Sesostris

Rain check it is. (Sign of approval...)

Well, I found the place and saw my first live sumo, yay! Here are some selected photos from the day. I'm by no means a sumo expert, so some of the photos are 'add your own caption'-type. I can tell you that Baruto fought Kotooshu. It looked like a one of them tried to henka the other, but it was hard to tell from my viewpoint. Then they spent about 30 s at the belt before Baruto got Kotooshu turned around and easily forced him out. Hakuho fought Harumafuji, and he was flawless. Immediately after the tachi-ai he lifted Harumafuji very high and leasurely carried him out of the ring to gently set him down. My pictures can be seen here.

Finally back on the net, thanks for the info. I'll be there tomorrow (on the 25th). If you're there yourself, feel free to hunt me down, and I'll buy you a beverage of your choice. (Sign of approval...) I look like this, I'm 190 cm tall, and in the company of my 185 cm tall wife. You should be able to pick me out... ;-)

Hello, old member but very infrequent poster here. I'm currently on holiday in Japan, and my travel will bring me to Kyoto during the 24th-25th. Unfortunately, I don't know Japanese, so I have no specific information on the tournament apart from the city (Otsu). Could a kind soul please tell me the following: - Exact address - Start time - Price - Anything else I should know If this is already available elsewhere, I apologize. Otherwise, thanks in advance.

This isn't Orora, not even close. It's Torsten Scheibler, a quite strong ama-zumo wrestler. Orora is looking completely different. :-D Sorry (Nodding yes...) , I've only ever seen one poor-quality pic of Oorora, and I don't know any ama-zumo wrestlers. I just thought it was a good picture, and made a guess as to the identity.

Here's one I think is of Oorora, with some role-playing humor added. If you want to use the format for your caption contests, you can make your own motivational posters here. If any of you happen to be role-players, there's a ton of RPG-related 'motivational' posters here.

Baruto: "I guess you won't be making fun of my ballet lessons anymore!"

A funny thing to note: Shortly before Asa moved into the top-five basho list, his peak rating in Doitsuyama's sumo ratings also moved into the all-time top-five (2619 afther the .latest basho).

Hmm, not that many left. Which is the next one? There are still plenty left to beat. (Nodding yes...) How about Futabayamas 69 consecutive winning bouts? (Blushing...) ...and Taiho's 8 zensho yusho record...

Here's one that was brought in a Danish newspaper. (Shaking head...) EDIT: How to I get the picture to show instead of just being an attachment? Osh_Kak.bmp

Hello, everyone. My name is Nick Weppenaar, and I live in Denmark (more specifically on Als). I first became interested in sumo some five years ago (i think) when I saw it on Eurosport. At first, it was most like a horrified fascination, but I kept seeing it, and it gradually developed into an appreciation of the sport's many nuances. These days, I can't see it on TV (having no TV), so I mostly read this site and Sumotalk.com. Whenever there's a basho going, I get withdrawal symptons if I can't get to a PC when the Makuuchi bouts are over for the day. (Nodding yes...) My girlfriend and I are planning to go to Japan some day and (of course) time it with a basho. Not the next two years or so, but hopefully soon after... I'm a physicist by education, with a sideline in philosphy. These days I work as a sensor specialist for a company that delivers electronics and hydraulics to agricultural and construction machinery. My other interests are role-playing (D&D, mostly), free-diving, whisky and singing. Oh yeah, and I read a lot of science fiction and fantasy.

We're the only Danes here? Wow. (Applauding...) Where in Denmark do ou live?

...and a late thank you. ;-)

Hello all. I notice that Doitsuyama's sumo rankings page hasn't been updated with the results of the May Basho. Will the site no longer be updated, or do I just have to be patient? The reason for my anticipation is that, as far as I can see, Asashoryu has a rating of 2580 after Haru 2005, and that's a tie with Takanohana for highest score ever. So naturally, I'm curious as to how high Asa will go after a zensho yusho... PS: Does a wrestler get a bonus in the ratings for going zensho? After all, his strength for that yusho is effectively immeasurable.

Thanks for all the info guys. But I still have my original question: If I'm not mistaken, Asashoryu now has the highest ranking ever since the start of Doitsuyama's ratings table (1989). Since the ratings should also take the level of the opposition into account, does that make him 'best', or does it mean the system should be adjusted, or what? There have been many discussions on this board about Asa vs. Taka vs. Chionofuji vs. Taiho, and with his current rating, his peak form seems to lie above that of Taka, at any rate. The question is how long he can maintain his present form, but in the hypothetical Asa-at-his-peak vs. Taka-at-at-his-peak, this seems to suggest that Asa should win.

Thanks for the answers. (In a state of confusion...) Just one little nitpick: Is Kyokutenho really the highest rated wrestler? (Showing respect...)

Thank you (Nodding yes...) If you like Sci-fi, you should read John C. Wright's Golden Age trilogy. It's the most original sci-fi I've read in several years, and one of the most convincing ultra-high-tech worlds I've ever seen described. And the hero is an engineer. (Blinking...) Denmark is very nice most of the time, but you were lucky with the weather. Two days ago, we had half the entire rainfall of June in one day... (Depressed...) If you should come by again, I'll be happy to play tourist guide. It's always fun to re-discover your country by presenting it to foreigners.

Hello, long-time reader de-lurking. I also started out reading SumoTalk.com after getting interested in sumo via Eurosport. I still read it and enjoy their comments, although they are heavy on the henka.