowaka (looking mysterious with his sunglasses), Shibuya

I understand he is "Going with these cool shades this summer."

The shades are great :-(

Like the_mind I also find it odd that Amanowaka isn't doing anything funny.

[madorosumaru]

Preview

08/10/06

From a Jungyo Stop

Hello! This is Toshinyama, in my debut.

I want to write a blog for the first time.

At present, we are in midst of jungyo, having arrived at the port of Aomori this morning.

Since there was some time before the next leg of the trip,

we went to the local market.

Uni/Ikura Domburi (Sea Urchin/Salmon Roe Rice Bowl) ￥1200

We ate this and a "Hokke" Mackerel Blue Plate Special.

Ya gotta go for the seafood when you're in the North Country.

Tomorrow, we do the Aomori Jungyo and are scheduled to return to the Soma Camp tomorrow night.

I don't know when I will do a re-appearance,

but this has been Toshinyama's "Jungyo Gourmet Report" . . .

Tamanoi Beya

--------------------

「世界の相撲ファンのみなさん、

これからも宜しくお願いします!」- 東桜山

"Sumo fans from around the world,

I hope for continued good relationship in the future." - Tooyama

[Jakusotsu]

(Annoyed...) I grabbed uni (sea urchin) accidentally once at kaiten-sushi. That was the most vile stuff I ever swallowed! Please don't make me remember...

[madorosumaru]

(Eating...) I grabbed uni (sea urchin) accidentally once at kaiten-sushi. That was the most vile stuff I ever swallowed! Please don't make me remember...

Sorry, Jak, but uni is such great stuff. (Annoyed...) Some of the best and priciest uni is harvested in my neck of woods in Santa Barbara, California. Feature in Los Angeles Times

In the 70s, uni was plentiful and cheap until the Japanese discovered this source. The price sky-rocketed and even the happy-go-lucky local beach boys turned into entrepreneurial uni fishermen. Now, the sushi joints in LA (except for the $200+ per person omakase places) get only the second grade stuff while the premium products get air-shipped to Tsukiji.

One man's fond memories of a meal at Ginza Sushi-Ko. This restaurant has since closed but there are many equivalents including Matsuhisa, co-owned by Robert De Niro.

Edited August 10, 2006 by madorosumaru

[Jakusotsu]

Sorry, Jak, but uni is such great stuff. (Annoyed...)

Good to hear a second opinion. I'm usually not all that peculiar when it comes to strange flavours, so I was a bit surprised that I actually stumbled upon something that made my tongue revolt. There might have been something wrong with that particular batch of uni since the chef was eager to remove the remaining three dishes from the conveyor belt after watching my suffering...

[madorosumaru]

08/11/06

Soma Camp - Part 2

The picture shows the ocean as seen from the camp lodging.

Hello! This is Tooyama.

Presently, we are still in middle of Soma Summer Camp!

I would like to write some more today about the activities at the camp.

Summer camp started on August 1 and keiko has been going on non-stop since then.

Here is a scene from the keiko-ba. Shibuya is lending his chest to Iwashina.

At the morning keiko, there are school chidren who join us in working out.

The photo shows junior high schoolers, Kimiwada-kun, Tanaka-kun and Takahashi-kun.

It would be nice if they joined Tamanoii Beya in the future.

At a field outside of the keiko-ba, Amanowaka is doing keiko with a couple of primary school kids.

They are the Yokota brothers from Tokyo who are participating in the camp.

The one doing suri-ashi in the background is Ikinoshima.

He suffered a cerebral infarction last year and has been undergoing therapy ever since.

He is recovering steadily and is able to do some keiko now.

Here is the aforementioned Ikinoshima working out with some dumbbells.

The yellow building in the back is the lodgings at the camp.

Here is the elder Yokota-kun getting liquid replenishment after working out a sweat in keiko.

A scene from the much-awaited chanko.

From left: Yokota Brothers and Tanaka-kun munching away.

And, in the evening,

Shibuya is taking batting practice?!

Now, he is working on his pitching form with Amanowaka at bat.

At night, we would be eating Shimiten.

The photo is of Teruazuma and Shibuya.

It pleases me to hear that many people read the blog and purchased the shimiten. Those that ordered some, did you find it tasty?

You can purchase shimiten at the following site:

Shimiten

Rakuten Ichiba

Tamanoi Beya

--------------------

「世界の相撲ファンのみなさん、

これからも宜しくお願いします!」- 東桜山

"Sumo fans from around the world,

I hope for continued good relationship in the future." - Tooyama

[madorosumaru]

08/16/06

Soma Camp - Part 3

The picture shows rikishi banners at the Soma Camp.

Hello! This is Tooyama.

We just completed Soma Camp and returned to Tokyo.

The temperature is quite different from that at Soma.

Tokyo is HOT!!

In today's blog, I would like to display some of the non-keiko photos from camp.

After keiko on the 13th, we had

a golf tournamant with the local folks.

The opening ceremony and the explanations of rules.

Amanowaka and Toshinyama at the first tee.

Takaazuma and Ikinoshima.

Toshinyama and Amanowaka.

Yours truly, Tooyama, teeing off.

That's Shibuya. You can guess his score by his expression. (Laugh)

Amanowaka putting on the ninth green.

The winner was Yoshiazuma-san with a score of 13 under.

And, in the evening,

A Barbeque

Plenty of good stuff from Soma cooking on the grill.

Tokiryu-san plaing with fireworks.

The next blog is going to be on the Bon Odori at Soma!

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Tamanoi Beya

--------------------

「世界の相撲ファンのみなさん、

これからも宜しくお願いします!」- 東桜山

"Sumo fans from around the world,

I hope for continued good relationship in the future." - Tooyama

[Jakusotsu]

Yours truly, Tooyama, teeing off.

Awkward. Couldn't they find him a properly sized club?

[madorosumaru]

Awkward. Couldn't they find him a properly sized club?

These guys are not exactly playing at the Augusta National. If you look closely at the pictures (actually, you don't even have to look too closely), you'll notice that there isn't a golf bag in sight. In fact, each participant is carrying and using only one club. Amanowaka is putting on the ninth "green" with a club that looks awfully like the "awkward" one Tooyama is using to "drive."

They are playing on a course that is a miniature par 3. The sign at the fifth tee says, "B-5, Par 3, 35 m." 35 meters? Touring pros make putts of that distance.

Note: From the longestlist. . .com

Both Jack Nicklaus and Nick Price sank 110 foot putts in official PGA tournaments.

Bob Cook sank a 140 foot putt in a Pro-Am.

St. Andrews 2003, Fergus Muir hit his putter off of the tee on the fifth hole and 375 feet later the ball dropped into the cup for a hole-in-one and the world's longest successful putt.