sumojoann

Posted December 14, 2014

My husband treated me to a special "Sumo Trip" to watch the last 8 days of the Aki basho this past Sept. I was able to watch my favorite [at the time], Hakuho, as well as the other Makuuchi rikishi, some of the Juryo, and the occasional Makushita (Ishiura). I first got interested in sumo in March 2013 and soon became hooked. The Aki basho was my first (and only) "live" basho. Every day was exciting but when Hakuho defeated Ichinojo, the entire Kokugikan erupted. For 5 minutes, the crowd screamed, shouted, cheered and clapped. The atmosphere was electric!!

The highlight of my trip was meeting Hakuho at his heya on Day 12. It was such a privilege to watch him train (it lasted an hour). He practiced mainly tachi-ai, using a hapless, short, low-ranked rikishi as his "opponent". Hakuho slammed him into the wall again and again. Finally, the poor rikishi could no longer hide the terror in his eyes. Hakuho patted him on the arm to reassure him, but then slammed into him some more.

Afterwards, Hakuho talked to the assembled reporters for about 10 min, and then I was introduced. I knew my chances of meeting him were small but I prepared ahead of time anyway. I speak very little Japanese and knowing he speaks barely any English, I decided to learn some Mongolian phrases!! I was able to say in Mongolian, "Hello, how are you?, My name is Joann, I have come from America, from Texas. It's nice to meet you, I admire you a lot." Then, I said (still in Mongolian), "You are very handsome!" He groaned loudly (probably embarrassed) and looked away momentarily but I think he secretly liked it.

Hakuho was polite, reserved but not particularly friendly. I don't think he quite knew what to make of me, a 65-year-old American female sumo fanatic, with him being my favorite [at that time]. He looked at me apprehensively, once while training and when we were introduced. At first, I thought it was dread, but I think he was apprehensive for some reason, maybe because he thought that "Granny" was going to criticize him about something!

What a morning! The highlight of my trip, of course. Later in the day, he went on to defeat Kisenosato.

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I was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. Married for 55 years (a miracle!). My husband and I moved to Houston, Texas in 1973. Texas is now home and I love it except for hurricane season. People are very friendly in Houston except when you're driving. Sumo has changed my life! We got TV Japan 9 years ago and my husband started watching the sumo highlights of the ongoing basho. I sat down one afternoon and casually watched it with him. We noticed Hakuho right away but we didn't know his name or anyone else's. We were slowly drawn in. Curiosity about the envelopes resulted in my looking on the Internet, where I found a wealth of information about sumo. I HAD to find out Hakuho's name! Finally, I found a photo of him with EIGHT attendants!! What kind of world was this??!! So exotic and mysterious! My husband's interest in sumo remained casual but mine intensified. I stayed up until 2:00 AM the last 2 nights so I could watch the live broadcast of the Makuuchi division (this was March 2013). Every basho since then, I have stayed up every night to watch the live broadcast. My husband thinks he has created a monster! I love everything about sumo except the injuries, of course --- and the bullying that seems to take place in a lot of the heyas. I love the history, customs, rituals, culture, self-discipline, dohyo-iri (Yokozuna, Makuuchi and Juryo), kesho-mawashi, the matches, learning the kimarite and learning about each of the rikishi ----- where they are from, how they became interested in sumo, etc. I have become interested in Mongolian culture and customs as a direct result of learning about the Mongolian rikishi, especially Hakuho, my favorite [at the time], Harumafuji and Kakuryu. At the end of each basho, I count the days until the next basho. My husband has become somewhat tolerant and my poor friends locally have tried to adjust to my passion, but I haven't had much success in recruiting new fans. It's hard to overcome people's stereotypes. Fortunately, I have made friends with some sumo fans in Japan, Germany and the U.S. And between bashos, there's always Youtube. I actually do have other interests (see "Interests").