The Yobidashi

[Yubinhaad 11,659]

All names, ranks and heya correct as of the 2016 Hatsu banzuke.

Tate and Sanyaku yobidashi.

Tate yobidashi - Takuro, Kasugano-beya

Sanyaku yobidashi - Jiro, Kasugano-beya

Sanyaku yobidashi - Katsuyuki, Shibatayama-beya

Sanyaku yobidashi - Shiro, Odake-beya

Sanyaku yobidashi - Shigeo, Kokonoe-beya

Makuuchi yobidashi.

Goro, Odake-beya

Kokichi, Tomozuna-beya

Akira, Tomozuna-beya

Ryuji, Miyagino-beya

Kotozo, Sadogatake-beya

Kotoyoshi, Sadogatake-beya

Daikichi, Azumazeki-beya

Teruki, Isegahama-beya

Juryo yobidashi.

Koji, Asakayama-beya

Rikinojo, Takasago-beya

Mitsuaki, Tagonoura-beya

Kunio, Takasago-beya

Matsuo, Nishonoseki-beya

Hiroyuki, Minezaki-beya

Rokuro, Oguruma-beya

Masao, Minezaki-beya

Satoru, Nishonoseki-beya

Tasuke, Yamahibiki-beya

Shigetaro, Kokonoe-beya

Makushita & Sandanme yobidashi.

Makushita yobidashi - Fujio, Isegahama-beya

Makushita yobidashi - Keisuke, Shibatayama-beya

Makushita yobidashi - Yohei, Dewanoumi-beya

Makushita yobidashi - Soichi, Yamahibiki-beya

Makushita yobidashi - Teruya, Isegahama-beya

Makushita yobidashi - Mamoru, Tokitsukaze-beya

Sandanme yobidashi - Shunsuke, Tamanoi-beya

Sandanme yobidashi - Kohei, Kasugayama-beya

Sandanme yobidashi - Yuto, Tatsunami-beya

Sandanme yobidashi - Takahiro, Odake-beya

Sandanme yobidashi - Setsuo, Shikoroyama-beya

Jonidan & Jonokuchi yobidashi.

Jonidan yobidashi - Naoki, Kise-beya

Jonidan yobidashi - Shin, Michinoku-beya

Jonidan yobidashi - Kaito, Kokonoe-beya

Jonidan yobidashi - Masayuki, Isenoumi-beya

Jonokuchi yobidashi - Tsurutaro, Nishikido-beya

Jonokuchi yobidashi - Hiromasa, Yamahibiki-beya

Jonokuchi yobidashi - Shuntaro, Tomozuna-beya

Jonokuchi yobidashi - Yuji, Sakaigawa-beya

Jonokuchi yobidashi - Hiroshi, Chiganoura-beya

Edited December 27, 2015 by Yubinhaad

[Yubinhaad 11,659]

.

Edited December 15, 2015 by Yubinhaad

[Yubinhaad 11,659]

.

Edited December 15, 2015 by Yubinhaad

[Yubinhaad 11,659]

With no jungyo between bashos, the younger yobidashi have been practising their art in the shitaku-beya at the Kokugikan. Here, newest yobidashi Shuntaro practises on the taiko, advised by Juryo yobidashi Kunio. Watching behind are Mikio and Tsurutaro.

Naoki practices with the hyoshigi.

And Masayuki this time - this one was taken on the day of the NHK charity tournament, hence the uniform.

Yobidashi Shotenro?

This is a picture I found somewhere a while back, the hyoshigi belonging to Makuuchi yobidashi Shigeo. Probably the senior yobidashi each have their own set.

Edited June 7, 2014 by Yubinhaad

[Yubinhaad 11,659]

And while the young gyoji have been doing their training, their yobidashi counterparts have again been practising their skills on the taiko.

Hiromasa.

Shuntaro watches Mikio practice, and vice-versa.

Juryo yobidashi Rikinojo watches Hiromasa.

And now demonstrates how it should be done.

Tsurutaro watches Mikio.

Shuntaro practices his technique. In other news, a fast-moving drum thief is wanted by Tokyo police.

[Asameshimae 220]

These are great. Will these still be accessible on the site at a later date? I hope they keep them up in perpetuity.

[Manekineko 200]

I like how Rikinojo (the teacher) was too lazy to take of his shoes so had to sit clumsily while drumming.

[Orion 431]

I like how Rikinojo (the teacher) was too lazy to take of his shoes so had to sit clumsily while drumming.

Or to put it another way, he's so experienced he can do his drumming at any angle....

Orion

[Yubinhaad 11,659]

The Kyokai posted a few pictures of yobidashi practising their taiko drumming again in the shitaku-beya. The sound of a taiko drum is heard at the start and end of every honbasho day, with yosedaiko in the morning and hanedaiko in the evening.

Takahiro practising.

Tasuke shows Yuji how it is done. Tasuke is often seen drumming as the furedaiko teams circle the dohyo following the dohyo matsuri.

Yuji takes his turn, watched by Hiromasa.

And finally Hiromasa takes his turn, with advice from a sharply-dressed Rikinojo. [2]

[Yubinhaad 11,659]

The first post has now been updated and contains pictures of all of the yobidashi. As with the gyoji thread update, some of the original Kyokai pictures survive here while others have been replaced.

Just as a gyoji may inherit gunbai and costumes from his seniors, a yobidashi may inherit hyoshigi from his. Akinomaki reported on one example here. Another example is sanyaku-ranked Katsuyuki, the current owner of a pair which belonged to former tate yobidashi Kankichi. Made from the wood of a fallen 200-year-old sakura tree, the hyoshigi have been in service since 1955.

[egparis18 622]

The one and only representation of a yobidashi I've been able to find so far for Sumo Art. I think there's a resemblance to Tate Yobidashi Takuro.

http://www.georges-roux.com/portfolio-item/sumo-yobidashi/

[Akinomaki 40,421]

Now in Yamahibiki-beya, Tasuke (36) when he announces on the dohyo thinks of his late shisho Kitanoumi, who treated him like a son and he in return constantly attended to him when Kitanoumi was fighting his illness.

He still has tears in his eyes when he recalls being told by him "Hey, did you hear, next basho you rise to juryo." - that was the last basho for Kitanoumi. He is glad the oyakata was able to see him as a full fledged yobidashi on the banzuke and on the dohyo.

He wanted to be a rikishi but was too short, so he entered as yobidashi in June 1995.

http://www.sankei.com/photo/daily/news/160120/dly1601200009-n1.html

Edited January 20, 2016 by Akinomaki

[Benevolance 2,501]

Because they don't list his stats: would he have been able to enter under today's more relaxed standards?

[egparis18 622]

I thought about putting this on Sumo Art, but it goes better here. Perhaps some of you have seen it already.

Enjoy.

[Akinomaki 40,421]

In a new book former tate-yobidashi Hideo talks about the difference to the gyoji.

The gyoji outfit changes with their rise in the ranks and all their movements are according to a manual, even in how many steps they have to be in the center of the dohyo - he compares them with office workers. The yobidashi are dressed the same the whole career, have no manuals and act according to the requirements of the moment, they have a touch of gamblers and carousers.

Both live in a strict banzuke determined hierarchical world.

All yobidashi have to learn the 3 jobs of announcing, drumming and dohyo building, but none is really skillful in all 3. Hideo was bad in drumming and hated the hard work of dohyo construction - so he speaks about the thing he was famous for:

For training the melody, it's enka singing. The 7-and-5 syllable meter of the lyrics fits the tone when calling out. Ishikawa Sayuri, Kitajima Saburo, Okawa Eisaku - lately Shimazu Aya is easy to sing and became a favorite. And just being skillful in intonation isn't enough - one is told that it is important to express affection in the calling-out voice, with style and charm. One that becomes an outstanding yobidashi is maybe 1 in 10 years.

Akebono once asked him "What about foreign yobidashi?" - having to teach them all from Japanese (on) seems impossible to him.

http://mainichi.jp/articles/20160315/org/00m/040/025000c

Edited March 30, 2016 by Akinomaki

[orandashoho 720]

Are all yobidashi recruited from a very young age?

Are there sumotori who become yobidashi or gyoji?

[Naganoyama 5,910]

Yobidashi Teruki was previously jonidan rikishi Mutsuryu.

Various rikishi became tokoyama, including Murayama, Kida, Takahashi, Yasuda.

[Akinomaki 40,421]

At last I get to the articles I found interesting during the basho.

The yobidashi like the rikishi live in a rigid world, but traditionally in the sumo world there is a close relation with someone from the same locality, with a kunimon, crossing heya borders. We had the only basho in the Kansai region, and there are 3 yobidashi from Kyoto now: Rokurou (j, 42, Oguruma), Tasuke (j, 37, Yamahibiki) and Yuuto (sd, 29, Tatsunami).

Rokurou was in the sumo-club of Uji high and entered in 1993: "My body was small, so I took of yobidashi or tokoyama what had an open slot." At present he's manager of dohyo construction.

Tasuke is from the Fujinomori middle school sumo club. Since this year he's in control of kensho and is the mediator for the young yobidashi - he's running around all over the venue.

On 20.1.2016 at 14:18, Akinomaki said:

Now in Yamahibiki-beya, Tasuke (36) when he announces on the dohyo thinks of his late shisho Kitanoumi

He still has tears in his eyes when he recalls being told by him "Hey, did you hear, next basho you rise to juryo." - that was the last basho for Kitanoumi. He is glad the oyakata was able to see him as a full fledged yobidashi on the banzuke and on the dohyo.

He wanted to be a rikishi but was too short, so he entered as yobidashi in June 1995.

Yuuto was in the rugby club of Higashiyama high and entered in 2006. The 2 other kunimon gave him advice to cope with the difficulties of learning the trade and customs in this perplexing hierarchical world - and they also went to have a drink together.

http://www.kyoto-np.co.jp/sports/article/20170324000107

Rokurou, Tasuke, Yuuto

 

 

[Rocks 1,809]

Do they actually write the match order on those fans?

[Orion 431]

No, the fans are clean. But there is a folded up program showing the next few bouts and as each yobidashi finishes his stint he hands it to the next. I once interviewed a tate-yobidashi and he said that at first he was still looking for the next man to hand it to -- but of course he was now the final caller!

 

Orion

[Rocks 1,809]

So I guess the whole use of the fan came about from the Japanese thing of covering an open mouth. Too bad. I thought maybe the names and date for each bout, along with the result after, were written on the fans and given to the winner. Would be a cool keepsake. 

[RabidJohn 1,777]

Yep, I always thought they were reading the name off the fan, and even knowing they are not it still looks like they are! It really surprised me when I saw sumo live and both sides of the fan were pristine white as the yobidashi turned around. I like Rocks' very plausible suggestion that it has the same root as the archetypal giggling Japanese schoolgirl's hand in front of her mouth.

[orandashoho 720]

I thought that the use of a fan was the traditional way of giving an announcement the gravity and importance of an irrevocable dictum.

[Doitsuyama 1,185]

Isn't it too obvious? The fan is used to point to the side of the rikishi which he is announcing, right? Makes for better visibility in a big house.

[Kintamayama 45,093]

On 30.3.2016 at 17:59, Akinomaki said:

And just being skillful in intonation isn't enough - one is told that it is important to express affection in the calling-out voice, with style and charm.

I guess the totally tone-deaf yobidashi (forgot the name..) who does the two before musubi bouts (no less..) is there for the affection, then. I don't get how he got this high. So he does it with style and charm, then (not!!).