Yamanashi 3,847 Posted January 19, 2019 Just now, John Gunning said: Yes the editor changed that from the 'seven days' in the article I submitted. Sigh. I'll get them to change it back Well, fifteen divided by two: I guess they just rounded it wrong. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shinrei 47 Posted January 19, 2019 Saw this in the Knappily app... The dying art of Sumo wrestling https://knappily.com/society/japan-sumo-492 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Asojima 2,874 Posted January 19, 2019 17 minutes ago, Shinrei said: Saw this in the Knappily app... Knappily should learn something about sumo before trying to do in depth reporting on it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Amamaniac 2,079 Posted January 19, 2019 Stumbled across the following 2014 article. After a couple of key-word searches, I have concluded that it never made it into this thread (forgive me if I am wrong). Nevertheless, I think it is worth a read for those who haven't read it yet or even a re-read. http://www.sportspromedia.com/opinion/following_the_handprints_of_giants_inside_the_unique_sport_of_sumo 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Otokonoyama 2,735 Posted January 19, 2019 Sumo 101: Championship portraits Quote One of the most striking features of Ryogoku Kokugikan is the ring of giant portraits hanging from the rafters. The 32 images (each 3.17 x 2.22 meters including frame) show the winners for the past 32 tournaments. Prior to each of the three annual Tokyo meets, the two oldest pictures are taken down and replaced with those of the two most recent winners... https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2019/01/19/sumo/sumo-101-championship-portraits/ 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eikokurai 3,437 Posted January 20, 2019 Do these Japan Times articles get syndicated anywhere? A few months ago China started blocking the JT website and I don’t have a VPN at home. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Amamaniac 2,079 Posted January 20, 2019 Forum members may like to download this chart from ... Japan Times (sorry Eikokurai!): https://sports.japantimes.co.jp/sumo/2019-special/images/new-year-basho/pdf/0111p09-2.pdf 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Otokonoyama 2,735 Posted January 21, 2019 Emperor and Empress watch grand sumo Quote Japan's Emperor and Empress attended the New Year Grand Sumo tournament now underway in Tokyo. The Imperial couple visited the Kokugikan sumo arena on Sunday afternoon to watch the tournament. This was their 23rd visit to the arena and their last as Emperor and Empress before Emperor Akihito's abdication in April. The Chairman of the Japan Sumo Association, Hakkaku, and stable masters welcomed the couple as they arrived. The couple also greeted cheering sumo fans in the arena, waving their hands. The Emperor and Empress enjoyed the day's last nine bouts contested by wrestlers in the top division. They applauded Yokozuna grand champion Hakuho when he beat his opponent with a pulling underarm throw. Hakkaku later told reporters that the Emperor thanked him and the Empress expressed her concern for wrestlers who are staying out of the tournament due to injuries. https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190121_02/ 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Otokonoyama 2,735 Posted January 21, 2019 Sumo 101: Akeni Quote Sekitori (wrestlers in the top two divisions) have a lot of accouterments. There are kesho-mawashi (ceremonial aprons), kimono, sandals, cushions and items like knee braces and tape that must be transported from the stables to the arena and brought on regional tours. While athletes in team sports use heavy-duty team-issued bags, a sumo wrestler’s possessions are carried and stored in lacquered paper-and-bamboo boxes called akeni... https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2019/01/20/sumo/sumo-101-akeni/ 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
since_94 650 Posted January 21, 2019 The Imperial visit was still on the six o'clock news tonight. The people LOVE them Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Otokonoyama 2,735 Posted January 21, 2019 Sumo 101: Pre- and post-bout rituals Quote From once they are called to mount the dohyo, makuuchi division wrestlers have four minutes to prepare for their bout. After bowing to each other, they go to the corner, do shiko (foot stomps) and receive the chikara mizu and chikara gami (power water and power paper) from another rikishi. Wrestlers who have already lost that day are not allowed to hand those items over, so the victorious wrestler from the previous bout manages his side, while the one yet to fight deals with the other... https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2019/01/21/sumo/sumo-101-pre-post-bout-rituals/ 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Otokonoyama 2,735 Posted January 22, 2019 Sumo 101: Keshō-mawashi Quote One of the first orders of business for a rikishi promoted to sumo’s second-highest division (jūryō) is getting a keshō-mawashi (ceremonial apron-style belt). Large and heavy, keshō-mawashi are only worn during ring-entering ceremonies and special events. The starched cords attached to a wrestler’s regular mawashi during a bout are said to represent the keshō-mawashi... https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2019/01/22/sumo/sumo-101-kesho-mawashi/ 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Otokonoyama 2,735 Posted January 23, 2019 (edited) Sumo 101: Trading cards Quote With a sport as ancient as sumo, trading cards aren’t the first things that spring to mind when you think of memorabilia. A person could be forgiven for assuming that if such cards existed, they must be just a recent concession to western tastes. The reality however is quite different. Sumo cards in various forms have been around since the 1800s (and even a century earlier if you count clay and lead versions)... https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2019/01/23/sumo/sumo-101-trading-cards/ Edited January 23, 2019 by Otokonoyama 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Otokonoyama 2,735 Posted January 24, 2019 Sumo 101: Koenkai Quote On the surface sumo generates income the same way as most other sports —through ticket sales, merchandising and sponsorships. While that’s the case for the Japan Sumo Association on a macro level; individually, stables and wrestlers also rely on another source of funding — supporters groups. Koenkai, as they are known, have long played a major role in subsidizing and promoting Japan’s national sport... https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2019/01/24/sumo/sumo-101-koenkai/ 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yamanashi 3,847 Posted January 25, 2019 Thank You John Gunning! I recognize some of the topics we on this Forum asked that you cover. Ganbarou! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tsuchinoninjin 1,269 Posted January 25, 2019 Mawashi washing machines 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ryoshishokunin 291 Posted January 25, 2019 1 hour ago, John Gunning said: Always looking for more suggestions so if you have em........ Can you do detailed looks at the gyoji's kimono? A bunch have kanji or symbols on them that it would be nice to know about. A few have big embroidered stuff on the back---it seems like a nice little window into the personality of the gyoji that we usually don't get. (I seem to recall that some are hand-me-downs as well--is that still true?) 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Akōgyokuseki 228 Posted January 25, 2019 9 hours ago, Ryoshishokunin said: Can you do detailed looks at the gyoji's kimono? A bunch have kanji or symbols on them that it would be nice to know about I second that suggestion as I would love to know about that also. I'm sure I saw Shikimori Inosuke wearing a kimono embroidered with Hakuho and Takayasu's shikona (unless I need to get my eyes tested...which I probably do) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Otokonoyama 2,735 Posted January 25, 2019 Sumo 101: Sumo's birthplace Quote Ryogoku is the center of the sumo world. The district on the east bank of the Sumida River is home to Ryogoku Kokugikan and several stables. There are also numerous sumo specific- stores, shrines and museums in the area. Despite all that, Ryogoku can’t claim to be the birthplace of the sport. That honor goes to... https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2019/01/25/sumo/sumo-101-sumos-birthplace/ 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yumenofude 11 Posted January 25, 2019 15 hours ago, John Gunning said: Always looking for more suggestions so if you have em........ Purification related rituals like salt - how much do they go through, anyway? And why is the yobidashi there with an opened white fan just after a win? Is that somehow purification related? (Thanks in advance for considering such a line of enquiry...) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kamitsuumi 400 Posted January 25, 2019 1 hour ago, Yumenofude said: Purification related rituals like salt - how much do they go through, anyway? And why is the yobidashi there with an opened white fan just after a win? Is that somehow purification related? (Thanks in advance for considering such a line of enquiry...) Looks like 40kg/day is the figure commonly quoted. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yamanashi 3,847 Posted January 25, 2019 John, do you have any stories about sekitori-tsukebito relationships that have continued after retirement? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Amamaniac 2,079 Posted January 25, 2019 Just when I thought Miki-san would feature Kisenosato's retirement/career, he decides to look elsewhere... http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0005482373 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Otokonoyama 2,735 Posted January 27, 2019 Sumo 101: Tickets Quote Sumo tickets go on sale roughly about six weeks before the start of every tournament. There are various categories and prices, as well as certain kinds of seats that are unique to particular venues, but generally speaking tickets fall into two main groups — masu (box) and isu (chair). The former means sharing a roughly 1.3 square meter box with three other people. You’ll need to sit cross-legged or seiza style to fit and even for smaller people it’s a tight squeeze... https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2019/01/26/sumo/sumo-101-tickets/ 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Otokonoyama 2,735 Posted January 27, 2019 34-year-old Tamawashi breaks through with New Year tourney title Quote Sekiwake Tamawashi became the second oldest wrestler in sumo's current format to secure his maiden championship, winning the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament on Sunday, the tourney's 15th and final day. The 34-year-old Mongolian wrapped up his triumph with his 13th victory, beating No. 9 maegashira Endo (10-5) for the 10th time in 16th career bouts. Tamawashi had entered the day with a one-win lead over 22-year-old Takakeisho, who had won his maiden championship in November. Tamawashi made quick work of Endo, receiving his charge, pushing him up, throwing him off balance with a couple of full-blooded shoves and then casting him down. The oldest wrestler to win his first championship since sumo went to six grand tournaments a year in 1958 was his compatriot Kyokutenho, who secured his lone title as a No. 7 maegashira in May 2012 as a 37-year-old. With the title in his hands, Tamawashi sat by ringside, where we continually wiped at his eyes while the final bouts were fought out. "My first thoughts were of gratitude toward all those who have supported me," Tamawashi said. "For so long, I've wanted to tell my stablemaster and his wife this wonderful news, and now at last I can do it." "It's a long slog. I was able to concentrate, but it was long. I'm glad I was able to do that and enjoy this feeling I have now." The victory was cause for double celebration as Tamawashi's wife gave birth to a son earlier in the day. "This is the greatest," he said. With a second straight championship out of reach, Takakeisho (11-4) faced ozeki Goeido (9-6) in the tournament's final bout. He was run out of the ring in a heartbeat, carried out by the ozeki's charge in 1.9 seconds. Although Takakeisho met one standard for ozeki promotion, 33 wins over three grand tournaments, his poor performance on the final day, and his 9-6 record in September have put his promotion on hold. "I want to do my best (in the next tournament)," he said. "Fifteen days is long. I knew that already, but I still have many lessons to learn." Komusubi Mitakeumi earned a "shukun-sho" Outstanding Performance prize for having defeated all three yokozuna in the tournament. He finished with an 8-4-3 record. It was the first time since the "sansho" three-prize system was established in 1947 that a wrestler who missed bouts due to injury received one of the awards. Although he limped visibly except in the ring, the komusubi handed yokozuna Hakuho his first loss of the tournament on Day 11, opening the door for Tamawashi and Takakeisho to battle for the championship. Hakuho withdrew after suffering his third straight loss on Day 13, leaving the tournament without a single wrestler at the sport's highest rank. Fellow Mongolian grand champion Kakuryu pulled out due to injury and Japanese yokozuna Kisenosato closed the curtain on his career earlier in the tournament. Tamawashi won a "kanto-sho" Fighting Spirit prize and an outstanding performance prize for the victory, while Takakeisho was awarded a "gino-sho" Technique prize... https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20190127/p2g/00m/0sp/056000c 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
