April 2003

Chiyotaikai Cops First Post-Taka Cup

The 600-Win Club

  
Chiyotaikai Cops First Post-Taka Cup
Rolls Over Weakened Field for Third Title
by “Yukikaze” for SUMO SHIMPO

It wouldn’t be yokozuna-East MUSASHIMARU, ozeki-#2-West TOCHIAZUMA or sekiwake #1-East TAKANOWAKA, that was for certain.  They were still ‘riding the pines’ as they recovered from various injuries.  Would new yokozuna ASASHORYU continue with the same focus and intensity that had enabled him to spend only the minimum two basho at ozeki before putting the rope around his waist?  The social obligations of becoming a new yokozuna, coupled with ‘tying the knot’ with his Mongolian fiancée, made the answer to that question a resounding no.  After two wins in the first two days he gave up the first kinboshi of his grand championship career to maegashira #1-West KYOKUTENHO.  (In a way, it was almost fitting that the first Mongolian yokozuna give out his first ‘gold star’ to another son of the “Golden Horde”).  Four days later, he was pushed out by resurgent komusubi-East DEJIMA.  Day 9 saw the effective end of his yusho hopes as another kinboshi went to the usually-underachieving maegashira #3-West KOTONOWAKA.  SHORYU finished the March festivities with a barely-tolerable (for a yokozuna) 10-5 record.  This leads this humble correspondent to make the (very respectful) suggestion that he get back to much more keiko on the practice dohyo - and a little bit less of same at home.

Ozeki #2-East CHIYOTAIKAI had not been getting much notice lately, due to the spate of injuries he’d been limping through.  But here he came out of the gate with inspired energy, taking his first seven torikumi before being pushed out by maegashira #4-West TAMANOSHIMA.  Sekiwake #2-East WAKANOSATO and ozeki #1-West KAIO both got pieces of him on days 11 and 13, respectively.  But when TAIKAI faced SHORYU on senshuraku, Kokonoe’s top deshi really blistered the new yokozuna with a powerful tsuppari attack to scotch a possible playoff and end things at the Prefectural Taiikukan with a 12-3, taking the Tenno-Hai for the third time in his career.  The question then becomes:  if he wins in May in Tokyo, does he get promoted?  The rules would say yes…but with his long-term durability an issue of doubt, a question mark has to hang over such thinking.

No sooner had ozeki #1-East MUSOYAMA put down another kadoban threat than he got saddled with yet another.  He went 8-7 in January at the Kokugikan to dispel his vulnerability – but then lost his first four matches in Osaka and was 1-6 before withdrawing.  KAIO fared much better:  after a shonichi defeat from maegashira #2-East TOCHINONADA he won his next three.  After trading whites and blacks he won four in a row from day 11 to day 14.  A senshuraku loss to sekiwake #1-West KOTOMITSUKI left “The Human Juicer” with a nice 10-5 posting.

The lower sanyaku followed form, in the main.  WAKANOSATO made mistakes, losing to maegashira #4-East WAKANOYAMA and KOTONOWAKA, but still pounded out a respectable 9-6.  Both occupants of the ‘killer rank’ finished kachi-koshi, as DEJIMA and komusubi-West TOSANOUMI guaranteed themselves sanyaku paychecks with matching 8-7 outings.  KOTOMITSUKI turned out to be the ‘weakest link’ of the joi-jin:  at one point he lost six consecutive torikumi on his way to a poor 6-9.  For the Sadogatake heyagashira this means (in all likelihood) a trip down the ‘erebeta’ to the hiramaku – good-bye!

Maegashira #7-West KYOKUSHUZAN and #11-East HOKUTORIKI both finished with 10-5 records to top the hiramaku leaderboard.  KYOKUTENHO finished at 9-6 to gain the Kanto-Sho (Fighting Spirit Prize) in addition to his kinboshi.  TOCHINONADA, #9-West MIYABIYAMA, #14-East GOJORO and #14-West JUMONJI also pounded out 9-6 scores.  Maegashira #2-West TAKAMISAKARI finished at 8-7 to qualify for the Gino-Sho (Technique Prize).  The Shukun-Sho (Outstanding Performance Prize) was not awarded this basho.

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The 600-Win Club (updated after Haru 2003)

(Info from the NSK and Stefan Gelow web sites)

* Non-Japanese
 
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Junior Division Yusho Winners

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Correction

In the January 2003 issue of SUMO SHIMPO, a line in the article on Takanohana’s retirement read, “As the son of former ozeki Takanohana and nephew of former yokozuna Wakanohana II (now Magaki Oyakata) young Koji Hanada’s destiny was indelibly drawn in blood and sea salt, and fired on dohyo clay.”  According to both SUMO WORLD magazine and longtime amateur sumotori/referee Ernie Hunt, there is no blood relationship between Magaki Oyakata and any member of the Hanada family.  This material was among that material added to the Japan Times article by this humble correspondent, and he is solely responsible.

GOMEN NASAI!

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LOOK UP ‘SHINITAI’ IN THE DICTIONARY – SCSK lightweight Trent Sabo is less than a second from slamming   UCLA’s Kevin Yonemoto to the floor at the March 9, 2003 Quarterly Tournament.  Referee Andrew Freund wields the gunbai.  (Photo:  “Yukikaze” for SUMO SHIMPO)

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“When East is West & West is East”
by "Tonkatsu" for SUMO SHIMPO

As anyone who has seen sumo on TV knows, the dohyo is a square with the circular ring inside.  The four sides are designated Shomen (main side), muko-jomen (opposite main side), higashi-gawa (east side), and nishi-gawa (west side).

In The Essential Guide To Sumo by Dorothea M. Buckingham, we are told that "Traditionally the Japanese Emperor sits facing the south; therefore the Imperial Booth is situated on the north side.  Shomen is always considered the north side no matter what the actual compass orientation. ... In most ceremonies the sumotori face shomen.  The chief judge sits shomen, and even the television cameras film from that side.

One of the things we learned from Grand Sumo by Lora Sharnoff is that this is the case at the Ryogoku Kokugikan.  "In the Kokugikan the emperor's box is actually located on the second floor in the middle of the buildings south side, which in respect to tradition is called the main or northern side."

View from the “Power Bear’s” Den:  The Haru Basho
by “Zenrikikuma” for SUMO SHIMPO

Well, folks, here we go again; another one of those outrageous Basho.

Well, I don’t want to say ‘told you so’ - but “I TOLD YOU SO”.  ASASHORYU had one heck of a time keeping up with all the sanyaku rikishi.  I will say not only that he lost to three of them (DEJIMA on day seven, KAIO on day fourteen, and CHIYOTAIKAI on day fifteen) but he also gave up two kinboshi in this basho.  I look forward to the Natsu Basho to see if he can recover and show the world that he is the “Machine” that the world had come to love.  Was it because he was trying to gain respect of the Japanese people by being a little less of a bully - or was it that he just got married and had a lot on his mind.  Well, we will have to wait and see if he will get back into his stride and go back to being the bad boy that we all want.

Now let’s talk about CHIYOTAIKAI.  He was my favorite going into this basho and he looked as if he was going to run away with it until day 8 when he lost his first bout of the basho to TAMANOSHIMA.  He recovered and got his eighth win on day 9 to save his ozeki status, but got beat by WAKANOSATO on day 11.  He slipped again against KAIO on day 13 when it was a battle of the ozeki.  It looked as if he was letting KAIO and ASASHORYU back into this basho, but days 14 and 15 belonged to CHIYOTAIKAI.  He disposed of MIYABIYAMA on day 14, and in the finale he manhandled ASASHORYU for the Emperor’s Cup.  I never thought I would see CHIYOTAIKAI give ASASHORYU such a powerful tsuppari attack that he made the newest yokozuna look like a Makushita competitor.

All of the sanyaku had winning records with the exception of KOTOMITSUKI, who fell to 6-9 and will probably be demoted to komusubi.  TAKAMISAKARI was the crowd favorite throughout the basho:  every time he entered the dohyo the crowd went crazy and that is saying a lot for a Japanese audience.  He ended with a nice winning streak and won the Technique Prize. Look for TAKAMISAKARI to be promoted to komusubi along with KYOKUTENHO if KOTOMITSUKI drops to the maegashira ranks.  MUSASHIMARU will return and he should take the Natsu Basho with all the rest and healing that he has done.  

Gaining Weight, Sumo-style
by "Tonkatsu" for SUMO SHIMPO

From time to time, we receive an e-mail or a phone call from someone who wants the recipe for chanko nabe.  Sometimes they are interested in doing sumo, sometimes they just want to gain weight.  If the latter, the first thing we tell them is that we have weight divisions in amateur sumo and they don't have to be huge to compete.

The second thing we tell them is that there is more to it than just eating lots of chanko nabe.  For one thing, they also eat a lot of other things, especially rice.  There is also the fact that they follow up their large meals with a nap.  Sleeping after eating a large meal helps pack on pounds.  And then, sumotori are also known to knock back large quantities of beer.  What rice and beer have in common is carbohydrates – starchy carbohydrates, and lots of them.  It is generally recognized these days that these carbs are the number one source of weight gain.  (If you’re trying to lose weight, by comparison, you try and consume your starchy carbs early in the day and avoid them for a couple of hours prior to going to bed – “Y”)  The fact is that the German sumotori seem to gain weight very easily on their diet.  Indeed, the average weight of the competitors in the heavyweight and open divisions at the amateur World Championships tends to be greater than that of the pro sekitori.

And a third thing:  there are almost as many different recipes for chanko nabe as there are professional sumo heya, college sumo clubs, and amateur associations.  Mina Hall’s Big Book of Sumo has four typical recipes:  we will see about printing these in future issues.  In the meantime you can find a recipe for “Sakana Chankonabe”, which was given to us by Marcus “Hokkyokuguma” Barber, in the December 2000 issue of this newsletter.

We love chanko, and we wish we had time to take a nap after lunch each day.  But we think it would be hard for most Americans to gain weight sumo-style.  (And probably not healthy, either – “Y”)

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California Sumo Competition Calendar for 2003  

For information (event times, restrictions, entry fees, admission charges etc.) on any event listed above, contact the Staging Organization.

The 7th North American Amateur Sumo Championships
Saturday, August 23, 2003
Steveston Community Centre, Tennis Court
4111 Moncton Street, Richmond, BC (a ‘municipality’ of Vancouver)
Phone (604) 718-8080

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Sumo to Be an Official Sport In 2005 World Games

21 February 2003

To:  All IFS (International Sumo Federation) Member Federations

RE:  WORLD GAMES 2005 DUISBURG

Dear Members,
During last year‘s IWGA General Assembly, the International Sumo Federation was given full membership.  This means that SUMO will become part of the official programme at the World Games 2005 in Duisburg (Germany).  The full texts are available at www.worldgames-iwga.org

The success of the World Games will, among other things, depend upon the support that we get from you and especially from the National Olympic Committees (NOC’s).   Therefore, we would appreciate it if you would follow up with your NOC’s to support the World Games 2005.

For the Member Federations who do not belong to the NOC’s, we strongly urge you to work towards this recognition.  We will need the NOC’s and your collaboration and active contribution towards the success of this multi-sport event.  Once again, we sincerely hope that you would give serious thought to work towards this goal of being recognized by the NOC.

For your information, I have attached herewith an official letter from Dr. Jacques Rogge, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) written to the National Olympic Committees (NOC’s), requesting their support to the 2005 Duisburg World Games. 

We thank you for your past and continuous support and would appreciate hearing your response on this matter.

Yours sincerely,
/s
Hidetoshi Tanaka
President
INTERNATIONAL SUMO FEDERATION

Cc           Mr Ron Froehlich
                President of IWGA

NOC’s Asked to Support World Games Delegations
International World Games Association (IWGA) press release

In a letter to the 199 National Olympic Committees (NOCs), the President of the International Olympic Committee, Dr. Jacques Rogge, calls for support to athletes and officials taking part in The World Games.

Dr. Rogge has been a strong supporter of The World Games concept from its inception. He served as Chef de Mission for the Belgian delegation to The First World Games 1981 in Santa Clara. After ascending to the presidency of the Belgian Olympic and Interfederal Committee (BOIC), in 1989, he helped to define the BOIC role in programs preparing athletes and officials for their participation in the quadrennial multi-sport event further.

61 medals won by Belgian athletes in six editions of The World Games make clear statements about the programs’ success. Stringent qualification criteria combined with BOIC support in areas such as training and medical supervision had Belgian athletes regularly among the top contenders in many sports: sports acrobatics, ju-jitsu, korfball, lifesaving, pétanque, snooker and trampoline accounted for 11 medals at The World Games 2001 in Akita.

While the BOIC pioneered the most extensive athlete support through centralized selection, through subsidized training and preparation, other NOCs got eventually started on similar projects. In 2001, in The World Games following the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the IOC and the IWGA, many of the 92 nationally representative multi-sport delegations received sanction and support from their respective NOCs. With the Chinese and the United States Olympic Committees, two of the biggest NOCs assisted athletes and officials with outfitting, travel and other needs. The Netherlands and South Africa adopted programs identical to the Belgian model: Chefs de Mission, physicians and therapists – all appointed by the NOC – looked after the delegations’ well-being in Japan. The Japanese Olympic Committee, besides supporting athletes and officials in 30 different sports, provided valuable know-how to the Organizing Committee for The Akita Games. 

On February 11, 2003, Dr. Rogge wrote in his letter to the 199 NOCs:  “In order to maximize the experience of your athletes and officials at The World Games, and to utilize your expertise in the preparation and administration of a national delegation at a large multi-sport event, your efforts to support the delegation of your nation at The World Games 2005 Duisburg would be greatly appreciated.”

The World Games 2005 in Duisburg (Germany) are the next milestone in anchoring the global and multidisciplinary sports event within the Olympic Movement. With the concept of all delegations parading by country firmly established – and all awards ceremonies held to the raising of the winners’ national flags and the playing of their anthems – the new format of The World Games should induce all NOCs to take an active part in their success.

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Sumo World Returns to Mailboxes
by "Yukikaze" for SUMO SHIMPO

The second drought began in January of 2002.  For the first time since the 1994 Haru Basho the okamisan and I did not receive a copy of SUMO WORLD magazine as a lead-in for Hatsu 2002.  (The first drought, still ongoing, was the disappearance of Sumo Digest from all of the local broadcast channels.)  For a year we were deprived of what we had paid for since 1994 and were willing to keep paying for – and we were sure sore (especially after we had heard that it was still available on newsstands throughout Japan).

Imagine our happy surprise when we found a copy of the March 2003 issue of SUMO WORLD in our mail, midway through the tournament.  Longtime sumo referee Ernie Hunt also received a copy in his mail as well.