Behind the Curtain - September 2020

 COVID-19 is still part of our day to day lives, but at least sumo keeps going, and we have another basho with butts in seats, although with limited attendance. After all this time, semi self-isolating, it is a treat to have sumo to watch for 15 days. We have a couple of newcomers to the sekitori ranks, along with two returnees.

Kitaharima Ms3w (5-2) is coming out from behind the curtain after dropping out of Juryo back in 2017. He made his professional debut in March 2002. To date, his highest rank has been maegashira 15. He wrestles for Yamahibiki stable, which is run by ex-yokozuna Kitanoumi. Interestingly enough, He is a member of the generation born between April 1986 and April 1987 (Showa 61) known as the "Flower of 61" that also includes yokozuna Kisenosato, ōzeki Gōeidō, and sekiwake Myōgiryū.

Chiyonokuni Ms12w (7-0) got the Makushita yusho with his perfect record. As you may know, if you get a perfect record ranked Makushita 15 or above, it is just about guaranteed you get to step out from behind the curtain.  He fights for Kokonoe beya, run by ex-yokozuna Chiyonofuji. He has the highest rank of maegashira 1. He got hurt and fell all the way down to Sandanme in 2015. This time around, he is returning to Juryo after stepping behind the curtain last year. Interesting story, when sumo took a black eye from the baseball gambling scandal, that uncovered a match-fixing scandal, Chiyonokuni, along with many other upper makushita wrestlers was promoted to salaried ranks of jūryō for July 2011 though his actual performance so far would have not merited promotion. Chiyonokuni had very mixed feelings about the scandal and admitted it felt surreal to be promoted to jūryō under such strange circumstances. Chiyonokuni did however exceed expectations and about recorded three strong winning tournaments in a row to earn promotion to the top makuuchi division in January 2012.

Ouki Ms2w (5-2) will wear a silk mawashi for the first time! He hails from Shikoroyama beya. This stable is the center of some drama because sekitori Abi stepped out for a night out during the last basho, when there are strict orders not to do so, particularly with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Ouki promotion may be a small consolation for Shikoroyama oyakata, ex-sekiwake Terao, who established this stable in February 2004. I am pretty sure it is kitty-corner from the Denny’s in Morishita.

Nishikifuji Ms3e (5-2) is the first time visiting the paid ranks this basho. His promotion was a big deal back home in Aomori, where many great rikishi have hailed from. Usually, rikishi from the unpaid ranks do not have lots of freedom to travel, yet his oyakata escorted him back home for the big celebration, where Nishikifuji reported his jury promotion in person the mayor of Towada, which is Nishikifuji hometown. Fun fact pointed out by some online sumo pundits, we know have sekitori that shares the exact same kanji characters, only in a different order, called 錦富士 and 富士錦.

Behind the Curtain - March 2020

Wow, no audience at the Haru Basho in Osaka! How many things can change between two Basho. Sumo is only following the trend, the Japanese baseball league has decided to play the remaining 72 games without fans, watering down the home-team advantage. 8 years ago, the same Osaka was canceled, the first time a basho had been canceled in over 50 years, because of exposure of Yaocho.

Lots of action at the Curtain after the Hatsu Basho, only one newcomer to the silk mawashi, along with 4 returnees.

Ms2e Midorifuji (5-2) is a first-timer going into the Osaka Basho. Midorifuji-zeki belongs to, Isegahama-beya, hails from Shizuoka and is 23 years old. At 168 cm and 91 kg, he is one of the smaller rikishi in sumo. Rikishi under 100 kg tend to have strong fan followings since they come across as the underdog in each bout, not mention their speed, the main advantage they have, makes for very exciting sumo.

Ms3w Chiyonoumi (5-2) is back from behind the curtain for the 2nd time. He has spent the last two tourneys wearing a cotton mawashi. Chiyo is rikishi at the Kokonoe-beya, hence the Chiyo in his shikona, because the stablemaster of Kokonoe is famous Chiyonofuji. His home prefecture is Kochi-ken, and he has lots of sumo in front of him, he is only 27 years old.

Ms1w Wakamotoharu (6-1) has returned to the paid ranks for the 3rd time.  Wakano is somewhat a social media star, he was cautioned by the Sumo Kyokai, along with Abi for a video they posted on Instagram. If you forget, in the video, they 2 use adhesive tape to tie the other's legs together and stick it on the mouth. Funny but the NSK did not agree. Wakano's home prefecture is Fukushima-ken. He is another young Turk at 26 years old. He is a member of Arashio stable. Interestingly, Arashio oyakata will be 65 years old by the time you read this and will have retired. Keep a lookout for his successor. The best bet is that Sokokurai will get the nod since he now has his Japanese citizenship. He hails from Inner Mongolia, China.

Ms4w Hakuyouzan (6-1) is also making his 3rd appearance in front of the curtain. His first time to wear the silk mawashi was back at Natsu Basho 2018.

Ms4e Akiseyama (4-3) just slipped into the paid ranks. It is his 7th time to put on the silk mawashi. You would think that it is some kind of record, yet he has only the 3rd most promotions to Juryo. Sumanofuji was promoted 8 times to the paid ranks, managing to stay sekitori for 19 tourneys, and never ranked higher than J9. The record-holder is Kizenryu, he was promoted 9 times over 9 basho in the silk mawashi. In his case, each time he reached Juryo, he got make-koshi the following tourney, and went back to Makushita! You can still find on the banzuke, he is ranked at ms11w this basho.

Behind the Curtain - November 2019

The year is coming to a close, and the last basho is held in Fukuoka.  At this tournament, we have two rikishi new to silk mawashi and one rikishi returning to the paid ranks.

Ms2e Akua (6-1) returned to Juryo after spending a year back behind the curtain.  Akua is a little long in the tooth, having debuted on the dohyo at Fukuoka 2010 basho.  He will be 30 next November, so now is the time to climb up while his body can still handle it.

Ms4w Kotoshoho (4-3) got the bare minimum of wins to break through the curtain and put on the silk mawashi.  He has had an impressive climb to sekitori.  He debuted 2 years ago at Fukuoka.  He has only had a losing record once, just once.  He turned 20 years this year, so he is all lined up to have a very fruitful career as a sekitori.  It will tough to win 8 his first time in Juryo but it is possible. 

Ms5e Hoshoryu (4-3) also only won 4 and just slipped in front of the curtain.  Like Kotoshoho, he has only had a losing record once.  And like Kotoshoho, his future as a sekitori is very bright indeed.  And he is somewhat of a celebrity already, since his uncle is Asashoryu.  The writer is very excited about seeing his nephew have a successful career in sumo, and wouldn’t it be wonderful if he could fight to a tsuna.  OK, premature though it is a nice scenario to dream about.

With 3 rikishi moving upward and becoming sekitori, we have 3 rikishi turning in their silk mawashi for the white cotton mawashi.

J5w Takanofuji (0-0-15) is having a brutal time of it because of his bad behavior in September.  He finds himself at Ms5w, and if he gets to compete for this basho, he can get back to the paid ranks at Kokugikan in 2020.  If you missed Takanofuji’s screw-up, here is an excerpt.

“Nihon Sumo Kyokai announced that Takanofuji, Juryo 5, committed an act of violence against his tsukebito, a Jonidan wrestler, and as a result would be absent from the Aki basho. Chiganoura Oyakata reported to the Kyokai that the incident occurred after returning to Chiganoura-beya following the August 31 Soken. The basho absence is not a punishment on the part of the Kyokai, but a voluntary decision by Chiganoura Oyakata.”

His oyakata made the right move, voluntarily staying out of the Aki basho, and it cost him his silk mawashi.  The writer has some difficulty with the crackdown.  There is some hazy in sumo and perhaps out of hand, yet it is the culture.  The writer does believe that this behavior does not align with today’s morals, yet one of the attractions of sumo is that it is not from this period.  It is one of the three Japanese subcultures that attempts to remain the way it has been for 300 years or more.

J11w Chiyonoumi (2-13) had a terrible record at Kokugikan and tumbles into Makushita.  It lands at Ms6e, which makes getting back in front of the curtain possible.  Notice that Hoshoryu reached sekitori winning just 4 bouts from Ms5e.

J14e Asagyokusei (5-10) fell from his highest rank in his entire career.  It only drops to Ms2e, well within striking ranging to start 2020 in the paid ranks.

So as we close 2019 with the Fukuoka basho, of the rikishi in Juryo from the good results at Kokugikan, will one of them reach sanyaku?  Could one of this rikishi become our next yokozuna?

Behind the Curtain - May 2019

It is the beginning of a new era, the Reiwa Era.  It is auspicious time to step out in front of the curtain, especially for the first time.  For the Natsu Basho, we have one rikishi who will have the honor of making his sekitori debut this tourney.  Along with him, we have two returnees to the paid ranks.  Our debutante is making his way into Juryo after exactly 12 years in sumo.

Irodori hails from Saitama prefecture.  He is a member of the Shikoroyama stable.  The stablemaster is none other ex-Sekiwake Terao.  Irodori has two sekitori stablemates, Seiro and Abi.  Seiro is making a return to the paid ranks this tournament.  Irodori has had a long climb up the banzuke to reach the Juryo division.  He made his Makushita debut 8 years ago!  Irodori was East Makushita #1 last Basho and won 5 and loss 2.  Sitting at the top tier of Makushita, winning the majority of your bouts pretty much guarantees getting to put on the silk mawashi.  Over the last 6 tourneys, Irodori has won over a quarter of his bouts using Tsukidashi, or lift out, fighting technique.

Seiro is one of our foreign rikishi from Mongolian.  He's also a member of the Shikoroyama stable.  He dropped behind the curtain after the 2019 Aki Basho, having only won a single bout.  At the last tourney, he was ranked at West Makushita #3.  He completed the tournament with 6 wins and only 1 loss.  This easily propelled him up to Juryo for the Natsu Basho.  Seiro is keen on Yorikiri, or frontal force out.  He prefers the belt oppose to pushing and shoving.  Over the past year, he has won a handful of bouts via Uwatedashinage, or pulling overarm throw. 

Churanoumi is from the sunny beaches of Okinawa.  He is a member of Kise stable.  He fell down the banzuke to the third division after the Nagoya Basho last year, having on managed 5 wins.  At Osaka Basho, ranked at East Makushita #5, he notched a perfect record of 7-0, making him the Makushita Division Champion.  Remember, a perfect record when a rikishi is ranked Makushita 15 or above, is automatic promotion to the paid ranks.  Churanoumi has been favoring Oshidashi, or frontal push out, the past 6 tournaments.  He loves winning with the belt!

Three rikishi step back behind the curtain, making slots available for Irodori, Seiro, and Churanoumi.  The three rikishi had just one tournment visit to the paid ranks this time around.  It has been over a year since we have seen that. 

Takanofuji and Wakamotoharu looked good in Osaka, yet have to give back their silk mawashi for black cotton ones.  They are young, 21-years-old and 25-years-old respectively, so we will see them back in front of the curtain before long, probably this year.  Wakamotoharu is now at West Makushita #1 for Natsu Basho, so 4 wins gets him back in the paid ranks.  Takanofuji is at West Makushita #2 this tourney, so 4 wins might do it, 5 wins would make it more likely he gets back up to Juryo.

Daiseido had an awful tourney in Osaka, winning only 3 bouts.  He has taken a big fall down into Makushita, all the way down to East Makushita #7.  He will be hard-pressed to get back to Juryo for Nagoya Basho.

It is great to have Irodori, Seiro, and Churanoumi as sekitori for the Natsu Basho.  However it looks like it will be a tough time for all three of them.  It is always hard stepping in front of the curtain and then actually staying in front of it.  As rikishi will tell you, this is the toughest part of the banzuke.  Being near the cutoff point, between unpaid and paid, between cottone mawashi and silk mawashi, between being a tsukebito and having tsukebito.  

Behind the Curtain - March 2019

The cherry blossom viewing parties are right around the corner.  When it is hanami season in Japan, it is time for sumo in Osaka.  The Haru basho is hosted at the Edion Arena Osaka, also known as the Osaka Prefectural Gymnasiumin, in the Namba neighborhood.  At this tournament, we have two rikishi new to silk mawashi and two rikishi returning to the paid ranks. 

Ms3w Wakamotoharu (7-0) clinched his second makushita yusho with a perfect score.  Any rikishi ranked at Makushita 15 or higher automatically gets promoted to Juryo with a perfect record (7-0).  Wakamotoharu’s first Makushita yusho was way back at Nagoya 2013, less than two years from his maezumo or sumo debut.  His maezumo was at Fukuoka basho in 2011.  He had one more non-sekitori yusho, which interestingly was his second basho ever, at Hatsu 2012, where he yusho the Jonokuchi division, the 6th and lowest division in sumo. 

With Wakamotoharu’s promotion to the paid ranks, we now have two Onami brothers that are sekitori at the same time.  Both of them belong to Arashio beya.   Watakakage was promoted after last year’s Osaka basho.  They are the 20th pair of brothers who have been active sekitori at the same time.  Their grandfather is none other than komusubi Wakabayama, who had a 19-year career in sumo, retiring in 1961.  Hopefully, we will see one of these brothers take their grandfather’s shikona one day. 

The brothers hail from Fukushima city in Fukushima prefecture.  You may recall that when Wakakakage got the silk mawashi last year, he promised to do his best on behalf of his home prefecture, which suffered during the 2011 Tohoku disaster. 

Ms1w Kiribayama (4-3) is the other rikishi who will wear a silk mawashi for the first time this March.  He is the first sekitori at Michinoku beya since 2011, when Toyozakura retired from sumo.  He will be the only sekitori from Michinoku beya this tournament.  Oyakata Michinoku, ex-Ozeki Kirishima, must be very proud of having a sekitori in his heya.

Ms1e Daiseido (4-3) is our first returnee for this tourney.  It was a tough journey back to the paid ranks of Daiseido.  Starting so very close to the curtain, at Makushita 2 East, just third slots from Juryo, he posted three consecutive 4-3 results in 3 basho to finally break through the curtain.

Ms3e Takanofuji is our last rikishi going up to the paid ranks in Osaka. Whereas Daiseido posted three 4-3 records in a row, Takanofuji finished 5-2 in 3 consecutive tourneys to returned to the paid ranks within just one year.

For rikishi to step out in front of the curtain, other sekitori must go back behind it.  At the end of the Hatsu Basho, we had 3 retirements; Kisenosato, Takanoiwa, and Takekaze.  Finally, J13w Jokoryu managed a 5-9-1 record and that result has sent him back to Makushita.  Jokoryu has been in sumo for almost 8 years, and this is his second time failing from the paid ranks and back to wearing a white cotton mawashi.  Jokoryu reached the 4th highest rank in sumo, Komusubi, at the Aki basho 2014.  At this stage, it seems doubtful he will reach those heights again.  Let’s hope that Jokoryu is back in front of the curtain for the Natsu Basho in Tokyo.

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!