Gaijin Guide

[madorosumaru 7]

It is well-known that the Japanese prefer "Hometown Sandanme over Edo's Ozeki." See Thread. Most gaijin rikishi, for obvious reason, do not have this advantage.

However, Juryo Hakuba from Mongolia is an exception. A town in Nagano has adopted him and has established a support group (koenkai). Why him? Because the rikishi shares the same name as the town.

The other day, an inaugural party was held which Hakuba attended along with 50 individual and corporate members. The Local mayor made a speech: "If the name of Hakuba-zeki becomes more famous around Japan, it will have a huge PR effect for our beloved town." The idea for the group was conceived by the previous mayor, who knew someone that had contacts with Michinoku Beya. One thing led to another and after a visit by Hakuba earlier this year, plans for the koenkai became a reality.

Hakuba was born in Ulaanbaatar and joined sumo in 2000. He has made it to makuuchi but is currently in juryo. He is plenty pleased with the new association. He said, "I had known about the town of Hakuba since the Nagano Winter Olympics. I had always thought it would be great if we could be associated in some way. I am going to really gambarize so that I will enhance the name of both."

[ilovesumo 12]

This is like with the town "Obama", remember? (In a state of confusion...)

[madorosumaru 7]

At long last!!!

Makushita Sokokurai, a regular feature on Gaijin Guide, defeated Kotoyutaka in a juryo bout for his fourth consecutive victory, assuring himself of a promotion to juryo next basho. After a very promising start, he had been hampered by injuries and it has taken him six long years to reach this goal.

At age 25, he will become the second sekitori from China. The first was Kiyonohana, who reached the juryo ranks in 1974.

After his win, Sokokurai said, "My body moved quite naturally. I was totally able to do my [brand of] sumo." As for being the first sekitori from Inner Mongolia, he commented, "I would like [more] people to find out there is a place called Inner Mongolia."

Sokokurai is also the first sekitori from Arashio Beya, which former komusubi Oyutaka opened in May, 2002. The shisho said emotionally, "It took a long time. I am truly glad."

* * * * *

Kiyonohana was actually born in Osaka but his ancestral home of Fujian, China, was listed as his shusshin. His Chinese name was/is Zhang Li-Hua but he is also known by the Japanese surname Yoshida. He had very strong lower body but lacked ferocity in his tachiai. He was also slow to attack--a fatal flaw commonly known as not doing "forward-moving sumo." As such, his favorite waza were uchi-gake and yagura-nage after getting into migi-yotsu position.

After his promotion to juryo in 1974, he elavatored between that rank and makushita for about four years. He spent 13 basho as a juryo rikishi, compiling a record of 84 wins and 111 losses. Among those he fought in juryo were future yokozuna Chiyonofuji, Takanosato and Futahaguro. Subsequent to his retirement at age 27, he went into the restaurant business. Chanko Beya in Ebisu is still in existence from its establishment in 1979.

* * * * *

Against Kotoyutaka, Sokokurai took the initiative from the get-go and forced his opponent out in blitzkrieg fashion. The two rikishi had faced each other four basho in a row. Last basho, Kotoyutaka won and used that as a stepping stone towards his return to juryo. Sokokurai had his problems in the early part of Aki Basho. So unimposing was his sumo that day that Arashio Oyakata even called it "just like paper sumo"--a children's game in which paper representations of rikishi are used to combat each other on a table-top dohyo.

Not so, this basho. Sokokurai is a man possessed. He had already beaten formidable rival Miyamoto on Day 1 and followed that up with impressive wins over former juryo 200 kg Tokushinho and veteran former makuuchi Hochiyama.

[Otokonoyama 2,735]

(On the banzuke...) (Showing off...) (Doing a wave...) (W00t, w00t, w00t...) (Dancing of joy...) (Cheers...) (Showing respect...) (Sign of approval...) (Enjoying a beer...) (Punk rocker...) (Jumping in ecstasy...) (Clapping wildly...) (Applauding...)

[Orion 431]

At long last!!!

Makushita Sokokurai, a regular feature on Gaijin Guide, defeated Kotoyutaka in a juryo bout for his fourth consecutive victory, assuring himself of a promotion to juryo next basho. After a very promising start, he had been hampered by injuries and it has taken him six long years to reach this goal.

At age 25, he will become the second sekitori from China. The first was Kiyonohana, who reached the juryo ranks in 1974.

Reply from Orion: I remember him well. He used to patronise a local small restaurant that has now, unfortunately, gone out of business.

But Kiyonohana was ethnic Chinese whilst Sokokurai is an ethnic Mongol -- as you can see from trying to make sense of his name in Chinese characters -- and also by asking him yourself, as I have. (There are several times more Mongols officially in China, in Inner Mongolia, than there are in the country Mongolia (the former Outer Mongolia) -- mainly because, being further south, living there is not so borderline...

Orion after a long hard day

Edited November 22, 2009 by Otokonoyama
moved quote tag

[madorosumaru 7]

Busy, busy, busy. New kimono, new shimekomi, new kesho-mawashi, new koenkai . . .

A congratulations party is scheduled to be held on January 9 at the Royal Park Hotel in Nihonbashi. New juryo Sokokurai will be greeting his supporters, resplendent in his brand new formal haori-hakama. It's not going to be cheap: ￥30,000 per person.

The Arashio site has a feature on the press conference following Sokokurai's promotion.

Pre-conference: All the guys are antsy, waiting for the arrival of the media. The oyakata is obviously nervous--after all, this is the first sekitori from his heya. Sokokurai, as his Mongolian name indicates, is calm and peaceful. "Hey, a guy's gotta eat."

Press Conference: Sokokurai, still calm and collected: "I didn't really prepare. I don't know what questions they are going to ask so how can I prepare."

The venue is packed with media. Oyakata and Shin-juryo sit in front of the mics. "Congratulations, Sekitori!" "Hey, I like the sound of that."

Sokokurai: "I got a lot of confidence when I won four straight last basho after losing the first three."

"It seemed like it took a long time but it also felt short."

"I haven't found my own style of sumo so I am still in process of searching."

"I didn't give it that much of a thought when I joined. The oyakata came recruiting to China so I decided to give it a try. I was already away from home a lot as a member of the national wrestling team so the idea of going to Japan didn't intimidate me."

Oyakata: "I saw him as a nice, earnest kid from the time we met. I was sure he would develop into a sekitori."

"As a sekitori, he is going to keep on growing physically and technically. He is going to get stronger and stronger."

"As you can see from his final two losses, he still has some weakness mentally. That's something he needs to work on."

"He is genuinely a nice kid. Everyone loves him. I can say that at least at Arashio Beya, there isn't a single person who has a bad word to say about him."

The guy in the green kimono with the camera is Igarashi, who is going to be one of the two tsukebito for the new sekitori. The other attendant is going to be Arajishi, who is second in rank and seniority to Sokokurai at the heya.

Post-conference: Time for souvenir pictures. The local Fukuoka koenkai bigwigs are all there for the reception.

There is a humongous "tai" to celebrate the occasion. Sokokurai said that when he first arrived in Japan, he couldn't eat any seafood. Since then he has developed a taste for sushi and sashimi. He knows that one of the requirements for being a sekitori is to be a gourmet in addition to being a gourmand.

The celebratory drinking continued well after sunset. Sokokurai went around pouring sake for oyakata and supporters. "This is the last time he is going to be waiting on us. We can't expect the sekitori to serve us after tonight."

Most rikishi say that the day that they become a sekitori is the happiest day of their career. That goes even for ozeki and yokozuna.

[madorosumaru 7]

The second Chinese sekitori recently visited the first Chinese sekitori at the latter's Ebisu restaurant.

Sokokurai: How do you do. My name is Sokokurai. I am pleased to make your acquaintance.

Kiyonohana: I am glad you came. I am particularly pleased that you came on your own volition and not just as part of a magazine or newspaper project. A friend of mine, who is a sumo fan, told me that there is an outstanding young rikishi from China at Arashio Beya. He said that young man was about to become a sekitori, so after all these years, my name might just pop up in the news again.

S: Well, sir, I am very interested in sumo history and had always wanted to meet you and ask about your experiences. In those days, you were all by yourself. Now, there are six rikishi from China in ozumo.

K: You speak Mandarin, right? My parents were from Fujian and I was born and raised in Osaka. Whatever Chinese I speak is a rural dialect. It's been 30 years since I quit sumo and started the restaurant. I'm at retirement age. I was naturalized in 1986 and am now a Japanese citizen.

S: I heard you were very athletic and that you were a gymnast in high school.

K: You know all about that? (Laugh)

S: What kind of sumo did you do?

K: Despite my small size, I refused to listen to any advice from those around me and did big-scale sumo. You know, migi-yotsu . . . uchigake, yagura-nage, stuff like that.

S: How tall were you and how much did you weigh?

K: I was 176 cm tall and weighed 105 kg. When I first made it to juryo, I weighed all of 88 kilo.

S: Wow!

K: What about you?

S: I am 185 cm tall and I weigh 125 kg. I would like to put on another 20 kg.

K: That's pretty impressive. I understand you used to do free-style wrestling. You should take advantage of all that and do speedy sumo. I am really looking forward to seeing you in a white mawashi.

S: Yes, sir. Thanks to everyone who support me, . It did take me 7 years.

K: Don't start relaxing now. Think of this as a new starting point. This is the time to really gambarize.

S: Yes, sir.

K: They say that "There is no crying [over spilled milk] in sumo." But to tell the truth, I am full of regrets. If I had only done keiko more seriously . . .. If I had only listened and changed my style of sumo . . .. Rueful thoughts like that. It was only after I retired that I finally saw things clearly. Please don't become like that.

S: Yes, sir. Thank you very much.

K: You need to work hard on forward-moving sumo. You need to keep constantly on the move and do the kind of sumo that your opponents would find irritating. Even that great yokozuna, Taiho-san, and that Takanohana made sure they stayed in a low position and never allowed their opponents to get comfortable.

S: (Nodding in agreement)

K: By the way, you should be starting to understand the essence--even the subtleties--of the tachiai. There is something called "Go no sen," where you intentionally delay your tachiai for fraction of a second. By feinting like that you can make it so that your opponent would feel miraculously lighter. You can then maneuver them out of the ring much more easily.

S: Yes. You are absolutely right. Sumo is truly fascinating.

K: In any case, if you keep moving, you will keep your opponents off balance. You need to come up with various ways to get into a favorable position. If you keep your opponents guessing all the time, you will find ways to win and at the same time do the kind of sumo that the fans would enjoy. To accomplish that, it's keiko, keiko, keiko. Always keep a positive attitude and enjoy what you are doing on the dohyo.

S: Thank you very much. These days, even during the basho, I feel strange if I don't do sufficient keiko. I really enjoy sumo and can't wait for the basho to begin.

K: That's the spirit. I had so much regrets (Laugh) that I hadn't watched that much sumo in recent years, but I am going to definitely follow your exploits.

S: I would really appreciate that. Thank you so much for all your advice.

[madorosumaru 7]

Speaking of Chinese rikishi, one of them sandanme Ryutei of Nishonoseki Beya has become a Japanese citizen.

According to a news report, he received his naturalization papers on January 5. The former Li Weifu will now be known officially as Ryutei Weifu.

* * * * *

Meanwhile, shin-juryo Sokokurai defeated veteran Toyozakura on Day 12 for KK in his sekitori debut basho. The Arashio Beya rikishi has put on some weight and has become more aggressive in his sumo. So far in Hastu Basho, he has been extremely impressive.

[madorosumaru 7]

Busy, busy, busy. New kimono, new shimekomi, new kesho-mawashi, new koenkai . . .

A congratulations party is scheduled to be held on January 9 at the Royal Park Hotel in Nihonbashi. New juryo Sokokurai will be greeting his supporters, resplendent in his brand new formal haori-hakama. It's not going to be cheap: ￥30,000 per person.

. . .

Most rikishi say that the day that they become a sekitori is the happiest day of their career. That goes even for ozeki and yokozuna.

People often wonder what it is like to become a sekitori. What a huge difference it makes. What a new world that is opened up for him. Here is a rare look courtesy of the Arashio website into how a new sekitori is treated.

Sokokurai Juryo Promotion Celebration Reception, Part I

Pictures of the two kesho mawashi presented by corporate sponsor and koenkai on display along with a blue silk mawashi and akeni travel case. Sokokurai received another shimekomi (a black one) but apparently it was not ready to be displayed. According to media, Myogiryu, the other shin juryo, received one kesho mawashi from koenkai and one silk mawashi.

Floral displays are from corporations such as Sapporo Lion and Takashimaya as well as other regional koenkai. The sekitori is dressed to a T in his brand new formal wear, also a promotion present along with kimono made with the finest material.

A smiling Sokokurai greets a long line of honored guests along with the proud oyakata and beaming okamisan. The emcee for the evening was tate-gyoji Kimura Shonosuke. It was a first class affair.

The banquet room is packed with A-list guests, including the counselor from the Chinese Embassy, a member of the diet, mayors from cities and towns across the country and bigwigs from all walks of life. The barrel of sake for the toast is compliments of the chairman of Royal Park Hotel, the venue of the celebration.

Sokokurai Juryo Promotion Celebration Reception, Part 2

His heya mates are all decked out in matching kimono to help celebrate the occasion.

Entertainment was provided by musicians from his homeland, Inner Mongolia.

Oyakata regaled the audience with nostalgic stories as the large screen displayed scenes from the heya history. When Sokokurai joined Arashio, there was only one other deshi. From that humble beginning, oyakata and okamisan built the heya to what it is today--with 12 deshi and a gyoji. Sokokurai is, of course, the heya's first sekitori, making this a doubly auspicious occasion.

The guests file out, each receiving a goody bag with mementos from Inner Mongolia. It was an unforgettable evening. Even those who have been to many sumo functions commented that this was "the warmest promotion party they had ever attended." It has been written elsewhere that the young man is about as nice a guy as there is in sumo. A dutiful deshi who works diligently to improve his sumo; a warm, considerate anideshi to all the young guys, an appreciative heyagashira who tirelessly promotes the heya at every opportunity. As the oyakata proudly said, "I have not heard a single bad word uttered about him in all the years I have known him."

All his friends and supporters came out in force to celebrate his "happiest day."

[Otokonoyama 2,735]

Finally, this "can't miss" prediction of the Kyokai homepage and the magazines finally came through. Nice sekitori debut. He made a good impression in both his bouts and in his shin juryo interview on NHK. I'm looking forward to his next basho.

[madorosumaru 7]

Finally, this "can't miss" prediction of the Kyokai homepage and the magazines finally came through. Nice sekitori debut. He made a good impression in both his bouts and in his shin juryo interview on NHK. I'm looking forward to his next basho.

Otoko-san, Sokokurai was the "feel-good" story for Hatsu Basho. After that elaborate party, he said with a sheepish grin, "I can't very well get demoted after all this."

The young guy did some great sumo. His tachiai has improved and he is really getting good at sashite-arasoi (fighting to get favorable mawashi hold). He can grab the mae-mawashi and blitz much bigger guys out of the ring in a jiffy. The experts were concerned in the past that he relied too much on the nage but he has managed to change his sumo.

Sokokurai is developing a huge fan base, also. As you noted, he made a terrific impression in his shin-juryo interview on TV as a shy and modest but articulate young man with a lot of common sense. Young women like him because of his good looks. Older folks like him because he is so damn polite and bows so deeply that he puts Homasho to shame. Sumo aficionados like him because he is a smallish rikishi who has the technical skills to beat bigger guys. He is simply a pleasure to watch.

In the current climate where gaijin rikishi are looked askance, Japanese fans seem to really like him. The blogs are full of praises for him and on senshuraku, the cheers for him were so one-sided that some felt sorry for his opponent, Sadanofuji, who didn't have such a bad basho himself.

[madorosumaru 7]

No more happy days

Daiyubu is history. One of the heartthrobs for female fans all over the world is gone from the dohyo.

One day early in June, a young lady browsing through the Shibatayama homepage noticed a missing face from the rikishi profile. She immediately sent a message to the heya bulletin board inquiring about the omission, and a day later, a succinct notice was placed in reply: "Daiyubu, as of June 6, has retired from sumo for personal reasons. It was a sudden matter and we apologize for the belated notification. We would like to thank all those who supported him while he was active."

No official announcement. No dampatsushiki. Nada.

Recently, there was an article in one of the weeklies. What happened to Daiyubu? Here was a popular rikishi, a former sekitori and the heya-gashira of Shibatayama. How can he just disappear? Was he involved in the gambling scandal?

The reporter was determined to find out what happened. He went to people close to ozumo and the heya to find out. First, he discovered it wasn't a case of gambling. Slowly, the truth came oozing out. According to one insider, "Daiyubu and his oyakata got into a huge argument shortly after Natsu Basho. Shibatayama had always been critical of Daiyubu's lack of diligence for keiko, but this time he really lost it and took out a pair of scissors and cut off his deshi's mage."

Shibatayama is known for being a hard taskmaster. He himself had come out of the old Hanaregoma Beya, where harsh keiko was the rule. He endured all the discipline and hardship to become a yokozuna and he expected no less from his deshi. Daiyubu, in contrast, was a happy-go-lucky guy, who would often be seen hanging out with his Mongolian buddies.

The shisho would see Daiyubu wasting his talent. The guy did win makushita yusho once and made it to juryo. He was the heya's first and only sekitori and Shibatayama was so proud about the juryo promotion that he personally designed and baked the celebration cake. We all know that he is a well known dessert connoisseur and an author of a book on sweets. (Article and picture from happier days). Observing Daiyubu goofing around the keiko-ba probably irritated him to no end. Finally, the straw broke the camel's back and the shisho took the most drastic action.

A veteran journalist said, "In the past, we heard about a guy who caused trouble in the heya and Shibatayama shaved him bald. That was, of course, a young, low-ranking kid. The shisho wanted him to suffer the indignity and reflect on his wrongdoings. But, Daiyubu is a former sekitori. I really thought he should at least give the guy a dampatsushiki if only with close koenkai supporters."

Very sad.

[Kaikitsune Makoto 209]

I suppose it is a good indication of the degree of turmoil in oozumo that this report is not commented in any way. In any other situation such a strange event between an oyakata and sekitori level rikishi would have gotten much more attention. If the report is true and not exaggeration or simply false, it is quite an incident.

Well good for Daiyubu it didn't escalate into major temporary rage where he would have taken the scissors away and stabbed the oyakata 100 times resulting in big headlines.

[ilovesumo 12]

Shibatayama? This sweet guy??(Those who ever watched to food-show must have the same image...) I am shocked.

Thank you for the story and I am happy to hear from you (Sign of approval...)

[Kotoviki 16]

Shibatayama? This sweet guy??(Those who ever watched to food-show must have the same image...) I am shocked.

Thank you for the story and I am happy to hear from you (In a state of confusion...)

Sweet yes, but quite a difference between sweet and how things are with outsiders and within the heya.

As I've heard from one mother whose son is in the heya... no, don't get me wrong she is not worried about her son, her son is not worried...but they have a job to do and if you loaf around and do not take keiko seriously you can find the oyakata's other side!!!

[madorosumaru 7]

Soar Like a Dragon!

A week before the start of Aki Basho, shin-juryo Shironoryu visited his alma mater, Tottori Johoku High School, where he was presented with a kesho mawashi to wear for the dohyo-iri. Shironoryu, then named Erdenetsogt Odgerel, had arrived from Mongolia ten years ago to attend Johoku High, a national sumo power with alumni such as Kotomitsuki, Sakaizawa, Daishoumi and Hoshikaze.

It is a tradition at Johoku to present a kesho mawashi to the newly-promoted juryo rikishi. The faculty and the PTA conduct a campaign to raise funds for the design and tailoring of the ceremonial silk mawashi. The one given Shironoryu has a background of an azure sky above the sand dunes of Tottori and blue water of the Sea of Japan. Also, in the foreground is a dragon (ryu), representing Shironoryu, rising to new heights.

At the press conference, the rikishi thanked all his supporters, "Tottori is my second home. I learned the Japanese language and spent my adolescent years here. I have all you folks to thank for making me what I am today." He continued by saying, "I told myself last basho that this was my last chance to become a sekitori [so don't blow it]. Now, it is my goal to soar up the banzuke just like the dragon on the mawashi."

His old coach, who was in attendance, said, "He has a very well-developed lower body and is formidable in yotsu. I would like him to keep training diligently and aim for the top."

In his second year at Johoku, the young Mongolian was third as an individual in a national tournament and in his third year was on the team that took third place at the prestigious Inter-High Tournament. As such, he was a highly regarded prospect when he joined Ozumo in the same class as Futeno, Masatsukasa and Sadanofuji. Here is a post I wrote about the then-Shironishiki in 2005.

Among the 13 that went through mae-zumo was a kid that stuck out. Shironishiki wasn't that big but he wasn't pudgy like a lot of his fellow rookies. He just looked like a solidly-built, tough-looking young guy. In fact, he was second in his mae-zumo class after Ono, now known as Masatsukasa, who is on the Prospects-to-Watch List of this Forum. Uchida, now Futeno, also joined that basho but he was a makushita tsukedashi so he is in another category.

Shironishiki did very well his first year; he kept pace with Ono who always seemed to be a step ahead of him. Then, he had a big basho with 6 wins and got promoted, for the first time, ahead of Ono (by then Masatsukasa) to mid-makushita. He was a legitimate comer. The media took note of him and Asasekiryu, a senpai from Mongolia, presented him with either an obi or a tabi--a traditional welcome gift from a sekitori to outstanding prospects.

So far so good, but sumo is not so easy. Shironishiki hit a wall, as many prospects are wont to do when they start facing some of the makushita regulars and former sekitori. Two MK in a row and he was back in sandanme.

This basho, after two trying basho of 4 wins each, he is back in makushita--albeit barely at East 54. It may sound like a happy resumption of his journey upward, but, again, it is never that simple. Just before Shonichi, it was reported that Shironishiki will be kyujo to start the basho. Oh, no! Not kanraku again.

Fortunately, there may be a happy ending. The news is that he is returning today after missing only one bout. Let's hope whatever ailed him has healed and we'll all see him in juryo by year end.

Well, it took a lot longer. Shiro injured his knee and was hobbled for several years. He also suffered a detached retina in 2009. In any case, it looks like he has recovered from his injuries as his performance in recent basho has shown.

Footnote: Shironoryu became a naturalized Japanese citizen in Nov. 2009. He took the surname of his shisho and is now Kobayashi Kosei 小林光星.

[madorosumaru 7]

Nineteen-year-old Masunoyama of Chiganoura Beya is 4-1 at makushita 3 and is a likely candidate to be promoted to juryo next basho. If that happens, he would be the very first sekitori born in the Heisei Era.

When the media brought up the subject, the young rikishi replied modestly, "Jeez, that would be great, but I haven't been thinking that far ahead."

The kid is big and he uses his 171-kg body to bulldoze forward. One report had his role model as Toyohibiki, the prototypical oshi specialist; another had it as former-ozeki Chiyotaikai. In any case, "I want to keep doing blitzkrieg sumo," promised the prospect.

Masunoyama's mother is a Filipina lady named Maria Christina. Due to family reasons, he spent his ninth grade year in a school in his mom's homeland. They were poor. The house they lived in would get flooded when it rained. He had to helo wit the family budget by selling water on the street. After graduating from the school in Iloilo City, he joined Ozumo so that he could someday make life easier for his mother, who is currently working as a healthcare assistant in Japan. "I want her to be able to live in the Philippines without having to work," said the dutiful son. "I want to buy her a nice house."

Incidentally, the young man speaks four languages--Japanese, English, Chinese and Tagalog.

[madorosumaru 7]

Masunoyama was mentioned above as potentially the first rikishi born in the Heisei Era to become a sekitori. Yes, he will be promoted but the first one to secure that honor was Takayasu, who won his 7th bout on Day 13. By getting zensho yusho at the rank of makushita 13, he assured himself of promotion to juryo for Kyushu Basho.

What's interesting is that not only were these two young rikishi born in the same Heisei year, they both are half Filipino. Masunoyama's mom is named Maria Christina and Takayasu's Pipilita.

Akira, Takayasu's given name, was born in Ibaraki Prefecture, where his father operates a restaurant. In junior high, he was a baseball player, playing centerfield and batting fifth to seventh. He had planned to go to high school and continue playing baseball but his dad, an ardent sumo fan, convinced him to join Naruto Beya. "My parents have given me so much love that I wanted to make them happy," explained the young man.

His promotion will be timely. On Oct. 15, his hometown will be a host site of Aki Jungyo. Already, local folks are organizing a koenkai. They plan to present him with a new kesho-mawashi during the jungyo tournament. In addition, the Jungyo Organizing Committee will honor him on the dohyo with a nice red envelop.

His shisho, Naruto Oyakata, said, "He is a prospect that can aim for sanyaku and above. He is developing [as a rikishi] like a volcano changes its form as it erupts."

Asked about his wishes, Takayasu said, "I would like to go visit my mother's home country, the Philippines, [as a success]."

[madorosumaru 7]

Shin-juryo Takayasu with his parents and the celebratory cake.

"I am brimming with happiness," said the new sekitori.

[madorosumaru 7]

It was "Filipino Mother's Day" in Ryogoku yesterday. Takayasu with his mom and dad in the picture above and Masunoyama with his mother and brother here.

As mentioned before, Masunoyama is from a broken home. When he was in junior high, he and his brother were sent to live with relatives in the Philippines while his mother remained in Japan to earn a living for the family. Masunoyama joined Ozumo with the dream that he could someday make life easier for his mother. According to Tochinoyama, his ani-deshi, the young man would save whatever little money he made as a toriteki to help out his family.

Two years ago, he arranged for his younger brother to get a job as tokoyama with his heya. When Kawashita joined Chiganoura Beya in Aki 2008, the stable had 12 deshi and became eligible to hire their own hair-dresser. Unlike Masu, the younger sibling was too small (160cm、75kg) to be a rikishi so he became an apprentice tokoyama with the name "Tokosen".

Now, Masunoyama is a sekitori and will be receiving a nice paycheck. It it is his hope to buy a house where the family could live together. The complaint in recent years is that the young people lack the "Hungry Spirit." That, obviously, is not the case with this young man.

[Harry 67]

Thanks for these updates!

[yamaneko 2]

awesome. Being half filipino myself, im very proud of these guys!

[madorosumaru 7]

Seventeen-year-old Koji U 于　浩士 (b.d. 9/20/1993) made his dohyo debut in Aki Basho, going 3-1 in mae-zumo. He is a smallish fellow (176 cm, 68 kg) but has tremendous quickness and apparent athletic prowess. His shisho feels there is some upside to him if can develop into the kind of tenacious technician that "opponents hate to face."

Here is an interview from the Arashio Beya homepage.

Q: What prompted you to join Ozumo?

A: I have been interested in sumo since I was in primary school. I would watch it a lot on television. But, as you can see, I'm on the skinny side, so I used to think I wasn't suited for it.

As a result, I was involved in other sports when I was in junior high and high school. In junior high, I played baseball and soccer, and in high school, I was on the bowling and track teams. However, track wasn't something I had planned to do. People from the team persuaded me to run the 100 meters.

Q: If you were recruited, you must have shown a lot of athletic ability?

A: I suppose so--to a degree. I do believe that I have explosiveness off the block. In any case, I love sports. That I am sure of.

Q: What about your studies?

A: It's not that I wasn't good at it. I just didn't like it. Especially, math. It doesn't have any useful application in real life, don't you think?

Q: You were attending high school. How did it happen that you ended up joining Ozumo?

A: I went for a year like normal, but suddenly this spring, I couldn't hold back my feelings. I just decided then to join. I did some research on the computer and came here in March to check it out.

I told the oyakata that I wanted join the heya, but his answer was for me to be patient and think it over carefully--that it wouldn't be too late if I waited until after high school. In short, he rejected me. However, I had already made up my mind to join so it was a matter of coming back again.

Then, before the summer, I dropped out of high school and went to Nagoya, where I pleaded once again with the oyakata. This time, he consented to let me join.

Q: Since then, you have been spending your time at the heya. What are your impressions?

A: It's quite different from what I imagined. I had an image of a sumo heya being a scary place full of big, fat people, but everyone at Arashio Beya is so, how should I put it, gentle and kind.

Also, before I came here, I thought I ate a lot. Not by a long shot. I am full after eating two big bowls of rice. I look around and the others are just getting started . . .

Keiko, as I expected, is tough. I am still just working on the fundamentals, but matawari, as can be imagined, really hurts.

Why is U discussed here? Well, 于 is a Chinese surname, spelled "Yu" in English transliteration. It was mentioned on television during shindeshi introduction that his father is from China but he has Japanese citizenship.

Now, Arashio Beya has U to add to a group of deshi that includes Sokokurai, who is a Chinese from Inner Mongolia, and Kotokuzan (Jasper Kenneth Terai), who is half Filipino.

In any case, 加油, 于(Jiā​y

Edited September 30, 2010 by madorosumaru

[Orion 431]

Now, Arashio Beya has U to add to a group of deshi that includes Sokokurai, who is a Chinese from Inner Mongolia, and Kotokuzan (Jasper Kenneth Terai), who is half Filipino.

Sokokurai is an ethnic Mongol with Chinese nationality (because Inner Mongolia, an autonomous region of China, is home to vastly more Mongols than live in what used to be Outer Mongolia but is now simply the independent country Mongolia).

FWIW, Orion

[madorosumaru 7]

Once upon a time, there were three Mongolian boys that came to Japan as sumo exchange students at Meitoku Gijuku High School to follow in the glorious path of their hero, former Yokozuna Asashoryu. The boys trained hard with the hope of turning professional when they graduated. However, due to the "One gaijin per heya" rule, they were not able to find any opening at that time. Instead, an alumnus from the high school suggested they enroll at Kyushu Joho University and wait for an opportunity. Todbileg was the brightest prospect of the three, and in his junior year, a slot opened at Tamanoi Beya when Brazilian Takaazuma retired. Tod immediately joined and took the shikona of Azumaryu. He has progressed steadily and is currently within hailing distance of juryo at makushita 18 although he did suffer a narrow makekoshi, 3-4, in Aki Basho.

The other two, Chinbat and Battugs stayed in school. Chinbat was the captain of the Joho-dai team in their senior year and had the better record of the two, so it was expected that he would be the one to join Ozumo, but to everyone's surprise, it was Battugs that found an opening at Tatsunami Beya early this year after its two Mongolian deshi became naturalized Japanese citizens. He is now Ryuonami, who is rapidly rising on the banzuke and was 5-2 at sandanme 25 last basho.

What happened to Chinbat? He is now over the age limit for shin-deshi so a career in Ozumo is no longer an option. Recently, a resourceful Forum maven found an article in a local edition of Asahi in Wakayama Prefecture and notified me. Apparently, Chinbat had decided to stay in Japan even after his dream of Ozumo stardom had ended before it even started. This April, along with thousands of Japanese college graduates, he embarked on a corporate career. His choice was the Matsugen Corporation, a large firm that owned a chain of supermarkets in the Wakayama region. Matsugen has a sumo team and thus Chinbat became the second Mongolian to wrestle in the Japanese Industrial League.

Chinbat was a basketball player as a youth, but along many other Mongolian boys, he took notice of Asashoryu's exploits on television. He had absolutely no sumo experience when he participated in a tryout sponsored by a sumo organization that was visiting Mongolia. Out of 60 youths that tried out, three were selected as exchange students in Japan.

They entered Meitoku and found out what it was like to be on a Japanese high school sports team. In addition to having to learn a new language and cope with classes, they were subjected to hellish keiko every single day. Matawari was especially tough for newbies and the upperclassmen were merciless. When the boys couldn't bend enough to touch the ground, they piled onto their backs. Chinbat recalls that he never screamed so loud in his life.

But they had their dreams so they persevered. In their senior year, all three were on the Meitoku team that took third place in the prestigious national high school championships. They were sure they were on the way to Ryogoku, but soon, they realized how naive they were. The coach at Kyushu Joho University was an alum of Meitoku so the three continued to do sumo there.

Chinbat told the reporter that even though his colleagues joined Ozumo, he decided otherwise because he felt that after spending four years in college, he was too old for a pro career. However, he had come to love the sport of sumo. He was fluent in the Japanese language and had a degree in Management Information Systems. He discussed his future with his coach, who recommended him to Matsugen.

As a new employee with the corporation, he is a trainee and has to learn all the rudiments of running a supermarket. During the day, he is at a store processing and packing the products for display and sale. From about six in the evening, he is at the keiko-ba. Because of the tough schedule, he lost 15 kg in the first six months after joining the company. However, his sumo ability was a cut above his peers. Even as a newcomer, he became the top gun of the Matsugen team and led it to its first championship in 30 years.

Mr. Nakamura, the coach, has nice words for the young man. "Chinbat is very diligent at his day job and works harder than everyone else at keiko," he said. "Even a native Japanese would find the new environment difficult, so what he is doing deserves a lot of praise."

Chinbat responds in his typical model employee way, "The feeling one gets when winning cannot be compared with anything else. My immediate goal is to lead Matsugen to Division I of the Industrial League. That's my way to repay all the people of the company who have been so good to me."