Seiyashi 4,098 Posted October 6, 2022 (edited) Are these the rikishi's side hobbies or just "randomly assigned" fansa? A strong amateur sports/chess player is no joke to be playing against casually. Also, I hope Miyagino never finds out about chess boxing, or he might feel compelled to invent chess sumo. A blitz/rapid time control lines up very well against a honwari makuuchi bout with salt throwing. Edited October 6, 2022 by Seiyashi 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Octofuji 357 Posted October 6, 2022 (edited) The highlight for me was the taiko and jinku demonstration. This took place in one of the corridors leading into the Kokugikan so had quite an intimate feel - even as non-paying visitors we were sat just a few yards away from the singers - ex-Ikioi and two others from Sadogatake stable (sorry can't remember their names). Ex-Ikioi sang beautifully as you'd imagine (although his speaking voice was pretty croaky, I think he's being worked quite hard for this event) as did the wrestler on the left (the one in the middle mainly shouted at the appropriate moments). https://photos.app.goo.gl/JM4ihakThKErimjU6 Edited October 6, 2022 by Octofuji Add photo 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Octofuji 357 Posted October 6, 2022 (Sorry I tried to attach some photos but I couldn't get it to work - I seem to be over the limit even though I've never posted an attachment before - I will try and figure it out and post again). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Seiyashi 4,098 Posted October 6, 2022 (edited) 23 minutes ago, Octofuji said: (Sorry I tried to attach some photos but I couldn't get it to work - I seem to be over the limit even though I've never posted an attachment before - I will try and figure it out and post again). High quality/reso photos might innately bust the cap. You might have to upload it onto a third-party site like Google/Dropbox and make the links publicly sharable, especially if you have a lot of photos - or check with Akinomaki how he does his photo digests. Edited October 6, 2022 by Seiyashi 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Octofuji 357 Posted October 6, 2022 I attended as a non-paying fan (by the time we looked at the optional extras virtually everything had sold out) and very much enjoyed it. As well as the taiko and jinku mentioned above, we also got to see Tochimaru's hair being done close-up too. Hopefully it won't be too long before he gets another oicho-mage. The tegata world-record attempt was fun - they had a minute to do as many as possible, Mitakeumi scored 75, Terunofuji 74, and a very bullish Miyagino-oyakata (ex-Hakuho)105 - which smashed the current record of 85. He had a well-oiled machine of assistants, I wouldn't be surprised if they've been practising all week. I'd not seen mochi-pounding live before (Ryuden with three other pro-pounders), it tasted delicious (I'd only had sweet mochi until now). The Makuuchi line up was an awesome spectacle of colourful kimonos, and they played to the crowd with extravagant waves and grins as they came on one-by-one. I think 41 out of 42 were there (no Takarafuji :( ). As well as the lineup, there were lots of sekitori in general circulation for photos and autographs, but no san'yaku as far as I could tell - maybe they're saving them for tomorrow. Although I found it much harder than I'd thought to identify the masked wrestlers. As we were leaving I had my photo taken with "Nishikigi-zeki", then got back home and going by the Tamanoi fabric I'm guessing it's actually Tohakuryu(?). Kakuryu was by far the most popular person in circulation and whenever we saw him he was surrounded by a scrum of fans several layers deep. In contrast Enho drew surprisingly little attention, and in fact his companion Hokuseiho was far more busy. Some photos available at this link, which I think anyone should be able to see: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Emj2ijiJiLxCQtGy8 7 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jakusotsu 5,982 Posted October 6, 2022 13 minutes ago, Octofuji said: As we were leaving I had my photo taken with "Nishikigi-zeki", then got back home and going by the Tamanoi fabric I'm guessing it's actually Tohakuryu(?). AFAIK, the fabric isn't restricted to heya-members. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chartorenji 237 Posted October 6, 2022 we checking Hakuho for anal beads? (it's a drama thing in the chess world, look it up) 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kintamayama 45,208 Posted October 6, 2022 Enhou pingu-pongu: Ura the shark: Chess with ex-Hakuhou: Wakamotoharu- Travolta: 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kintamayama 45,208 Posted October 6, 2022 More pics: https://www.nikkansports.com/battle/sumo/news/202210060000240.html Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kintamayama 45,208 Posted October 6, 2022 Musashigawa Oyakata was there as well..Gyoza, geez.. so many so inviting, so soon to be eaten by the man.. 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gurowake 4,088 Posted October 6, 2022 8 hours ago, Seiyashi said: Also, I hope Miyagino never finds out about chess boxing, or he might feel compelled to invent chess sumo. A blitz/rapid time control lines up very well against a honwari makuuchi bout with salt throwing. Chess-sumo would be harder to work in the same way as chess-boxing, because sumo matches are much shorter than boxing matches normally, and don't have defined lengths like boxing rounds. Chess-boxing works because it's reasonable for opponents to stay fighting the entire 3 minutes of a round, whereas in sumo, someone would probably win the round, which if it worked like Chess-boxing, would win the match. If the sumo was "best-of-five" (I think there's 5 boxing rounds in chess-boxing), I think it might work, but it also means that you would never have the 11th round (final round of chess), as someone would win the best-of-five sumo in the tenth round. Now maybe you could have shogi-sumo, where if you lose a sumo match, you get some disadvantage on the shogi board, probably handing one of your pieces to your opponent, whether on the board or already captured waiting for replacement. It's more natural to mess with a shogi game due to the whole idea of possibly placing the opponent's pieces you capture on your side, whereas it seems much less proper for chess. It also would keep the whole "Japanese game/sport" thing. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Churaumi 743 Posted October 6, 2022 5 hours ago, Chartorenji said: we checking Hakuho for anal beads? (it's a drama thing in the chess world, look it up) "Surely that's got to be some kind of tiny thing that got blown out of proportion, right?" *Googles "chess beads"* Drops phone in horror. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
since_94 650 Posted October 6, 2022 This event looks like so much fun! So happy to see it’s happening for the lucky fans Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yarimotsu 585 Posted October 7, 2022 12 hours ago, Octofuji said: I'd not seen mochi-pounding live before (Ryuden with three other pro-pounders), it tasted delicious (I'd only had sweet mochi until now). Off-topic, but I've done mochi-pounding before while on a school exchange in Japan. The principal would reach in and fold the mochi, then we'd swing the mallets down. He encouraged us to go faster and swing harder - which has its limits when you're just trying not to break the principal's hand with a mallet having only just met him! It was hard work but a lot of fun. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Godango 996 Posted October 7, 2022 Is this an annual thing? If so, to the bucket list it be added. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
