Behind the Curtain - July 2021

 Good news!  The July basho will be held in Nagoya.  The rijicho said "We will hold the Nagoya basho and it will be a success. We will make sure that the sumo culture will not be forgotten around the country." It will be the first time in a year and four months that a local basho will be held. It was held in March 2020 in Osaka but with no spectators. It will be the first local basho with fans since November 2019. The number of spectators will be limited to 3800, half the capacity in Nagoya. "All Kyokai members will undergo PCR tests and only negative people will be allowed to travel to Nagoya. Stringent measures similar to the Kokugikan will be taken at the venue to prevent infection. As a general rule, going out from the lodgings will be strictly forbidden, " summed Hakkaku rijicho.

What does this mean?  The lucky rikishi stepping from behind the curtain will step on the Nagoya dohyo and not the dohyo in Kokugikan.  Who are these lucky rikishi?  We have one new face entering Juryo and 3 returnees to sekitori.

Kotoukuzan (ms 1e) racked up a 5 - 2 record to move upwards.  Koto is interesting since he from the Philippines.  His name is Jasper Kenneth.  His mother is Catherine and his father is Japanese.  His father was the one who encouraged Jasper to join sumo.  He lived in the Philippines until he was 12 years old.  He entered sumo at 15 years old.  He debuted in makushita at 20 years old.  He is a pusher-thruster who models himself after Mitakeumi and Chiyotaikai.  Interestingly his least favorite class in school was Japanese.  Also, his least favorite food is natto.  Thanks to his mom, who sometimes brings Filipino food to the heya, so he is not homesick for Filpino food.   

Abi (ms 7e ) scored 7 - 0 to take the makushita yusho and thereby putting on the silk mawashi back on.  Abi was stuck behind the curtain for 4 basho since his demotion.  You may recall that a year ago, 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.   This lead to his suspension, which ended with a demotion to makushita.

Yago (ms 4w) managed a 4 - 3 to step out from the curtain after wearing a cotton mawashi for the last 2 basho.  Yago was a college sumo champion who entered sumo at makushita tsukedashi 15.  He hails from Hokkaido.

Kaishou (ms 2w) notched a 6 - 1 to get his silk mawashi back after 18 months.

Behind the Curtain - May 2021

 The cherry blossom season is behind us, Golden Week has arrived and it is time for sumo at Kokugikan. Joining the rikishi with silk mawashi are two returnees for this basho, Oho Konosuke and Daishoho Kiyohiro are in the paid ranks once again.

Oho (Ms2e) posted a 4-3 record to secure his return to Juryo. Taihō's grandson continues to show us that he has sekitori DNA in his body. Oho won his 4 bouts primarily via his tsuki/oshi technique, which is pushing and thrusting. In general, Oho most common winning technique or kimarite is oshidashi, known as straightforward push out. His father, Takatoriki, was also a big oshidashi fighter.

The last time he was promoted to the paid ranks, his Oyakata changed his shikona from Naya to Oho (王鵬) which means King Peng (phoenix). 

Oho is the third of four sons and his father was the sekitori Takatoriki. And of course, his mother is the 48th yokozuna Taiho’s daughter. In his fourth year at Arima Elementary School, he was the runner-up in the national tournament.

Oho attended Saitama Sakae High School that has a strong sumo program. One of his classmates with the future Kotoshoho. In Oho’s third year at high school, he won both the group and individual championships on the national level. After high school, he joined Otake stable, which was founded by his grandfather. 

Fun fact. Oho is also the second third-generation sumo wrestler after Kotonowaka to become a sekitori.

Daishōhō (Ms2w) notched 5 wins and 2 losses to punch his return ticket to the paid ranks. Now where Oho is a pusher, Daishōhō is a traditional grappler, with his main technique yotsu sumo. Over his career, he has won mostly via tori-kiri or force out. He is also a right hand grip the mawashi kind of guy, migh-yotsu.

Daishōhō spent his childhood in Ulan-Bator and was a good student. He was sent to Japan to study after his fourth-grade year seeking a better education. He attended Kashiwa City Daini Elementary School and after 3 months he was able to speak basic Japanese.

Daishōhō attended Chiba Prefectural Nagareyama Minami High School. One of his classmates with future makuuchi wrestler Abi. In the New Year Chiba Prefecture sumo tournament, Daishōhō led his school to a team championship for the first time in 19 years. The next year the in the national competition he lost to sekiwake Ichinojo . Daishōhō would train with the Meiji University sumo club. Daishōhō graduated at the top of his class academically. It was in high school where he was introduced to Oitekaze Oyakata. Eventually, Daishōhō joined Oitekaze stable.

Fun fact. Daishōhō was the 25th Mongolian to be promoted to makuuchi.

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.