Torabayama

There are certainly some terrible kesho mawashi out there. Do the rikishi have any hand in choosing their kesho mawashi or their design? or are they more or less stuck wearing what they receive and being grateful?

I have to say that I'm really pleased with the quality of the stream this time around. They've certainly come a long way over the past couple of years.

Wow, thanks a lot for this. Really looking forward to seeing it.

Fantastic pics! Thanks for sharing. :-)

Anyone have a scan of the new Banzuke? Its usually posted here by Nishinoshima and I print it out and hang it in my office.....

I thought it was going to be Hakuho and Harumafuji? What happened there?

I will admit that Asa was probably the one that brought me to sumo in the first place, I moved to Japan in 2003 with no particular interest in sumo or knowledge whatsoever. His style was exciting and I found later in his career I wanted him to win even more as he seemed to be somewhat of an underdog to Hakuho at that time. I wasn't particularly enamored with Hakuho at first but I can definitely say that he's kept me interested and excited about sumo. I love his dignity, his unshakable confidence, and how he commands respect both on and off the dohyo. He's amazing to watch and I'll be routing for him to take the Futabayama record in Kyushu.

In case anyone is interested here are a couple pertinent links. Official Website You can watch the first two episodes here. There's also more info on the Japanese Wikipedia (see 土俵ガール!)

no party? no banzai group photo? Thanks for these everyday, btw. I always enjoy this.

Thanks. Its being much more cooperative than yesterday.

For some reason I can only get this to work on VLC today. Day one and two I watched on Quicktime without any issues but today it won't work. VLC had been giving me sound issues but now that Makuuchi has started all seems well. Thanks.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Thanks for sharing.

The May 2010 issue of 大相撲 magazine outlines its list of the 10 strongest rikishi of the Heisei-era (so far). Not sure if I agree with the order of their picks (based on polling from nation-wide newspapers it seems) but I thought I would share the results and see what everyone else thinks. 1. Takanohana 2. Musashimaru 3. Hakuho 4. Akebono 5. Asashoryu 6. Wakanohana 7. Kaio 8. Takanonami 9. Musoyama 10. Tochiazuma Thoughts?

oops... forgot that Jonosuke used the same picture.

I found this old railroad advertisement online and was wondering if the yokozuna depicted was real and if so, who is he? Any help?

I can't say I agree with this sentiment and I'd rank the effectiveness of the mawashi change in drumming up enthusiasm on par with the introduction of Sumo Tori-kun. The gold just seems showboaty to me, something Asashoryu was but Hakuho is not. Hakuho's sumo alone stands on its own and him putting on a flashy mawashi just rings hollow to his personality and style, IMHO.

Any bets as to how long the gold mawashi will stick around?

Very cool and great find. Wish I could help out.

I was hoping he was actually going to show up at the basho one of these days.

Cool pictures Fay (as always). Thanks for sharing!

Was Hakuho channeling Asashoryu yesterday with that dame-oshi?

Heard this on the news today: The group of companies established by former sumo yokozuna Hanada Masaru (39, photo left) has filed for bankruptcy. Three companies, including the Dream Ark firm that ran the Chanko Dining Waka chain restaurants, filed at the Tokyo District Court yesterday. The group has outstanding debts in the region of

There was really no criteria given as to how they choose, although the word strongest may have been a bit deceptive as really they were picking their "best 10". Each paper's 10 picks were counted and the magazine based their top ten from those results. It appears as though 12 publications were polled, every single one listed Takanohana as their number 1 pick. Most cited the high level of competitive sumo during his era (as with Akebono and Musashimaru) as the reason for their choice as opposed to Asashoryu. Hinkaku was specifically referenced in how Takanohana handled himself on the dohyo and as a yokozuna, so the guess that there was a hinkaku point deduction for Asa probably isn't a stretch. Some papers did have Chiyotaikai on their lists (4) but always in the number 9 or 10 spot so seems as though he just got bumped out, can't say I agree with that but there it is.

Anyone have some video coverage of this? I always wanted to see Baruto's keiko with YMY, in all the reports I've read previously YMY mostly stands around during keiko.

I think I read about this or saw it before from Japanland by Karin Muller. Its a book but was also a short series that followed her around on her travels of Japan. She had a a segment on sumo and also this festival that you're referring to. I found her style and personality irritating on the documentary and the book nearly unreadable but she did highlight some interesting activities in Japan. There may be some clips on YouTube as well.