Nagoya Basho 2012 - General Discussion Thread

[yorikiried by fate 2,028]

Statistic fetishism:

Harumafuji's zensho yusho is the 9th done by an Ozeki in the 6bpy era. The first since Hakuho's in May 2007.

Query.

Oh, and I just saw that Harumafuji tied Takanohana for "lowest ranked while achieving Makuuchi zensho yusho" at O2w.

[Asashosakari 19,331]

Oh, and I just saw that Harumafuji tied Takanohana for "lowest ranked while achieving Makuuchi zensho yusho" at O2w.

Among ozeki...

Edit: Okay, or whole-makuuchi if limited to the six-basho era.

Edited July 22, 2012 by Asashosakari

[Otokonoyama 2,735]

Off-topic discussion of steroids has been moved here.

[Masumasumasu 902]

This is a bit ridiculous. Hakuho has 22 titles, over 3 from Harumafuji, 1 from Baruto, 1 from Kotooshu. He went 14-1 on this tournament, only losing to the champion. Last tournament he was injured. What do you expect him to do? Become The Incredible Hulk? If anything a 14-1 record is indicative of his dominance if nothing else.

He's a yokozuna. Winning every basho 15-0, regardless of physical condition, is a job requirement.

He's also supposed to be a model citizen, showing absolutely no emotion on the dohyo, and never ever do things like shove opponents or perform henka.

And no, I'm not exaggerating.

Bravo. That's precisely the point.

Great post.

[botev1921 33]

This is a bit ridiculous. Hakuho has 22 titles, over 3 from Harumafuji, 1 from Baruto, 1 from Kotooshu. He went 14-1 on this tournament, only losing to the champion. Last tournament he was injured. What do you expect him to do? Become The Incredible Hulk? If anything a 14-1 record is indicative of his dominance if nothing else.

He's a yokozuna. Winning every basho 15-0, regardless of physical condition, is a job requirement.

He's also supposed to be a model citizen, showing absolutely no emotion on the dohyo, and never ever do things like shove opponents or perform henka.

And no, I'm not exaggerating.

Bravo. That's precisely the point.

Great post.

It's a good point, but every sport needs to get into the 21st century and if you don't want your Yokozuna to be influenced by modern way of life, you should either not promote non-japanese, not allow non-japanese to even be in sumo or lock the potential yokozuna in a cage while he is in sumo. The world has developed and as traditional as this sport is, you can't expect sane, normal human beings to behave like they used to 200 years ago...it's just not natural to anybody! There is more competitiveness today and less respect and I think that makes sumo more interesting to non-japanese! By the way I can't agree 15-0 is a job requirement for a Yokozuna - that certainly diminishes completely the ability of all other wrestlers and that is just idiotic!

Edited July 23, 2012 by botev1921

[Bix Poku 1]

This is a bit ridiculous. Hakuho has 22 titles, over 3 from Harumafuji, 1 from Baruto, 1 from Kotooshu. He went 14-1 on this tournament, only losing to the champion. Last tournament he was injured. What do you expect him to do? Become The Incredible Hulk? If anything a 14-1 record is indicative of his dominance if nothing else.

He's a yokozuna. Winning every basho 15-0, regardless of physical condition, is a job requirement.

He's also supposed to be a model citizen, showing absolutely no emotion on the dohyo, and never ever do things like shove opponents or perform henka.

And no, I'm not exaggerating.

Bravo. That's precisely the point.

Great post.

It's a good point, but every sport needs to get into the 21st century and if you don't want your Yokozuna to be influenced by modern way of life, you should either not promote non-japanese, not allow non-japanese to even be in sumo or lock the potential yokozuna in a cage while he is in sumo. The world has developed and as traditional as this sport is, you can't expect sane, normal human beings to behave like they used to 200 years ago...it's just not natural to anybody! There is more competitiveness today and less respect and I think that makes sumo more interesting to non-japanese! By the way I can't agree 15-0 is a job requirement for a Yokozuna - that certainly diminishes completely the ability of all other wrestlers and that is just idiotic!

IMHO, we do not have sources trustworthy enough that describe Yokozuna life 200 or even 100 years ago. Yellow media is also product of late XX, so even if there were impropery behaving Yokozunas in the past, their deeds will vanish into the shadows of history...

[Bugman 384]

There is more competitiveness today and less respect and I think that makes sumo more interesting to non-japanese!

I'm non-Japanese and i have to humbly disagree with this, it is precisely because Sumo is steeped in Japanese culture that i am intrigued by it, the more it becomes like any other contact-sport the less likely it is that i will continue to watch.

Edited July 23, 2012 by Bugman

[Asashosakari 19,331]

IMHO, we do not have sources trustworthy enough that describe Yokozuna life 200 or even 100 years ago. Yellow media is also product of late XX, so even if there were impropery behaving Yokozunas in the past, their deeds will vanish into the shadows of history...

Exactly. And even aside the yellow press angle, everything was done more low-key. A 1920s sumo wrestler (hypothetically) gets into a bar brawl? The police takes him to his stable master, who whacks him a few times around the head as punishment, and if it's the last straw in misbehaviour and not the first time (or the rikishi isn't high-ranking enough to matter), he probably finds himself quietly retired and all any non-insider would ever get to hear is a shadowy "he lost his motivation to continue" or "he was needed at the family farm because his father took ill" or somesuch. Nowadays the same thing will result in an official police report, 20,000 lines of newspaper copy, probably a few dozen cell phone pics taken by witnesses at the bar, a Kyokai directorate meeting or two, at least one additional meeting to reprimand both the stablemaster and the rikishi, and if the whole incident was bad enough, a new sub-committee will be set up to deal with future transgressions. And if the stablemaster was dumb enough to go with the "whack him around the head as punishment" strategy even though it's not the 1920s anymore, that will attract its own round of newspaper coverage and meetings.

Edited July 23, 2012 by Asashosakari

[Yubinhaad 11,697]

Assorted images from the basho. Size and quality varies.

Furedaiko:

Dohyo-iri - Chiyonokuni, Kaisei, Takanoyama:

Salt - Aminishiki, Aoiyama, Tokitenku, Wakanosato:

Bouts:

Hakuho-Toyonoshima (first bout)

Hakuho-Kyokutenho

Harumafuji-Kakuryu

Harumafuji-Hakuho

Tenkumobile:

Winner:

Edited August 28, 2012 by Yubinhaad