33rd Wanpaku National Championships (2017-7-30)

[mikawa 1,794]

Introduction

The Wanpaku Tournament (第33回わんぱく相撲全国大会) is possibly the largest tournament in amateur sumo in terms of number of participants, with over 40,000 primary school kids from all over Japan (and parts of Mongolia) vying for a place in the Wanpaku National Championships, which is held at the Ryogoku Kokugikan end of July / start of August. Only about 400 make it to the finals, where entry is free.

The Wanpaku National Championships is the first real chance to see who has what it takes to make it in Ozumo, and who has the potential to become Makuuchi regulars, or even sanyaku regulars in the future. Size is a bigger factor at Wanpaku level compared to middle school and beyond, and as such, other aspects of their sumo provide a better indication of their future potential in Ozumo, such as skill (Furukawa Haruki), fighting style (Takakeisho), power (Onosho) and fighting spirit (Kawazoe Fuma).

Because of this, not many Wanpaku Yokozuna actually succeed in Ozumo (Futeno and Goeido are exceptions), though it can be said that most of the Japanese rikishi we see in Makuuchi today have done well at Wanpaku (Kisenosato and Tochiozan are both Wanpaku quarter-finalists, and Ikioi was a runner-up). Below are a selection of famous rikishi from back in their Wanpaku days (from left to right: Kisenosato, Tochiozan, Futeno, Goeido, Mitakeumi):

In recent years, Wanpaku has become an international tournament, with qualifiers in Mongolia for 4 years running (since 2014), and in Hawaii 2 years ago. There will be live coverage of this year's event on Niconico (http://live.nicovideo.jp/watch/lv301588206).

[mikawa 1,794]

Schedule

The live streaming should be starting at 8:00am JST with the opening ceremony, and finishing around 10 hours later, at 6:00pm JST (after the awards ceremony). This year, 132 teams from across Japan (including 1 from Mongolia) will be taking part, with 395 wanpaku rikishi all aiming for the title of Wanpaku Yokozuna. Here are the day's schedules (times are JST):

8:00 - Opening Ceremony (Speech from the head of the Wanpaku Organizing Committee and from an NSK representative, most likely the Rijichō himself. After that, Team Goshogawara will be returning the Team Trophy, followed by a competitors' oath)

9:10 - Grade 4, Rounds 1 & 2 ( 132 -> 128 -> 64 )

10:20 - Grade 5, Rounds 1 & 2 ( 132 -> 128 -> 64 )

11:30 - Grade 6, Rounds 1 & 2 ( 132 -> 128 -> 64 )

12:55 - Wanpaku Yokozuna's dohyo-iri, featuring last year's Grade 5 Yokozuna, Yamashita Shosuke (山下 昇介), followed by last year's Grade 4 Yokozuna, Fukuhara Joichiro (福原 丈一朗).

13:10 - Grade 4, Rounds 3, 4 & 5 ( 64 -> 32 -> 16 -> 8)

14:10 - Grade 5, Rounds 3, 4 & 5 ( 64 -> 32 -> 16 -> 8)

15:10 - Grade 6, Rounds 3, 4 & 5 ( 64 -> 32 -> 16 -> 8)

16:10 - Grade 4, 5 & 6 Quarter-finals

Grade 4, 5 & 6 Semi-finals

Grade 4, 5 & 6 Final

16:45 - Wanpaku Yumitori-shiki

17:00 - Awards Ceremony for Wanpaku Yokozuna / Ozeki (runner-up) / Sekiwake (last 4) / Komusubi (last 8), and for the best finishing teams.

Which of those kids will make it in Ozumo after they grow up is anyone's guess, but it will certainly be an exciting tournament, with bouts quickly flowing from one to the next. Expect tears, fist-pumps, a lot of nerves, and shouts of encouragement coming from the stands. We will be going through the contenders for each year group here over the next couple of days, and who and what to watch out for on the day.

Note - rikishi photos have now been added to last year's award winners.

Edited July 24, 2017 by mikawa

[mikawa 1,794]

Notable Rikishi (Grade 4)

For the kids in Grade 4, this is their first time competing at the Wanpaku National Championships, so not much is known about them at this point. However, taking into account their results in other competitions (the Hakuho Cup being the main source for information), here are some names to watch out for in the Grade 4 competition (the numbers represent their order of appearance):

 

#91 Yoshioka Ryudai (吉岡 竜大)

From Kinboshi Sumo Club, we have the 3 Kanazawa brothers, and from Komatsuryu Dojo, we have the 3 Yoshioka brothers. Yoshioka Ryudai, or "Ryu-chan" as he is affectionately referred to at Komatsuryu Dojo, qualified for this year's Wanpaku Tournament by winning the Ichikawa City qualifiers and then the Chiba prefectural qualifiers, successfully following in his older brothers' footsteps, as Yoshioka Kodai (吉岡 功大) and Yoshioka Yudai (吉岡 友大) have both made appearances at Wanpaku.

However, because Kodai and Yudai both lost in their opening bouts at Wanpaku (very unlucky in both cases, as their opponents would eventually become Middle School Yokozuna and Wanpaku Yokozuna respectively), Ryudai will be aiming to do something which neither of his brothers were able to accomplish during their time, which is to win a bout at Wanpaku. Ganbatte ne!

 

#116 Kodama Hayato (児玉 颯飛)

Introducing this year's favourite, Mitaka Sumo Club's Kodama Hayato is undoubtedly the best rikishi in this year group. Here's a list of his major accomplishments so far:

Grade 2 - Qualified for the finals of the 28th National Primary School Championships, in the Grade 4 or lower category

Grade 2 - A key member of Mitaka Sumo Club's team that finished runner-up in the 12th National Club Championships (the other one being Hanafusa Kai)

Grade 2 - Won the 6th Hakuho Cup

Grade 2 - Won the 9th National Chinju-no-mori Kids Sumo Tournament

Grade 3 - Qualified for the finals of the 29th National Primary School Championships, in the Grade 4 or lower category

Grade 3 - Won the 7th Hakuho Cup

It is also worth mentioning that his biggest rival, Komatsuryu Dojo's Mashiko Takuya, lost to Kodama Hayato in the Tokyo qualifiers, and as such, won't be appearing at this year's Wanpaku.

To quote myself from before - "This is a kid whose size, strength and skill are all well built for sumo, and has the drive and determination necessary to succeed. We could be seeing a star of the future being born with this kid."

Edited July 24, 2017 by mikawa

[Asashosakari 19,320]

Many thanks for this thorough preview! 
 

7 hours ago, mikawa said:

In recent years, Wanpaku has become an international tournament, with qualifiers in Mongolia for 4 years running (since 2014), and in Hawaii 2 years ago. There will be live coverage of this year's event on Niconico (http://live.nicovideo.jp/watch/lv301588206).

For those new to Nicovideo, if you want to be able to watch the event on-demand (not just live as it happens), be sure to register an account and click the timeshift reservation button.

(Weirdly, I could have sworn I did my timeshift last week already, but it wasn't shown as active just now.)

[mikawa 1,794]

4 minutes ago, Asashosakari said:

Many thanks for this thorough preview! 

Thanks for the support Grade 5 preview to come tomorrow and Grade 6 on Wednesday

Edited July 24, 2017 by mikawa

[Akinomaki 40,485]

7 hours ago, Asashosakari said:

For those new to Nicovideo, if you want to be able to watch the event on-demand (not just live as it happens), be sure to register an account and click the timeshift reservation button.

(Weirdly, I could have sworn I did my timeshift last week already, but it wasn't shown as active just now.)

For me this happens lately because I have my timeshift list full with the 10 reservations for free members - expired videos have to be deleted manually from the list: what niconico proposes to delete from there for an extra reservation is always one I want to keep  - so I cancel the reservation attempt and sometimes delay and forget it, because I want to have a last look at the one to remove. While doing that I got reminded that last year's tournament expires with July 31st - just enough to compare with this year's.

Edited July 25, 2017 by Akinomaki

[mikawa 1,794]

Notable Rikishi (Grade 5)

More information is available for those in Grade 5, who are aiming to better their results from last year's Wanpaku Tournament (or in the case of Fukuhara Joichiro, to repeat their result from last year). Here are some names to watch out for in the Grade 5 competition (as before, the numbers represent their order of appearance):

 

#36 Nakanishi Kaishin (中西 海心), Wakayama

There are 2 rikishi in this year's Wanpaku Tournament that I am most looking forward to seeing - Grade 4's Kodama Hayato (see above) and this kid. I was very surprised to see that Nakanishi didn't qualify for last year's Wanpaku, but as it turns out, also attempting to qualify from Wakayama City is Nishide Daiki, who happens to be a Wanpaku semi-finalist as well as Primary School Yokozuna (the winter tournament) last year. Which means that this year, Nakanishi Kaishin qualified for Wanpaku at the expense of Nishide Daiki.

Nakanishi is shorter than other contenders in his year group, but he is able to use this to his advantage by maintaining a lower center of gravity. Off the belt, he has the strength to pull off oshidashis; on the belt, he has a whole plethora of techniques which he can use one after another. It is with this that he was able to reach the final of the Hakuho Cup for the past 4 years running, each time losing out to Nishijima Yura, perhaps unluckily every time (from 1:51). He'll certainly be exciting to watch.

 

#46 Nakano Kanato (仲野 奏人), Fukui

A Wanpaku quarter-finalist from last year, Nakano was also able to reach the quarter-finals of the Primary School Championships.

 

#56 Uchiyama Ryunosuke (内山 龍之介), Niigata

A Wanpaku quarter-finalist from last year, Uchiyama lost to Fukuhara Joichiro, the eventual winner. This year, he has a tough opening bout against Amami Oshima's Fukuzaki Maaru.

 

#57 Fukuzaki Maaru (福崎 真逢輝), Kagoshima

A quarter-finalist at last year's Primary School Championships, Fukuzaki lost to Nishide Daiki, the eventual winner. Amami Oshima has produced many strong rikishi over the years.

 

#58 Samejima Hikaru (鮫島 輝), Saitama

Samejima was a key member of Iruma Junior Sumo Club's team when they retained their title in the National Club Championships.

 

#67 Fukuhara Joichiro (福原 丈一朗), Ehime

Introducing the defending champion, Fukuhara morozashi'd his way to the Wanpaku Yokozuna title last year. He beat Nishijima Yura in last year's semi-finals, becoming the first rikishi to do so in a national tournament, but lost to Nishijima in the quarter-finals of last year's Primary School Championships. His first bout this Sunday will be a tough one, as it will be a repeat of last year's Wanpaku final.

 

#68 Sugimoto Chitose (杉本 智斗勢), Wakayama

Sugimoto finished runner-up in last year's Wanpaku, and has a chance to avenge his defeat to Fukuhara in his opening bout.

 

#75 Nishijima Yura (西島 悠来), Chiba

Already a 4-time Hakuho Cup winner, Nishijima Yura is Kanazawa Sorato's kohai at Kashiwa Junior Sumo Club. His superior size and strength has also helped him to reach the semi-finals at last year's Wanpaku and Primary School Championships. This year, he remains one of the favourites to take the title.

 

#76 Tanji Jun (丹治 純), Fukushima

A semi-finalist at this year's Hakuho Cup, Tanji Jun defeated Tachikawa Renseikan's Hirano Shurato in his first bout last year. This time, he'll be up against Nishijima Yura, whom he lost to in this year's Hakuho Cup.

 

#83 Saito Chugo (斉藤 忠剛), Tokyo

Komatsuryu Dojo's Saito Chugo might be small for a rikishi, but he is very skilful and clever in the ring, managing a giant-killing in his first bout at last year's Wanpaku, inciting tremendous applause and excitement from all around the Kokugikan. John Gunning said that he is the "son of Kabutoyama oyakata (former Oikari)", so sumo runs in the family.

 

#93 Hirano Shurato (平野 修良斗), Kanagawa

A member of Tachikawa Renseikan, Hirano Shurato won the 9th National Chinju-no-mori Kids Sumo Tournament a year ago.

 

#100 Hattori Koyo (服部 公洋), Gifu

A Wanpaku quarter-finalist from last year, Hattori Koyo follows in a long line of skiful rikishi hailing from Gifu Prefecture.

 

#103 Yamamoto Juzo (山本 十蔵), Kyoto

A semi-finalist at last year's Primary School Championships and also at this year's Hakuho Cup, Yamamoto's record speaks for itself.

 

#108 Takei Ginji (武井 銀士), Shizuoka

Another strong rikishi coming out of Shizuoka, Takei Ginji reached the quarter-finals at last year's Wanpaku, and finished runner-up in last year's Primary School Championships.

 

#115 Nasukawa Shoki (奈須川 将輝), Kanagawa

Sometimes, a kid will step onto the Wanpaku dohyo seemingly too thin to be a sumo wrestler, but you know that they are so skilful that they have no problem taking down bigger opponents one after another, kinda like this kid (from 23:56). Nasukawa Shoki is precisely someone who fits into that category, as he shocked his way to the last 16 at last year's Wanpaku. Expect more of the same this Sunday.

Edited July 25, 2017 by mikawa

[mikawa 1,794]

Notable Rikishi (Grade 6)

For those in Grade 6, this is their last chance to win the Wanpaku Tournament. Here are some names to watch out for in the Grade 6 competition (as before, the numbers represent their order of appearance):

 

#1 Yokoyama Tsukasa (横山 司), Tokyo

This huge kid from Bunkyo Harigaya Sumo Club announced his arrival onto the amateur sumo scene by winning the Wanpaku Tokyo qualifiers last year, overcoming multiple Hakuho Cup winner and twice Wanpaku runner-up Sakamoto Shoma (Tokitsukaze Oyakata's younger son) in the final. He then stormed his way into the Wanpaku semi-finals last year by beating notable names such as Onozawa Ayato and Aino Shogo along the way, only to be stopped by the defending champion, Yamashita Shosuke. This year, he may be getting a rematch against Yamashita Shosuke in the last 16.

 

#12 Yamashita Shosuke (山下 昇介), Kagoshima

Yamashita Shosuke has been in Super Saiyan mode for the past two years, winning 2 Wanpaku titles, a Hakuho Cup and a Primary School Championship along the way, as well as having a runner-up and a semi-final performance to boot. 2016 was a year to remember for him, as Yamashita achieved the "Grand Slam" of primary school sumo (winning all 3 national tournaments), and holding the titles of Wanpaku Yokozuna and Primary School Yokozuna simultaneously.

Yamashita is a very strong kid who has a sturdy body and superb tactical awareness in the ring, though I personally feel that skill-wise he still has room for improvement. His biggest threats this weekend is probably Kumamoto's Ote Kira and Kagoshima's Ichikizaki Daisuke. Chances are it will be a Kyushu affair in this year group, as Sakamoto Shoma failed to qualify this year.

 

#18 Tasaki Masami (田崎 正美), Osaka

Tasaki Masami is a strong rikishi who has consistently done well in major tournaments, winning the 9th National Chinju-no-mori Kids Sumo Tournament last year as well as reaching a number of quarter-finals and semi-finals in other competitions. You can expect another quarter-final performance from him this weekend.

 

#19 Kitayama Keigo (北山 慶悟), Fukui

A Wanpaku quarter-finalist from 2 years ago, he will be Tasaki Masami's biggest threat during the earlier rounds.

 

#40 Ote Kira (大手 希星), Kumamoto

When Ote Kira lost in his debut bout at Wanpaku 2 years ago (to Onozawa Ayato), I had thought that Udo Junior Sumo Club's long line of top-level club members had ended. Boy was I wrong. He came back last year with a quarter-final performance, including a superb win against Tasaki Masami in the last 16. Ote Kira then followed this up by winning this year's Hakuho Cup, beating 2-time Wanpaku Yokozuna Yamashita Shosuke in the semi-final, and then beating 2-time Wanpaku finalist Sakamoto Shoma in the final.

He has simply gone from strength to strength, getting better and better as each year passes. I won't be surprised if he goes on to win the Wanpaku Tournament this year.

 

#46 Suzuki Nozomi (鈴木 希), Shizuoka

Remember when Kinboshi Sumo Club's ace, Kanazawa Sorato, made an impressive start to last year's Hakuho Cup using that brilliant nage? Well, he would then go on to face Suzuki Nozomi in the next round, and discovered that he still has much to learn about sumo. He reached the last 16 at both of his Wanpaku appearances, and was a semi-finalist at last year's Primary School Championships. If he reaches the last 16 again this year, then Ote Kira will likely be waiting there.

 

#55 Munakata Seiren (棟方 聖蓮), Aomori

Anyone who has followed the Kinboshi Sumo Club episodes should be no stranger to Munakata Seiren, who is a relative of Kimigahama Oyakata (former Maegashira Hochiyama). He has been with the club since after the 6th Hakuho Cup in 2016, and with the help of the coaches and his dad, has been steadily improving. He has now earned a place in the Wanpaku National Championships, a great achievement considering how strong Aomori is when it comes to sumo. His team name (Team Goshogawara) suggests that Munakata Seiren actually won the Aomori qualifiers.

 

#57 Kanazawa Sorato (金澤 空大), Chiba

In wrestling, he is already a 5-time national champion; in sumo, he carried Kinboshi Sumo Club to its first and only win over another sumo club by beating Kodama Hayato in the decisive bout against Mitaka, and also become their first club member to qualify for the Wanpaku National Championships. Kanazawa Sorato has transcended the boundaries of wrestling to light up the world of amateur sumo (you should have seen all those comments on Niconico when he stepped onto the dohyo last summer).

If Kanazawa Sorato were able to win his opening bout this weekend (as he did last year), then this could possibly set up a clash with his club-mate Munakata Seiren in the next round. That really would be a story.

 

#69 Aino Shogo (相野 祥吾), Chiba

He is a Wanpaku quarter-finalist from 2 years ago, and was the only person to beat Kanazawa Sorato in the Chiba prefectural qualifiers last year.

 

#89 Ichikizaki Daisuke (市来崎 大祐), Kagoshima

Former Primary School Yokozuna and Hakuho Cup finalist Ichikizaki Daisuke is probably the biggest threat this year to Yamashita Shosuke's title defense. The two of them have met many times before in regional tournaments in Kyushu, and Ichikizaki has the strength and body to match Yamashita. The tachi-ai and initial jostling will be very important if they face each other this weekend.

 

#101 Suzuki Masane (鈴木 真実), Shizuoka

Club kohai to last year's Wanpaku Yokozuna Uchida Kyota at Yaizu Sumo Club, Suzuki Masane made use of his strength to reach the Wanpaku quarter-finals 2 years ago, but succumbed to a moro-zashi last year. However, he bounced back to finish runner-up at last year's Primary School Championships, losing to Yamashita Shosuke in the final.

 

#120 Onozawa Ayato (斧澤 亜矢斗), Saitama

Easily my favourite rikishi of this year group, the always well-mannered Onozawa Ayato was a key member of Iruma Junior Sumo Club when they won back-to-back National Club Championships. His sumo is very well-rounded, and has reached the last 16 in both of his Wanpaku appearances. Last year, he put up a very good fight against the big Yokoyama Tsukasa, but wasn't quite enough to get to the quarter-finals, though he does have a better draw this time around.

Edited July 27, 2017 by mikawa

[mikawa 1,794]

I'll be in Tokyo for this weekend's Wanpaku Tournament (and also for 2 other tournaments next week). Feel free to drop by on Sunday if you have the chance, as entry is free.

Edited July 26, 2017 by mikawa

[mikawa 1,794]

Results

Kodama Hayato won.

The end.

Edited July 30, 2017 by mikawa

[mikawa 1,794]

Report

Seriously though, today's Wanpaku Tournament has been better than previous years as the bouts have been more interesting, and there were more long bouts / mono-iis, and overall more stories in every year group.

They even decided to change the transition from the opening ceremony to the initial Grade 4 bouts for the first time ever, which actually made it more efficient and smooth

The announcer, however, made her fair share of mistakes today, so she was repeating "shitsurei shimasu" over and over again. And for some reason, the initial Grade 4 bouts were in a strange order (missing participants maybe?)

Overall though, it's been an excellent and exciting tournament today, well worth the watch. As always, I will be writing a full report for each year group later today, so please stay tuned!

[mikawa 1,794]

Full Report (Grade 4)

Winner: Kodama Hayato (児玉 颯飛), Tokyo

 

Runner-Up: Kobayashi Umeta (小林 梅太), Kumamoto

 

Semi-Finals: Otani Natsuki (大谷 夏希), Okayama

Semi-Finals: Yamashita Masakiyo (山下 正清), Kagoshima

 

Quarter-Finals: Furukawa Daiki (古川 大喜), Aichi

Quarter-Finals: Okazaki Ryotaro (岡崎 良太郎), Aomori

Quarter-Finals: Hashimoto Taisei (橋本 泰成), Kumamoto

Quarter-Finals: Negami Kohei (根上 航平), Shizuoka

 

The Wanpaku Tournament was always going to be a test of Kodama Hayato's metal, even despite his 2 Hakuho Cup victories. As it turned out, Kodama Hayato really did have to earn it today, as besides his opening bout, he was given very tough opponents all the way through to the final. One of his opponents was Yamashita Masakiyo, who is the younger brother of 2-time Wanpaku Yokozuna Yamashita Shosuke, and who looked very impressive today.

Not only did Kodama Hayato beat them all, he did it in extremely convincing fashion, showing superior skills (including against a henka) and incredible strength. Speaking of, Mashiko Takuya is probably the only person in his entire year group who can match Kodama Hayato in a power battle. His performance today was simply majestic, despite being very nervous throughout (he was shrugging his shoulders and twirling his hands before every bout to ease the tension in his body). I now have an even higher opinion of him than before (if that's even possible ). Next target - Primary School Yokozuna.

In other news, Yoshioka Ryudai won 2 bouts today (though the second of which was a henka), thus making him the most successful Wanpaku rikishi amongst his brothers. Also, someone in Grade 4 successfully executed an Ipponzeoi today, while another pulled off an Ushiromotare.

Edited April 6, 2018 by mikawa

[mikawa 1,794]

Full Report (Grade 5)

Winner: Fukuhara Joichiro (福原 丈一朗), Ehime

 

Runner-Up: Ueno Kyosuke (上野 響哉), Tokyo

 

Semi-Finals: Jo Goki (城 皓貴), Osaka

Semi-Finals: Shino Soma (篠 宗磨), Niigata

 

Quarter-Finals: Yabugasaki Akihito (藪ケ崎 晃仁), Hyogo

 

Quarter-Finals: Nakano Kanato (仲野 奏人), Fukui

 

Quarter-Finals: Mizusawa Tomonori (水澤 知紀), Niigata

 

Quarter-Finals: Takei Ginji (武井 銀士), Shizuoka

 

"All paths lead to Rome" is probably the most appropriate phrase when describing what happened in this year group. How the tournament played out was entirely different to last year's Wanpaku, and yet, the all-round rikishi Fukuhara Joichiro was once again able to emerge victorious. He controlled his opening bout from start to finish against last year's runner-up Sugimoto Chitose. He morozashi'd his way to a yorikiri win against the 4-time Hakuho Cup winner Nishijima Yura, just like the way he did a year ago. And when it came down to the final, Fukuhara Joichiro won it by exactly the same way as he did previously, morozashi → yorikiri against Ueno Kyosuke, the Yokoyama Tsukasa of this year group. Who knows, maybe he took a leaf out of Sakamoto Shoma's book, the way he went about those bouts .

Out of the other notable rikishi, only Nakano Kanato and Takei Ginji were able to make it to the quarter-finals today, with Nakano showing exactly how you should approach a bout against Nakanishi Kaishin, which is to keep him away from your belt and use oshidashi. Speaking of Nakanishi, the parents from Wakayama always shouted "hencho*, hencho, Ka-I-Shin; hencho, hencho Wa-Ka-Ya-Ma" (*that's what it sounded like) or a variation of it whenever a rikishi from Wakayama took to the dohyo. Nakanishi today showed us a fraction of what he's capable of,  but last 16 would be as far as he would go this year. I don't know what Nakano was trying to do in his quarter-final bout, it looked like a tsuppari-attack, but it wasn't doing much.

Goki, Soma, Akihito (yes, that's his name) and Tomonori all had very good tournaments today to get as far as they did. In particular, Mizusawa Tomonori recovered from a very nasty looking injury today in his opening win over Hirano Shurato (where he had to be "rolled" onto a stretcher and carried down the hanamichi), but thankfully he returned in time for the 3rd round and carried on where he left off.

It was a rather disappointing showing for the skilful trio of Saito Chugo, Hirano Shurato and Nasukawa Shoki, and Samejima Hikaru still can't make it past his second bout, but c'est la vie. Interesting point - during some of the Grade 5 bouts, a European guy came and sat down nearby, oohing and ahhing as the bouts unfolded. There was this one time when he said "That's not fair" when Fukuzaki Maaru went up against some who was much bigger than him, only to be super impressived when Fukuzaki won. That's why we love sumo right?

Edited April 10, 2018 by mikawa

[mikawa 1,794]

Full Report (Grade 6)

Winner: Tasaki Masami (田崎 正美), Osaka

 

Runner-Up: Aino Shogo (相野 祥吾), Chiba

 

Semi-Finals: Matsuda Ten (松田 天), Tottori

 

Semi-Finals: Suzuki Masane (鈴木 真実), Shizuoka

 

Quarter-Finals: Yamashita Shosuke (山下 昇介), Kagoshima

 

Quarter-Finals: Nakagawa Kyutaro (中川 球大郎), Osaka

 

Quarter-Finals: Ichikizaki Daisuke (市来崎 大祐), Kagoshima

 

Quarter-Finals: Takeguchi Hiroto (竹口 広徳), Ishikawa

 

As Yamashita Shosuke overpowered Yokoyama Tsukasa the same way he did in last year's semi-final, I thought that his Super Saiyan Mode would bring about the three-peat. However, as you can see, someone had other ideas. So how was Tasaki Masami able to achieve his first ever win over the 2-time Wanpaku Yokozuna? By keeping him off the belf and getting the edge in a battle of strength of course (sound familiar? Please refer to the Grade 5 report above). With Yamashita Shosuke losing in the quarter-finals, this means that his younger brother, Yamashita Masakiyo, actually bettered him this time (who would have thought?)

Tasaki Masami's final against Aino Shogo was an excellent bout all round. It was classic battle of strength and swung both ways before Tasaki pushed Aino out. Power sumo was also the story with Matsuda Ten and Suzuki Masane's road to the semi-finals. However, it was a disappointing tournament for Ote Kira and Onozawa Ayato, as both of them had the advantage in their respective bouts, but both found themselves to be at the wrong end of reversal wins.

However, for me, the story of this year group has to be the much anticipated bout between the Kinboshi club-mates, Munakata Seiren and Kanazawa Sorato. The two of them battled hard at the edge, and then Sorato executed a wrestling move, only for the gyoji to judge that Sorato touched the dohyo first. Mono-ii. Torinaoshi. Sorato hurt himself during the fall, so the bout had to be moved to a later slot. The torinaoshi was an equally as exciting affair, with Sorato again trying wrestling moves on his friend. Alas, he was pushed out before he could execute the throw. This 2-bouts-for-the-price-of-1 seemed a very fitting conclusion to the Kinboshi Sumo Club story (surely Towa won't go on to win the Wanpaku now, would he?)

Edited April 13, 2018 by mikawa

[mikawa 1,794]

Here's a newspaper article reporting on Kodama Hayato's win yesterday. It reads:

The 33rd Wanpaku National Championships took place on the 30th at the Kokugikan Stadium in Tokyo, around 400 competitors took part. The Grade 4 competition was won by Tokyo's Kodama Hayato, won also won the Hakuho Cup (which is sponsored by Yokozuna Hakuho). By being crowned Wanpaku Yokozuna, he has "returned the favour" to the Dai-Yokozuna, who extended his Yusho record to 39 at the Nagoya Basho. Osaka's Team Kawachiondo won the team event.

Following the Hakuho Cup in February, Kodama Hayato has now won 2 straight championships (this year). A big fan of Hakuho, he's said that "I hope that Hakuho-zeki can carry on taking down loads of opponents. I also want to get loads of victories". At home, he records NHK's Ozumo broadcasts everyday in order to learn techniques from the strongest Yokozuna himself. He travels from his home in Inagi, Tokyo to Mitaka Sumo Club 3 times a week (note: he started attending all 3 of Mitaka's weekly keiko sessions since a few months ago, in preparation for the Wanpaku Tournament), and approaches keiko with a similar eagerness to Hakuho himself. "I was nervous, but as I was able to get good tachi-ais, I had confidence in myself", Kodama Hayato proudly said.

Edited July 31, 2017 by mikawa

[Akinomaki 40,485]

Overview

Tomozuna twitter

o o o o

Kodama

o

Tasaki

o