Behind the Curtain - May 2018

The Natsu basho is upon us, time to find out who is stepping out from behind the curtain and joining the paid ranks.  This Kokugikan tourney we have two rikishi making their first visit to sekitori world.  With some hard work and a little luck, perhaps they can stay there.  In addition, we have one rikishi returning to the paid ranks.

Ms1w Wakatakakage (4-3) got the minimum number of wins to become a sekitori.  He is from Fukushima city in Fukushima prefecture.  At the promotion interview, he made a point of saying that he was going to do his best on behalf of his home prefecture, which suffered during the 2011 Tohoku disaster.  

Wakatakakage entered sumo at sandanme tsukedashi, “where an amateur wrestler finishing in the top 8 of either the All-Japan Championships, All-Japan Corporate Championships, National Student Championships, or the National Sports Festival Adults tournament is allowed to skip the bottom two divisions and start at the bottom of the sandanme division.”  Hence, he was allowed to skip maezumo, Jonokuchi, and Jonidan.  It still took him 7 basho to reach sekitori, the slowest of all wrestlers who started at sandanme tsukedashi.

For his stable, Arashio-beya, he will be the second Fukushima rikishi to reach Juryo.  Incidentally, Wakatakakage’s older brothers are also rikishi at the same stable.  His oldest brother, Wakatakamoto, went 5-2 from Ms22w, while the middle brother, Onami, went 4-3 from Ms12e.  Fun fact.  Their grandfather is none other than komusubi Wakabayama.  Perhaps one day, one of the brothers can take their grandfather’s shikona in the paid ranks.

Ms1e Hakuyozan (6-1) hails from Yamagata prefecture and is only 23 years old.  Yamagata prefecture’s last shin-sekitori was Hokutokuniin back in 2008.  In an interview, Hakuyozan said his goal is to reach the same rank as his stablemaster, Takadagawa oyakata, AKA, ex Sekiwake Akinoshima.  His oyakata replied that he needs to stretch further and reach the Yokozuna, just like another Fukushima rikishi, Yokozuna Kashiwado.

Ms3w Asabenkai (6-1) is from Kanagawa Prefecture.  He is making his second trip in the paid ranks.  He had spent 6 basho in Juryo from his debut at the 2015 Kyusho basho, then dropping behind the curtain at the end of the 2018 Aki Basho.  Asabenkai will be the sole sekitori from Takasago-beya on the Natsu Basho banzuke.

With three rikishi going up, there will be three rikishi trading their silk mawashi for cotton.  J14w Ehno could manage 4 wins and will return to Makushita.  Since he started sumo at the 2017 Osaka basho, this is the first time he posted a losing record.  J14e Takayoshitoshi got 3 wins, and he was the last 6 days of the tourney with an injury.  J7e Amakaze could also only get 3 wins and will join the others behind the curtain.

Behind The Curtain - March 2018

Once a year, the March basho is hosted in Osaka.  The tourney is held at Edion Arena Osaka, a short walk from Namba station.  At this tournament, we will see seven rikishi stepping out in front of the curtain.  Of the seven, we have three first-timers and the other four have put on the silk mawashi before.

East Ms6 Enho of Miyagino stable made a huge leap into juryo from six steps away from the curtain.  He did this with the bare minimum kachi-koshi, 4-3.  It was at 2017 Osaka basho where he first stepped on the dohyo for his maezumo.   He joined sumo along with his Kanazawa Gakuin University sumo club teammate, Masataka Tanabe. By the way, Tanabe is still using his family name for his shikona.  And he is nipping at Enho’s heels.  Like Enho, Tanabe has only recorded kachi-koshi results since his debut.

Unlike Tanabe, Enho is now a sekitori, just one year after his maezumo.  He got here by getting three straight yusho in a row; at the Jonokuchi, Jonidan, and Sandanme divisions.  After that, it took just two tourneys in Makushita, posting records of 5-2 and 4-3.

East Ms7 Takayoshitoshi of Takanohana stable has reached the paid rank, with a respectable 5-2 record.  Having seven sekitori being demoted helped.  Interestingly enough, it was the final bout, against our returnee, Terutsuyoshi, which Takayo got his critical 5th win.  It took Takayo 5 years to step in front of the curtain.  His sumo debut was at 2013 Osaka basho.

East Ms1 Yago of Oguruma stable only needed 4 wins to cross the line into Juryo.  He did one better than Enho, it only took him five tourneys to do so, having debuted at the 2017 Natsu Basho.

West Ms4 Akiseyama of Kise stable is a returnee.  He finished the 2018 Hatsu basho at 4-3.  He made his dohyo debut back at the 2008 Hatsu Basho.

West Ms1 Terutsuyoshi of Isegahama stable posted a 4-3 to move up to the paid ranks for the second time in his 8-year career.  He spent the entire 2017 year in Juryo and only fought in Makushita for the last basho.

West Ms2 Shimanoumi of Kise stable notched a 5-2 record at the Hatsu Basho.  Like Terutsuyohi, he is also stepping out from behind the curtain for the second time.  However, unlike Terutsu, he only spent one basho at the paid ranks.  Here’s hoping he can manage to stay a sekitori a lot longer this time around.

West Ms3 Tobizaru of Oitekaze beya is another rikishi going to the paid ranks for a second.  And like Shimanoumi, he only lasted one basho at the paid ranks last Nagoya Basho.

What goes up, must go down, and with seven rikishi moving up, there are seven moving down, including a couple fan favorites.  Toyohibiki, Ura, Osunaarashi (1-8-6), Yamaguchi (2-12-1), Tochihiryu (4-11), Akua (4-11), and Kizenryu (3-12) have been demoted down to Makushita for the Osaka basho.  

Of the stepping behind the curtain, a couple flat out did not step on the dohyo for the Hatsu Basho.  Toyohibiki (0-0-15) and Ura (0-0-15) did not participate.  Worse still, Ura has not stepped onto the dohyo since Day 2 at the Aki Basho.  Having been unable to compete, he continues to fall down the banzuke.

Ura will be in Makushita for the first time in two years next basho. He has stopped using crutches.  ”I am slowly rehabilitating myself. I still can't put much pressure on it but I'm training to get there eventually... March? I  go with the feeling that I can always do it.." he said. 

During the annual physical health check at Kokugikan,  he said, ”…I was happy because, during the grip tests, I managed to grip 70 kilos with my left hand, which is my most ever. (In 2016 he fractured a bone in his left hand and had surgery after which he managed 35 last year.) When I entered sumo, I managed 50 kilos, then 60, and it went way down again with that hand injury. I thought I could never return to my original strength. So if I can do the same with my knee, I hope to reach the same condition as before the injury. I want to return even stronger.”  Ura should return to the paid ranks in 2018.

Cherry blossom ought to be out by end of this basho.  And more sekitori will blossom as well, joining the paid ranks at the Natsu basho!