June 2001

Takanohana Catches Number 22

    
Takanohana Catches Number 22
Wins First 13 Matches; Survives Playoff for Natsu Title
by “Yukikaze” for SUMO SHIMPO

This writer distinctly remembers the final contest of Haru 2001, in which yokozuna-West MUSASHIMARU shoved yokozuna-East TAKANOHANA off the dohyo to give them both 12-3 records and give the yusho to then-ozeki #1-East KAIO.

So when the banzuke for the 2001 Natsu Basho was issued, this writer was surprised (and a little miffed) to see that TAKANOHANA had been placed in the yokozuna-East slot while MUSASHIMARU was slotted on the West side.  A minor issue, to be sure – but what was the banzuke committee thinking?  It might have been influenced by TAKANOHANA’s showing during the Haru jungyo period:  many observers felt it was the younger Hanada brother’s best road showing in years.

When the bell rang to start the festivities TAKANOHANA kept the jungyo momentum going, powering his way through his first 13 opponents as if it were 1994 all over again. His day 12 win over ozeki #2-West MIYABIYAMA was his 684th top-division victory, moving him past Takamiyama (now Azumazeki Oyakata) into 4th place on the all-time Makunouchi victories list.  (The only men now ahead of him on this list are the three great yokozuna of modern sumo:  Taiho, Kitanoumi and Chiyonofuji.  See revised list in this issue.)  But then came day 14 and ozeki #1-West MUSOYAMA, who had inflicted fatal damage on his chances in Osaka.  And the Musashigawa veteran, seemingly unaffected by his day 6 marathon against komusubi-East KOTOMITSUKI (see related article) not only ruined TAKA’s bid for his first zensho as a yokozuna, but stepped on his foot as he went down.  TAKANOHANA could still take the Tenno‑Hai with a win over MUSASHIMARU on senshuraku - but as his tsukebito helped him limp down the hanamichi that looked to be a non-starter.  He came in on the final day with his knee bandaged up, but raring to go.  However, once the bout finally got started it took MARU less than a second to send TAKA sprawling to the clay and tying matters at 13-2.

Both men retired to their respective shitakubeya while the bow ceremony was held.  During the wait TAKANOHANA refused to sit down even to allow the tokoyama to touch up his mage, but kept moving to prevent his knee from tightening up.  The two yokozuna then strolled down their respective hanamichi to battle for the title.  This time TAKA used his technical superiority before MARU could apply his power game, downing the Hawaiian with uwatenage to take championship number 22.  He is now within easy striking distance of Kitanoumi’s number-three place on the career yusho list.

MUSASHIMARU’s showing was marred as soon as it started with a shitatenage loss to new Mongolian sensation, komusubi-West ASASHORYU.  A slapdown by maegashira #1-West TAKANOWAKA two days later seemed to remove him from the Cup chase.  But Musashigawa’s top rikishi refused to roll over:  instead he rolled over everyone in his path, including the resurgent ozeki #3-East CHIYOTAIKAI, before his playoff-forcing senshuraku win.  The #1 non-Japanese rikishi now has 613 top-division wins, just seven short of former yokozuna Wajima on the Makunouchi victories list.

Two months ago it looked as if KAIO might be considered for yokozuna promotion if his May performance warranted.  But now not only is there no more discussion along that line, but there is the chance (admittedly remote) that he could lose his Kokugikan parking space.  It was thought, after two yusho in the space of a calendar year, that the strongman from Fukuoka had succeeded in driving his ‘evil twin’ into exile for good.  But he escaped and made his way to the Kokugikan - and the result was a 50-50 effort that finally came to a painful end after a hikiotishi loss to CHIYOTAIKAI.  Meanwhile, Kokonoe Beya’s ichiban rikishi was under kadoban due to his Kosho Seido absence in March.  The protege of the legendary Chiyonofuji came out strong with four straight wins, but then ran afoul of ASASHORYU to fall behind TAKANOHANA.  He won his next seven to stay within breathing distance; but when he had his chance on day 13 to pull into a tie the Futagoyama heyagashira gave him the classic yorikiri treatment.  He was then downed by MUSASHIMARU the next day, but his senshuraku win over MUSOYAMA left him with a 12-3 record to lead the ozeki quintet.

For the Musashigawa ozeki, it was a case of the misery of makekoshi and threat of kadoban being handed from one member of the “College of Sumo Knowledge” to another.  (What is it with these guys - do they draw straws to see who’s going to get stuck with the bad outing?)  MIYABIYAMA was the man under the threat of a smaller paycheck and having to walk in from the street.  After going .500 in his first four matches he rolled out five straight victories, but then lost four of his last 6 to finish with a 9-6:  he keeps his parking privileges.  #2-East DEJIMA had been kadoban going into the Haru Basho and had just managed to stave off demotion on senshuraku with an 8-7 record.  His May outing was bad, bad, bad:  he lost nine of his first 11 and finished 5-10.  Sempei MUSOYAMA was coming into the Kokugikan after a jun-yusho 12-3 in Osaka.  He started off poorly with four losses in his first 7 battles, but then took 6 of his last 8 (including TAKANOHANA) on his way to a 9-6 posting.

Three of the four lower sanyaku rikishi showed real grit by going kachikoshi against strong opposition from both above and below.  Sekiwake-West TOCHIAZUMA, coming back from injuries that had sent him down to the hiramaku for awhile, did not defeat either yokozuna and only went 3 for 5 against maegashira, but won 3 matches against ozeki for a 9-6 posting.  On the other side of the banzuke TOCHINONADA had a very rough time, losing his first 6 bouts and going makekoshi on day 9.  His 4-11 was the worst record among the joi-jin, and his next few paychecks will only contain maegashira money.  Both komusubi posted winning records:  KOTOMITSUKI (who had never been ranked here before, but who had vaulted into a sekiwake slot and had dropped back into the maegashira ranks just as fast) garnered a 9-6 and the Gino-Sho (Technique Prize).  It was closer for ASASHORYU, but a very flexible senshuraku showing over the always-dangerous maegashira #9-West AKINOSHIMA gave him his kachikoshi.  That, coupled with his shonichi victory over MUSASHIMARU, earned him the Shukun-Sho (Outstanding Performance Prize).

In the high maegashira ranks (#1 to #5) only three men managed to scrape out winning efforts.  There were three 11-4 efforts sharing top honors among the hiramaku:  #11-East HIGONOUMI, #13-East TOKI and #15-East KYOKUSHUZAN.  9-6 records were posted by #4‑West HAYATEUMI, #8-West KOTONOWAKA and #13-West TOCHINOHANA.  The Kanto-Sho (Fighting Spirit Prize) was not awarded this basho.

The Juryo yusho went to #1-West KITAZAKURA, who won his last 12 matches to finish with a 13-2 and certain re-ranking in the Makunouchi for Nagoya.  Close behind him in the race was #5-East OGINISHIKI, with a 12-3 posting which may very well return him to the ‘bright lights’ as well.  The “Marshmallow Man”, #3-East MINATOFUJI put up a 10-5 record while #9-East JUZAN racked up a 9-6.

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JUNIOR DIVISION YUSHO WINNERS

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Trivia Question of the Month

After TAKANOHANA won his 13th match in May, many thought he had a good chance to ‘run the table’ and go zensho.  When was the last time a yokozuna posted a 15-0?  (Hint:  it was by none other than the mighty Chiyonofuji.  You get extra credit if you come up with the number of zensho yusho he posted in his glorious career.)

Answer in this issue.

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FINALLY! – Komusubi-East KOTOMITSUKI finally defeats ozeki #1-West MUSOYAMA.  Sumo columnist Ken Coller timed this match at an  astonishing 15 minutes, 58.7 seconds from start to finish.  (Photo:  Ken Coller – SUMO NOW!)

Kotomitsuki-Musoyama:  A Sumo Marathon
by "Tonkatsu" for SUMO SHIMPO

Most of our readers know that the typical sumo match last only a matter of seconds.  Occasionally a fraction of a second.  Of course, we also get a match from time to time that last several minutes.  Every now and then we get a really long match where two wrestlers tie up and come to a stalemate.  Typically, they appear to just be leaning on each other.  The gyoji says "Hakkeyoi" repeatedly but nothing happens.  Eventually, the head judge calls a break.  After a short break, they are put back in the same position they were and restarted.  The last time this happened was in Osaka, where Kotonowaka bested Takatoriki in a match that lasted almost eight and a half minutes.  A few years, ago, Takatoriki lost a similar marathon to Konishiki.

On the sixth day of the Natsu Basho, Kotomisuki and Musoyama had a match that reduced those previous marathons to middle distance races.  Internet sumo columnist Ken Coller (Sumo Now!) described what happened as follows:

"Musoyama has to get past Kotomitsuki for a psychological lift.  The match goes to the belt and stalemates almost immediately after Kotomitsuki took him for a couple of revolutions with a right-hand grip of Muso's loose mawashi.  The two went into a clinch, the Ozeki tucking his left shoulder under Koto's chin and holding him close.  After 5:13.6 of watching the gyoji tighten Muso's belt, Kokonoe raises both hands and calls for a break.  The two fighters step down and Kaio assists Koto in tightening the knot of his belt, whereas on the west side Muso has Wakanosato unwrap a couple of layers of the mawashi before arranging it the way he wanted.  In contrast to the break we saw the last time there was a mizu-iri between Kotonowaka and Takatoriki, this is a holiday taking 3:08 as opposed to seventeen seconds!

The gyoji is having a very hard time getting the Ozeki and his adversary back in the proper position.  Kokonoe is gesturing and even the rest of the judges are offering guidance, it must have been an impossible task for the gyoji.  However, the fight must go on, and once again there is a deadlock, the only action being Musoyama slapping at Koto's ribs with his right hand.  After a little more than four minutes, the fight is stopped again, and a mono-ii is called.  How extraordinary!  When the judges step down, Kokonoe announces that this torikumi will be fought from another tachi-ai after the next bout.

The crowd is really up for the rematch between Musoyama and Kotomitsuki; this kind of situation hasn't been seen for more than 20 years.  It started with Koto pulling Muso along by the left arm, both men stepping lively and keeping well bent-over.  Koto worked slowly with his advance, gathering more of the silver silk of Musoyama's belt in his hands which were clamped onto the front of the mawashi.  Powering forward and standing up, Koto forced Muso to step back and out.  What a unique spectacle: nii-bango tori-naoshi!"

This writer was watching this on a tape with Japanese commentary.  When the second halt was called and the two were sent off we didn't know what was going on!  Had they both been disqualified?  We called Yukikaze, but he wasn't home.  We were still racking our brain when they brought them both back and started over from the tachi-ai.  I guess this is the sumo equivalent of a fifteen-inning pitcher’s duel in baseball ending with a third out homer.  It was indeed an extraordinary match.  Still, I'm glad we don't have one like this too often.

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Gaijin Rikishi Data and Results as of Natsu 2001
Data from Moti Dichne’s Sumo Homepage (www.dichne.com)

KS = Injured
@ = DivisionYusho
~ = Debut
^= Reached highest-ever rank this Basho  

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Visitors Come to "Dohyo of Dreams"
by “Tonkatsu” for SUMO SHIMPO

Shortly after the Second North American Sumo Championship in 1998, we were contacted by a photographer named Irfan Khan who worked for the Los Angeles Times.  He was interested in doing a story on amateur sumo in Southern California.  The Times has several regional editions in addition to the one that is printed in downtown Los Angeles, notably Orange County and the San Fernando Valley.  Pretty much at opposite ends of the Times coverage area.  Mr. Khan worked for the Valley edition, as it's called, and he was looking for a Valley angle.  The "Dohyo of Dreams" is in Orange County and we had no sumotori living in the Valley.  So much for that.

Fast forward to the fall of 2000.  Mr. Khan calls me again and asks if I remember him.  I said, "Sure, you work for the Valley edition of the Times.  You wanted a Valley angle and we didn't have one, and we still don't."  Well, it turned out that Mr. Khan now worked for the Orange County edition.

During the next several months, he came to a number of practices at the "Dohyo of Dreams" and one with the Group at UCLA.  Sometimes it was just Yukikaze and myself, other times a half dozen.  Some weeks passed after the last photo session without any word.  Finally, in March, Irfan called to say that the article had been accepted for a ‘full run'.  That meant the entire one million-plus circulation of the Times would be reading about us!  Reporter Michael Kennedy came out to a practice and talked with us, and the article ran in the Monday, April 2, 2001 edition (in the Southern California Living section).  You can see it and the photos on the Sumo Shimpo web site (www.sumoshimpo.com).

As a result, we have been contacted by new people interested in sumo.  We were also contacted by Fox 11 News, which sent a camera crew to a practice. They ran a very nice piece on us, plus some footage from the 1999 NASC at Hollywood Park Casino.  The best part is that it didn't just run in the Southern California market.  Marcus Barber's father called him from Miami to say that he had just seen him on TV.  It apparently also showed in other markets around the country.

The Times article was also reprinted on the English language side of the Daily Yomiuri in Japan and the Korea Times here in Los Angeles.  We heard about the Daily Yomiuri from Mr. William O'Conner, a professor at Asia University in Tokyo.  He was kind enough to send us a copy.  Professor O'Connor is currently working on an English language reader and may want to do something on us.  (Editor’s note:  the article has also been reprinted in the June issue of TechniScribe, the monthly newsletter of the Orange County chapter of the Society for Technical Communication.  “Yukikaze” is a member of this particular organization and chapter.)

One of the most interesting calls to come out of all this was for “Yukikaze”.  The game show "To Tell The Truth" wanted to bring him on as a contestant (along with two impostors), to try and fool the celebrity panel.  The segment has been taped, but “Yukikaze” is contractually bound not to tell the full details until that segment airs sometime later in the summer.  (As soon as he finds out when it will air, “Yukikaze” will notify the webmistress to have the date posted.)

Last but not least, we have been contacted by "Fuji TV".  They are going to be filming several of our events, so stay tuned.  

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FLEXIBLE THINKING – Mongolian sensation ASASHORYU puts a very interesting finish on his victory over maegashira #9-West AKINOSHIMA.  The win gave ASASHORYU kachikoshi in his first sanyaku basho:  that, coupled with a shonichi win over yokozuna-West MUSASHIMARU, earned him the Shukun-Sho (Outstanding Performance Prize).  (Photo:  Ken Coller – SUMO NOW!)

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The 600-Win Club
(updated after Natsu 2001)

Info from SUMO WORLD magazine and 1998 VAN VAN ‘face book’

* Active

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Rikishi Rock the Rockies
by "Tonkatsu" for SUMO SHIMPO

On the last weekend in April, this writer and six heavyweight sumotori traveled to the "Mile High City" to be the ‘sumo’ part of “SUSHI, SAKE & SUMO”, a charity event put on by the "Generations Cancer Foundation" of Denver to benefit AMC Cancer Research.

This event was the brainchild of event chair Amy Greenberger, who had contacted us in January.  After some discussion it was agreed to bring six heavyweights, with this writer as the MC and referee.  A considerable amount of planning went into all phases of this event, including lining up the competitors and getting the ring shipped to Denver.  Of the initial six sumotori two had to cancel, regrettably, after their tickets had already been purchased.

We decided to go for a combination of experienced rikishi and new people who had contacted us from the Sumo Shimpo web page.  The six ‘mountains among the mountains’ were:

North American Heavyweight Champion James Perry (410 lbs.), North Carolina
North American Heavyweight bronze medalist Carl Pappalardo (317 lbs.), New York
New sumotori Lamont Campo (370 lbs.), New York
California Masters Champion Jim Lowerre (307 lbs.), California
New sumotori Kelly Gneiting (370 lbs.), Idaho
New sumotori Alan Gneiting (330 lbs.), Idaho

James Perry came several days early to do pre-event promotions, while the rest of us flew into Denver’s new International Airport on  Friday night.  We were given the full first-class treatment while we were in Denver, and the weather also treated us well that entire weekend.  They put us up at a small but very nice downtown hotel, the Hotel Monaco.  It’s a seven-story 1890's office building that has been remodeled into a hotel.  The decor was sumptuous, the lobby was very comfortable, the staff was exceptional, the place is pet-friendly, and they are within walking distance of Denver’s long pedestrian mall.  Each of us was given a comfortable room with a single king-size bed and amenities (in-room coffee, minibar, cable TV, Nintendo et al).  However, they ‘stacked’ us in one corner of the building:  myself in room 422, “Yukikaze” in 722, the Gneitings in 522 and 622, Lamont in 723 and so forth.  The Monaco has a workout room, but no pool or jacuzzi:  a full-service health club is located nearby.  We were given meal money and coupons for meals at one of the sponsors, Noodles & Company.  And if we had to be anywhere outside of walking distance we were driven to the location (in full accordance with Nihon Sumo Kyokai regulations).

On Saturday afternoon we held an exhibition at a local taekwondo studio, during which some of the chief instructor’s students had a chance to put on mawashi and try their skills.  SUSHI, SAKE & SUMO was held that evening at the Fillmore Auditorium, which had the ‘look and feel’ of an old ballroom.  It was actually opened just a few years ago, and we were informed it was designed to look like a place of the same name in San Francisco.  It has played host to many big name bands and musicians.  We were shown to the downstairs dressing rooms and performers’ lounge to get ready for our part in the festivities.

In addition to Noodles & Company, the ‘sushi’ part of the evening came from the following restaurants:  Avenue Grill, Restaurant Japan, Restaurant Japango, Sonada's Sushi & Seafood, Tommy Tsunami's Pacific Diner and Sushi Redi.  The ‘sake’ was provided by Ozeki Sake:  Southern California readers may recall Ozeki Sake as a longtime sponsor of SUMO DIGEST.  Sushi Redi was kind enough to lend one of their people named Dan to serve as yobidashi.  Dan is from Indonesia, but he looked very much the part in a red happy coat.  He did a sterling job clapping the ki to announce the sumotori and sweeping the dohyo.  Thanks for being a good sport, Dan!

There was an ongoing silent auction with such items as autographed jerseys from the local sports teams (the Rockies, Avalanche, Nuggets, and Broncos) and a couple of footballs autographed by John Elway (who else?).  Live music was provided during the evening by “Opie Gone Bad”.  We did the sumo during the band’s breaks, so wee were scheduled for three fifteen-minute sessions.

In agreeing to do this I insisted on an actual competition, not just a demonstration.  In the first session we introduced the sumotori, demonstrated some basic techniques and held an East-versus-West team competition. Team East (Perry, Pappalardo, Campo) defeated Team West (Lowerre, A. Gneiting, K. Gneiting), 3-0. These were the first matches for Lamont Campo and the Gneiting brothers.  Audience response was very enthusiastic throughout the evening.

The next two sessions were devoted to an individual round robin competition, in which each rikishi wrestled against all the others present.  When the smoke cleared, the results were as follows:

James Perry 5-0
Kelly Gneiting 4-1
Carl Pappalardo 3-2
Alan Gneiting 2-3
Lamont Campo 1-4
Jim Lowerre 0-5

This was not the only sumo that was done during the evening.  The organizers procured some of the big, heavily-upholstered ‘sumo suits’ and allowed those willing to put up a donation to climb into a suit and do battle against someone similarly tricked out (the real sumotori did not participate in this).

Over a thousand tickets were sold at fifty dollars each to this event, which was almost double their original goal.  As a result they were able to write a check for $57,500.00 to AMC Cancer Research.  We who provided the sumo portion of SUSHI, SAKE & SUMO were happy to have helped.  We got in some extra work for experienced sumotori and gave three excellent new prospects their first try at competing in sumo.  If you are going to Denver, we highly recommend the Hotel Monaco.  The chain also has hotels in San Francisco, Seattle, Salt Lake City and Chicago.

Overall it was a very worthwhile weekend.  And since it was as successful as it was, we hope we will be asked to do it again next year.  We’ll keep you posted on developments.  

Answer to the Trivia Question
Chiyonofuji (now the very handsome Kokonoe Oyakata) rolled a 15-0 at the 1989 Aki Basho.  It was his seventh perfect score and his 29th Makunouchi yusho.  

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Shiko - Miyabiyama Style
by “Tonkatsu” for SUMO SHIMPO

Even though we have been doing sumo since 1997, it has only been very recently that we have gotten into doing any significant numbers of sumo's trademark exercise - shiko. Normally, we do a perfunctory ten or so at the beginning of any of our practices.  One of the reasons for this is that I can't raise my legs (especially my left one) very high.  After all, I am sixty years old and have sciatica in my left hip.  Besides, I was never exactly “Mr. Flexible” even when I was young.  I can't get even remotely close to the kind of high leg extension we are used to seeing from someone like Takanahana.

Perhaps comparing myself unfavorably to guys like Takanohana has been part of my problem.  But recently, thanks to our new friend Mr. Matsuzaki taping the longer TV Japan version of each basho for us, we have begun to get a new perspective on shiko.  On TV Japan we get a lot more shots of many different rikishi doing shiko.  And what I have noticed is that there are quite a few men that don't raise their legs anywhere near as high as Takanohana.  This came very clearly into focus for me on day twelve of the Natsu Basho during the preliminaries (Yuki please sub the correct sumo term) of the match between Takanohana and Miyabiyama.  They had both bowed onto the dohyo and gone to their corners for their chikara mizu.  As most of our readers know:  before taking the power water, each rikishi claps his hands and does two shiko with each leg.  Well, the camera had a long shot of the entire ring but was looking straight at Miyabiyama's back, so I had a clear view of both his shiko.  In contrast to "Taka", who usually straightens his leg when he raises it, Miyabiyama was raising his with the knee bent.  Actually, he was doing his shiko very much like what you see in the old wood cuts of Yokozuna doing shiko.

I have already worked my way up to doing two sets of fifty shiko several times a week.  I find that by forgetting about trying to straighten my leg I can actually raise my leg higher, get more stretch in my groin, and stomp harder.  A hundred shiko three or four times a week may not be much compared to what they do in Japan - but boy, can we already feel the difference!  I might add:  I think that a very large part of the benefit from shiko comes from the fact that you do a full squat every time.

So if you are serious about improving your sumo, do more shiko!

Twisting and turning,
Fleeing the angry crows,
The red tailed hawk....
                                    Tonkatsu

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North American Sumo Championships Moved To Long Beach
by “Tonkatsu” for SUMO SHIMPO

In our last issue, we announced that the NASC was going to be held at the Odeum Sports and Entertainment Center in Villa Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.  Unfortunately, several of the would-be promoter’s backers backed out, causing him to cancel and leaving us back at square one.

After some discussion, it was decided to change the California Championship scheduled for August 5th, 2001 at the Long Beach Police Athletic League gymnasium to the North American Sumo Championships.  The NASC will be preceded by an as-yet unnamed event at UCLA on August 4th.  This year’s NASC has been designated as an official part of the 61st annual Nisei week celebration in Los Angeles.  

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Amateur Shikona:  One More Thought
by “Tonkatsu” for SUMO SHIMPO

As we mentioned in previous discussions of this subject, shikona are normally not used by amateurs in Japan. This is not a rule, but rather a general practice.

According to our new friend and subscriber Mr. Matsuzaki, there is at least one exception to this. He tells us that the Tokyo University Sumo Club's members all get shikona.  He also says that Tokyo University is not a major sumo power in Japan.

We cannot say if this proves the claim that shikona in amateur sumo are "unlucky".  So the question of whether you assume a shikona or not will be left to each individual

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CALENDAR OF SUMO EVENTS (compiled by the SUMO SHIMPO staff)

Nagoya Basho:  Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium
Banzuke:  June 25, 2001
Shonichi:  July 8, 2001 (Sunday)
Senshuraku:  July 22, 2001 (Sunday)

61ST ANNUAL NISEI WEEK
August 4 – 12, 2001

5TH NORTH AMERICAN SUMO CHAMPIONSHIP
August 5, 2001
Police Athletic League Gymnasium, Long Beach, CA
Spectator admission:  TBD.  Competitor entry fee:  TBD

Nagoya Basho Post-Basho Bash
August 5, 2001:  exact time TBD (but will follow the NASC)
Restaurant TBD

Aki Basho:  Kokugikan, Tokyo
Banzuke:  August 27, 2001
Shonichi:  September 9, 2001 (Sunday)
Senshuraku:  September 23, 2001 (Sunday)  

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