Ochiai’s future shikona

[rokudenashi 323]

While it appears Ochiai is not getting a new shikona for his jūryō promotion, I thought it would be fun to blindly speculate on what it might be if/when he does get one.

It’s reasonable to expect that any shikona he receives will have 鵬 - hō - at the end, but outside of that parameter it’s open season.

So, I’ll start off with a few that came to mind:

• 伯州鵬 (Hakushūhō) - for two reasons, the obvious being that it sounds similar to his stablemaster’s, and the second being that Hakushū was a name for a historical province which now forms part of Tottori prefecture. Ochiai’s hometown, Kurayoshi, was the capital. It’s not uncommon for rikishi to receive a shikona including a historical reference to their shusshin
• 伯耆鵬 (Hōkihō) - Hōki is another name for Hakushū province. Sounds a lot like Hōkahō so maybe not likely
• 光鵬 (Kōhō) - in honour of Miyagino’s late senpai Kōbō, taking the first character from his shikona. Additionally, two of his uchideshi already have single-character references to elemental concepts - Enhō with the kanji for flames (炎) and Raihō with thunder (雷)
• 電鵬 (Denhō) - similar to the above, taking the character for electricity/lightning
• 銀甲鵬 (Ginkōhō) - this has no basis, just my imagination. 銀 being silver, 甲 being armour, or more appropriately back, as he reminds me of a silverback gorilla in some respects 

Anyway, interested in your ideas! The more creative the better.

[sahaven111 176]

1 hour ago, rokudenashi said:

While it appears Ochiai is not getting a new shikona for his jūryō promotion, I thought it would be fun to blindly speculate on what it might be if/when he does get one.

It’s reasonable to expect that any shikona he receives will have 鵬 - hō - at the end, but outside of that parameter it’s open season.

So, I’ll start off with a few that came to mind:

• 伯州鵬 (Hakushūhō) - for two reasons, the obvious being that it sounds similar to his stablemaster’s, and the second being that Hakushū was a name for a historical province which now forms part of Tottori prefecture. Ochiai’s hometown, Kurayoshi, was the capital. It’s not uncommon for rikishi to receive a shikona including a historical reference to their shusshin
• 伯耆鵬 (Hōkihō) - Hōki is another name for Hakushū province. Sounds a lot like Hōkahō so maybe not likely
• 光鵬 (Kōhō) - in honour of Miyagino’s late senpai Kōbō, taking the first character from his shikona. Additionally, two of his uchideshi already have single-character references to elemental concepts - Enhō with the kanji for flames (炎) and Raihō with thunder (雷)
• 電鵬 (Denhō) - similar to the above, taking the character for electricity/lightning
• 銀甲鵬 (Ginkōhō) - this has no basis, just my imagination. 銀 being silver, 甲 being armour, or more appropriately back, as he reminds me of a silverback gorilla in some respects 

Anyway, interested in your ideas! The more creative the better.

Hmm, I think out of yours Koho seems most likely.. Hakuho seems to prefer short shikona (with the exception of Hokuseiho)

Hakushuho is a bit similar to Hakuho without actually being it, so i'm not too fond of it.

Denho sounds an awful lot like Enho, but then again, he has a Senho, too.

I like the sound and meaning of Ginkoho best, out of yours! Honestly i'd really like to see him take that name on.

and while i believe it's unlikely he'd ever give it to another rikishi, he did not receive an ichidai toshiyori so there could technically always be another Hakuho.

[Kintamayama 45,122]

Shouhou.

Edited January 25, 2023 by Kintamayama

[Chiyotasuke 295]

Tetsuhou (哲鵬 from his given name or 鉄鵬 iron phoenix)

[Yamanashi 3,840]

クルーカット

 

[Seiyashi 4,087]

Not strictly on topic, but:

https://hochi.news/articles/20230125-OHT1T51256.html?page=1

So apparently they didn't expect Ochiai to be promoted this fast, and he's supposed to get a shikona in future (they couldn't make it before the cutoff of the banzuke meeting on Wednesday). Miyagino will think more about it after his danpatsu. 

Edited January 26, 2023 by Seiyashi

[Tochinofuji 384]

15 hours ago, rokudenashi said:

While it appears Ochiai is not getting a new shikona for his jūryō promotion, I thought it would be fun to blindly speculate on what it might be if/when he does get one.

It’s reasonable to expect that any shikona he receives will have 鵬 - hō - at the end, but outside of that parameter it’s open season.

So, I’ll start off with a few that came to mind:

• 伯州鵬 (Hakushūhō) - for two reasons, the obvious being that it sounds similar to his stablemaster’s, and the second being that Hakushū was a name for a historical province which now forms part of Tottori prefecture. Ochiai’s hometown, Kurayoshi, was the capital. It’s not uncommon for rikishi to receive a shikona including a historical reference to their shusshin
• 伯耆鵬 (Hōkihō) - Hōki is another name for Hakushū province. Sounds a lot like Hōkahō so maybe not likely
• 光鵬 (Kōhō) - in honour of Miyagino’s late senpai Kōbō, taking the first character from his shikona. Additionally, two of his uchideshi already have single-character references to elemental concepts - Enhō with the kanji for flames (炎) and Raihō with thunder (雷)
• 電鵬 (Denhō) - similar to the above, taking the character for electricity/lightning
• 銀甲鵬 (Ginkōhō) - this has no basis, just my imagination. 銀 being silver, 甲 being armour, or more appropriately back, as he reminds me of a silverback gorilla in some respects 

Anyway, interested in your ideas! The more creative the better.

伯州鵬 (Hakushūhō) could lead to a fun tie in to the whisky, though that is 白州, which has the advantage not only of some sweet Suntory kensho, but also the same first character of his stablemaster as well. 

[Kintamayama 45,122]

4 hours ago, Tochinofuji said:

伯州鵬 (Hakushūhō) could lead to a fun tie in to the whisky, though that is 白州, which has the advantage not only of some sweet Suntory kensho, but also the same first character of his stablemaster as well. 

And sound-wise, sounds like applause in Japanese..

[Chartorenji 235]

5 hours ago, Seiyashi said:

Not strictly on topic, but:

https://hochi.news/articles/20230125-OHT1T51256.html?page=1

So apparently they didn't expect Ochiai to be promoted this fast, and he's supposed to get a shikona in future (they couldn't make it before the cutoff of the banzuke meeting on Wednesday). Miyagino will think more about it after his danpatsu. 

Imagine doing so well so quickly that your stable master can't even make a name for you 

[Yarimotsu 578]

1 hour ago, Chartorenji said:

Imagine doing so well so quickly that your stable master can't even make a name for you 

One could say he's making a name for himself

[Hankegami 537]

7 hours ago, Seiyashi said:

Not strictly on topic, but:

https://hochi.news/articles/20230125-OHT1T51256.html?page=1

So apparently they didn't expect Ochiai to be promoted this fast, and he's supposed to get a shikona in future (they couldn't make it before the cutoff of the banzuke meeting on Wednesday). Miyagino will think more about it after his danpatsu. 

22 hours ago, rokudenashi said:

 

• 光鵬 (Kōhō) - in honour of Miyagino’s late senpai Kōbō, taking the first character from his shikona. Additionally, two of his uchideshi already have single-character references to elemental concepts - Enhō with the kanji for flames (炎) and Raihō with thunder (雷)
• 電鵬 (Denhō) - similar to the above, taking the character for electricity/lightning

Considering how rapid he has been, perhaps Miyagino should pick one of these two. Alternatively, could it be possible making up something like 稲妻鵬, with the characters for inazuma? I have a poor knowledge of on'yomi reading, but in case it is a viable option it could at a same time refer to his lighting-rapid ascent, and to 19th century Yokozuna Inazuma Raigorō, who was possibly the youngest ever - back then - to be promoted Yokozuna (28 years old - back then, I said ).

 

[rokudenashi 323]

5 hours ago, Hankegami said:

Alternatively, could it be possible making up something like 稲妻鵬, with the characters for inazuma?

Using the kan’on readings for 稲妻 you would get Tōseihō, which sounds feasible, and while I’ve never seen the word expressed as on’yomi in any context, it’s not beyond the realm of possibility.

This might just be me, but when I think of a wrestler like Ochiai - not flashy, lots of raw power (bukotsu as they would say), I tend to associate that with on’yomi readings - must be some weird synesthetic response.

Edited January 26, 2023 by rokudenashi

[Akinomaki 40,499]

Hoo (Houou) usually 鳳凰, the firebird - the name of an ancient ozeki of Miyagino-beya, but for him 鵬桜, with the sakura from Kotozakura (the yokozuna from his hometown Kurayoshi)  - actually exists as the name for the alumni association of the medical faculty of Hirosaki university

Edited January 26, 2023 by Akinomaki

[rokudenashi 323]

32 minutes ago, Akinomaki said:

Hoo (Houou) usually 鳳凰, the firebird - the name of an ancient ozeki of Miyagino-beya, but for him 鵬桜, with the sakura from Kotozakura (the yokozuna from his hometown Kurayoshi)  - actually exists as the name for the alumni association of the medical faculty of Hirosaki university

That’s interesting insight, thanks. I knew of the Hōō (鳳凰) from the 70s/80s but not this one.

Placing the character somewhere other than at the end would be an exceptional case, but then again, Ochiai is an exceptional prospect...

[Kintamayama 45,122]

Nikkan is guessing as well- they asked people regarding a possible shikona. 

Yuuhou (UFO, very cool)

Mahou (strong as the devil)

 Chouhou

Hokujouhou, Hokugihou (using alma mater name)

Hakurikihou

Ikihou 

Teppou

Ochiai-different spelling

Hokutenhou

Shouryuuhou

Houkihou

Kouhou

Houkiyama

Daisenhou

Hakuhou (different spelling)

Seishihou

Utsubukihou

Tenhou, Ryuuhou, 

Hakushuuhou

And a million others that can be read in many ways- no hiragana accompaniment.

https://www.nikkansports.com/battle/sumo/news/202301270000551.html

 

[Chartorenji 235]

Mahou would be pretty cool ngl 

[rokudenashi 323]

4 hours ago, Kintamayama said:

Nikkan is guessing as well- they asked people regarding a possible shikona. 

Yuuhou (UFO, very cool)

Mahou (strong as the devil)

 Chouhou

Hokujouhou, Hokugihou (using alma mater name)

Hakurikihou

Ikihou 

Teppou

Ochiai-different spelling

Hokutenhou

Shouryuuhou

Houkihou

Kouhou

Houkiyama

Daisenhou

Hakuhou (different spelling)

Seishihou

Utsubukihou

Tenhou, Ryuuhou, 

Hakushuuhou

And a million others that can be read in many ways- no hiragana accompaniment.

https://www.nikkansports.com/battle/sumo/news/202301270000551.html

 

No doubt some of these were stolen from this exact thread...

[Godango 984]

I like Kōhō.

[Chiyotasuke 295]

I just thought out a pretty good one, I think - 桜輝鵬 Ōkihō (oukihou) first kanji from Kotozakura, second kanji is a bit similar to the above mentioned 光 kanji except it can be read as ki, and the obvious hou at the end. I guess it means something like "cherry blossom radiant phoenix". 大 instead of 桜 seems plausible too, being read as oo so as the shikona not to become Daikiho, the former sekitori of his stable and same university alumni

[sumojoann 1,264]

A lot of creative suggestions.  I don't know enough Japanese to make any suggestions of my own.  However one name that was mentioned probably should be taken off the list, and that is Hokiho.  In American English, "hokey" is an informal term meaning corny, contrived, phony and a lot of other negative meanings.  In addition, there is an old song, "Hokey Pokey" that's sort of a dance and singalong song, mainly for children.  If Ochiai (as Hokiho), were to become world famous, you never know.  If he toured North America, I can just imagine "Hokey Pokey" becoming "his song" as he ascended the dohyo.  What a nightmare!  Here's a 1953 version by Ray Anthony.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJjgxXCkMYk

 

[Chiyotasuke 295]

For some reason, I'm very fascinated about this topic. Here are what I came up with after digging the internet.

• 宇椿 or 羽椿 - Utsubaki. It sounds like Utsubuki 打吹, which is the name for a castle and a mountain in his home city. The first character for "U" can be anything. Tsubaki (椿) or camellia is the city's tree of symbol. According to Wiktionary, the character also has the meaning "unexpected" (like they didn't expect his juryo promotion). I think Utsubaki suits him very well. They could also go with simply Tsubakiho.
• 岳鵬 - Takeho or G(K)akuho. This was mentioned in the Nikkan article Kintamayama posted above. 岳 is from the Buddhist Daigakuin temple (大岳院) also in his home city of Kurayoshi. The character means "mountain peak, tall mountain". It could symbolize getting to the peak of sumo, making it to yokozuna.

I think a single-character shikona would suit him as well. The unarguable one is Ootori 鳳 , the name of the yokozuna of the old Miyagino beya. 鵬 can also be read Ootori

[rokudenashi 323]

I wanted to suggest 落鵬 - Rakuhō - until it became obvious it translates to "falling (from the sky) mythical bird" or "dying mythical bird"...

[Chiyotasuke 295]

Another one... I promise I won't make any more

It is 金鵬 Konho - After 金剛 Kongou, the Japanese for the Vajra, a legendary weapon used in dharmic religions which symbolizes the properties of diamond and thunderbolt. I made this connection when I read the name Ochiai and thought it sounded like Ochir, that being the Mongolian name of the Vajra. Also I seem to recall Hakuho being associated with Vajrayana buddhism

Edited February 18, 2023 by Chiyotasuke

[Chiyotasuke 295]

More notes on 金鵬 (Konhō). Ochiai was born on Friday, which is the day of the gold/metal (金). And coincidentally Enhō (炎鵬) was born on the day of fire (火) or Tuesday, although when his shikona was made this was probably not considered. But if you go with this logic of fire (火) becoming flame (炎), then would gold (金) become iron (鉄) since it's a stronger metal? Or become lots of gold and become a treasure (宝) or expensive (高)? Either way his shikona would be 鉄鵬 (Tetsuhō), 宝鵬 (Takarahō) or 高鵬 (Takahō or Kōhō) respectively. But don't you think it's quite far-fetched?

But Konhō itself is a very good shikona. As I said earlier it can be chosen to symbolize 金剛 (Kongō) or the Vajra. The indestructible diamond and the bright and powerful thunderbolt are what exactly Ochiai is to me (although I haven't seen his matches that much). He shines like diamond and his progress to juryo was lightning fast in sumo. I think it's the best shikona for him, period. But please keep in mind I'm not an expert at anything. It's mainly my feelings in charge.

[mugatake 44]

4 hours ago, Chiyotasuke said:

Konhō itself is a very good shikona. As I said earlier it can be chosen to symbolize 金剛 (Kongō) or the Vajra. The indestructible diamond and the bright and powerful thunderbolt are what exactly Ochiai is to me (although I haven't seen his matches that much). He shines like diamond and his progress to juryo was lightning fast in sumo. I think it's the best shikona for him, period. But please keep in mind I'm not an expert at anything. It's mainly my feelings in charge.

Your mention of the vajra connection has made me think of an iteration: the shikona could be written as 金鵬 but read as Kanabō, in allusion to the 金棒 weapon.

Edited February 20, 2023 by mugatake