Behind the Curtain - July 2000

For the Nagoya basho, two wrestlers will be make their first appearance at juryo. At west makushita 3, Tomikaze of Oguruma stable, finished with 5 victories and 2 defeats, assuring him of a promotion to juryo. The other newcomer will be from east makushita 5, Takahama of Oitekaze stable, with a respectful 5 victories and 2 defeats in May. Takahama entered at the bottom of makushita after competing in sumo at the famous Nichidai University, where likes of Dejima, Musoyama, and Miyabiyama, to mention only a few, hail from.

Two wrestlers will be returning to the juryo division. Kitazakura of Kitanoumi stable finished at west makushita 2 with 5 victories and 2 defeats. His previous 5 basho he has hung on at the bottom of juryo. Along with Kita, Kotiwakuni of Sadogatake, east makushita 3, could return to juryo. Koti completed the Tokyo tournament with 4 victories and 3 defeats, which could be enough to get to move in front of the curtain. He last appeared in juryo back in September 1999 and has been in makushita every since.

Mushigawa's sixth sekitori lasted only one basho in juryo. With 6 victories and 9 defeats from west juryo 12, Buyuzan will have to return to makushita for another tournament. With the kind of stablemates Buyuzan has at Mushigawa stable, his return to makushita will be a short one. Hopefully the same will be true for Toki's stablemate, Senshuyama of Takasago stable. He had the same record of 6-9 from west juryo 13. This result will send him back to the upper makushita ranks.

The poorest result in the juryo division will ensure that extra large (210 kg.) Susanoumi, only 2 victories and 13 defeats from east juryo 10, will go to makushita. Although his sumo is one dimensional, his extra bulk ought to make he easy for him to return to lower juryo sometime this year.

Finally Wakatoryu of Matsugane stable just barely missed staying in juryo with a record of 7 defeats and 8 victories from east juryo 13. It was his first appearance in juryo, but surely will not be his last.

If there is a fifth sumotori promoted from makushita for the Nagoya basho, then it might be Wakanojo from Magaki stable. He managed a record of 4 victories and 3 defeats from east makushita 2. Here is a wrestler that has made it as high as maegashira 6, but a series of injuries have pulled him down to makushita. If he does get promoted back to juryo, then his visit behind the curtain would have only been for the May basho.

The twist is that if it is decided to promote Wakanojo, then the sekitori most likely to be demoted from juryo could be his stablemate, Gojoro. Gojoro only managed 6 victories and 9 defeats at west juryo 9. He made his juryo debut at the same Nagoya tournament five years ago. It would be somewhat ironic if his stablemate's promotion back to juryo results in Gojoro's return to makushita.

Kawika ©