Now in the 29th Year of Publication!

ln This Issue

On the Cover - New Komusubi Tamanoshima isfeatured on this month's cover. The 23 year oldKataonami Beya rikishi is considered to be of the mostpromising younger rikishi in Makunouchi. (Photo byClyde Newton).

On the Back Cover - This prin t, circa 1898 depictsYokozuna Umegatani when he was still a youngMakunouchi competing under his original shikona ofUmenotani. The artist is Tamanami.

* ln This Issue,Editor's Box 2

* When will the Star of the Decade Emerge? 3-4By Andy Adams

* Should Kaio be Promoted? 4* Makunouchi Yusho and PlayoffList

from 1900 5-8* Nagoya Basho Roundup 9-11

* Hatano-san's Column 12* Futagoyama Beya's troubles 12-13

By Lora Sharnoff* Billionaire Ex-MakushitaRikishi 14-15

By Clyde Newton*Then & Now: Sumo Magazines (V) 16

By C. Newton* Meishobu Revealed (Kaio vs Musashimaru) 17

By C. Newton* juryo Results, Behind the Curtain 18* Keep Your Eyes on Daishoma 19* Aki Basho Preview by M. Newton 20* Aki Basho Banzuke

Makunouchi Division:Rankings and Profiles 21-27juryo Division:Rankings and Profiles 28-30

Makushita Division: Top Ranks 29* Nagoya Basho juryo Hoshitorihyo 30* Nagoya Basho Makunouchi Hoshitorihyo 31

Sumo WorldEditorial Staff:

Clyde Newton Editor and PublisherAndy Adams Associate EditorRyo Hatano Senior EditorShinobu Suzuki Staff ColumnistLora Sharnoff Staff ColumnistDavid Meisenzahl Staff ColumnistMark Newton Staff ColumnistMark Schreiber Guest ColumnistC. Newton PhotographerC. Newton, S. Suzuki TranslatorsAli subscription checks should be made out to: SumoWorld/Clyde Newton.

Ail checks and correspondence should be mailed to:Clyde Newton, Editor & PublisherSumo World1-2-16 Inokashira, Mitaka-shi,Tokyo 181-0001, japanTel/Fax: 0422-47-5715e-Mail: cpnen@iac.co.jpURL: <http://www.sumoworld.com>

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SUMO WORLD is a bimontWy magazine published inEnglish on sumo for the foreign community in Japan, theU.S. military stationed in Japan, foreign tourists visitingJapan and sumo fans in Hawaii, mainland United States,the United Kingdom and other countries in Europe,Brazil and Latin America, Asia/Oceania and elsewhere

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(continued on p.l3)

':' Our thanks to"Sumo" of Baseball Magazine-sha for use of photos

Ozeki Kaio (right) begins his yusho parade at Nagoya inJuly, accompanied by Sentoryu

When will the Star of the Decade Emerge?by Andy Adams

What of the present decade? It is reaching theend of its second year with no young new yokozunain sight and the two present yokozuna too-oftensidelined because of injuries, more easily incurred atthe late stage of their career.

An interim yokozuna such as Kaio may be in theoffing to keep things going until a couple of new starsappear on the scene. Meanwhile, there is no causefor worry unless the current situation still prevails bythe end of next year.

Under the existing de facto standards foryokozuna promotion, Kaio is eligible for promotionif he wins the yusho in the coming Aki Basho. Vic­tories in two successive basho, or a correspondingrecord, is primarily a yardstick-not a hard-and-faststandard for promotion. As was pointed out by aformer member of the Club for Sumo Reporters(Sumo Kisha Club): "If a rikishi is strong, skillful, amodel for others and is universally acknowledged tobe worthy of the rank, then he meets the standard.

Konishiki's record of two yusho interspersed by athird-place finish obviously exceeded the records ofsu ch rikishi as Kashiwado, Mienoumi, Futahaguro,and Onokuni, but he was not promoted, suposedlydue to complaints about his lacking the attitude andbearing of a yokozuna. After faltering with 9-6 in

May 1992, he never had another chance to go for it.The spirit of Shinto is bound up in the title of

yokozuna. Many sumo observers claimed Konishikilacked hinkaku/fukaku or the dignity/characterlsomeone worthy of respect required of a yokozuna.Ability, as reflected in performance on the dohyo, isof course also a singificant factor in the yokozunapromotion process.

ln the past four decades, only Taiho, Kitanofuji,Kotozakura, Takanosato, Asahifuji, Akebono,Takanohana, Wakanohana and Musashimaru metthe ultimate standard of two consecutive yusho. lnfact, all five yokozuna in the 1990s met this standard,but only one in 1960s, two in the 1970s and one inthe 1980s won two consecutive yusho before promo­tion. That means that out of the 21 promoted in thepast four decades, only nine out of 21, or less th anhalf met the highest stardards. But after their pro­motion four of those nine won only one or two yushoor even no yusho.

At the same time, two of the four great yokozunawho dominated their decade, Kitanoumi in the1970s and Chiyonofuji in the 1980s were promotedon the basis of one championship and one runnerup.Of course, they met the Sumo Kyokai's standard forpromotion of yokozuna-victories in two successive

3

basho or a corresponding record. ln that case, threeof the four yokozuna of the 1960s met this standard,four of the six in the 1970s, three of the six in the1980s and ail five in the 1990s, or a total of 15 out ofthe 21.

The remaining six did not win at least one yushobefore their promotion to yokozuna, but four wererunnerup in both the basho prior to promotion andthe other two were runnerup in only one of the twobasho before promotion.

But meeting the highest achievement of theKyokai standard-two successive yusho-did not nec­essarily guarantee highly successful yokozuna. lnfact, three of the six retired within two years and hadwon only one or two more yusho after promotion­Kotozakura, Takanosato and Asahifuji. At the sametime, two of the yokozuna who won only one yushoand one jun-yusho before promotion dominatedtheir decade: Kitanoumi in the 1970s and

Chiyonofuji in the 1980s.Both of the rikishi who only managed one jun­

yusho before their promotion turned out to beamong the outstanding yokozuna of the first twodecades-Kashiwado with five yusho andTamanoumi with six. It should also be pointed outthat the second-best rikishi of the 1970s and 1990s­

Wajima and Akebono were the only other rikishiduring the last 40 years besides the leaders of eachdecade to win more than 10 yusho, Wajima with 13and Akebono with Il. The runnerup rikishi in the1960s and 1980s, Sadanoyama and Hokiltoumi, re­spectively, won a combined total of 13 yusho-onlyabout half of their counterparts in the other twodecades. This was probably due to the fact that the1960s and 1980s were one-sidedly dominated byTaiho and Chiyonofuji, respectively.

It is also interesting to note that in both the 1960sand 1980s, the dominant yokozuna emerged beforethe end of the second year of that decades- Taihopromoted to yokozuna at the end of September 1961and Chiyonofuji by the end ofJuly 1981. But thedominant figures in the 1970s and 1990s-Kitanoumiand Takanohana, respectively, did not reach thesummit of sumo until almost the middle of their

decade: Kitanoumi inJuly 1974 and Takanohana inNovember 1994. If this pattern follows the past, thenthe dominant yokozuna of the current decade shouldhave emerged by the end of the second year. lnother words, at the end of this year.

Should Kaio be Promoted?by Clyde Newton

When an ozeki wins two consecutive yusho, hispromotion to yokozuna is virtually automatic. How­ever, the possible promotion of Kaio after two con­secutive yusho, if he wins in September, has gener­ated controversy. Kaio had a poor 4-5-6 record inMay, though he also won the yusho in March of this

4

year. A 4-5-6 record is classified as make-koshi. Norikishi has been promoted to yokozuna within threebasho of a make-koshi record since Haguroyama, in1941, who had a 7-5-3 record followed by two con­secutive 14-1 marks, the last of which was also hisfirst yusho. Kaio, on the other hand, will have wona total of four yusho if he is victorious in the AkiBasho, three of which will have been in the fourtournaments immediately preceding promotion toyokozuna.

Third Yusho - Kaio

proudly holds up the TennoShihai in shitaku -beyafol­lowing his third yusho­with a 73-2 record-in the

Nagoya Basho. Kaio willhave won four yusho if hewins again in Septemberand is presumably pro­moted to yokozuna. Norikishi has been promotedto yokozuna within threetoumaments of a losingrecord since Haguroyamaway back in May 7947­60 years ago. Kaio hasalready won two yusho thisyear.

The circumstances of Haguroyama's promotionin 1941 and those of today are somewhat reminis­cent. There were already two yokozuna-29 year oldFutabayama and 38 year old Minanogawa, who wasnearing the end of his career. Today there are alsotwo yokozuna-29 year old Takanohana and 30 yearold Musashimaru. Takanohana may not be able tocompete again until as late as nextJanuary or March,due to knee surgery, and the Sumo Kyokai wouldundoubtedly like to have another yokozuna to helpboost sumo's currently slumping popularity in Ja­pan.

Haguroyama's promotion proved to be totallyjustified. He did not win another yusho until May1944-he was competing under the shadow of thegreat Futabayama-but he was late blooming roseand had the longest tenure at yokozuna in history­more than 12 years. All-in-all, win and loss recordsare not everything, and should not be the sole de­nominator in yokozuna promotion.

As for Kaio, he has demonstrated that he has therequisite strength and fighting spirit for a yokozuna.A factor of sorne concern is the back problems he hasbeen having in recent tournaments. He had to dropout in May when the back pains became unbearable.His dohyo longevity could be threatened by theailment if it does not properly heal. Asashio, whowas promoted to yokozuna in 1959, retired only twoyears later after missing almost half of the basho inwhich he held the top rank. He might have been astrong yokozuna had it not been for his back trouble.

MAKUNOUCHI YUSHO LIST

TAISHO ERA

MEIJI ERA1900/11900/51901/11901/51902/11902/51903/11903/51904/11904/51905/11905/51906/11906/51907/11907/51908/11908/51909/11909/61910/11910/6191112

1911/61912/11912/5

1913/11913/51914/11914/51915/11915/61916/11916/51917/11917/51918/11918/51919/11919/51920/11920/51921/ 11921/51922/11922/51923/11923/51924/11924/51925/11925/51926/11926/5

Maegashira 5 InagawaSekiwake Araiwa

Sekiwake HitaehiyamaKomusubi Araiwa

Ozeki Umegataniy okozuna Ozutsu

Ozeki HitaehiyamaOzeki HitaehiyamaYokozuna-Ozeki UmegataniMaeashira 1 TaehiyamaSekiwake KunimiyamaOzeki Araiwa

y okozuna HitaehiyamaYokozuna HitaehiyamaOzeki KunimiyamaSekiwake TachiyamaYokozuna UmegataniMaegashira 9 ShiunryuYokozuna UmegataniMaegashira 7 TakamiyamaYokozuna HitaehiyamaOzeki TachiyamaOzeki Taehiyamay okozuna TaehiyamaYokozuna Tachiyamay okozuna Tachiyama

Ozeki Otori

y okozuna Tachiyamay okozuna TaehiyamaMaegashira 14 RyogokuOzeki Otori

Yokozuna TachiyamaOzeki Nishinoumi

Yokozuna TaehiyamaOzeki Onishiki

Ozeki TochiyamaOzeki TochiyamaYokozuna TochigiyamaYokozuna TochigiyamaYokozuna Tochigiyamay okozuna Onishikiy okozuna Onishikiy okozuna OnishikiOzekiTsunenohana

Maegashira 4 Tsurugahamay okozuna Onishiki

Yokozuna ToehigiyamaOzeki Tsunenohana

Yokozuna TochigiyamaYokozuna ToehigiyamaYokozuna Toehigiyamay okozuna NishinoumiYokozuna Tsunenohana

Maegashira 8 Oroehiyama

8-19-08-0-lH8-18-0-lH8-0-lH8-0-lH9-07-1-lA8-19-09-09-08-06-18-18-0-lH7-0-2A7-0-lH7-0-3H7-0-2H9-0-lH8-1-lH-lA

10-08-1-lH

10-0

7-0-lH-lA-110-010-0

9-0-110-010-0

8-0-lH-19-1

10-09-0-lA

10-09-19-0-1

10-08-1-lH9-1

10-010-0

9-18-1-lH8-1-lH9-1-lH-lA9-0-lH

10-110-0-lH

9-211-010-1

SHOWAERA

1927/1 Yokozuna Miyagiyama1927/3 Yokozuna Tsunenohana1927/5 Yokozuna Tsunenohana1927/10 Yokozuna Tsunenohana1928/1 Ozeki Hitachiiwa

1928/3 Ozeki Noshirogata1928/5 Yokozuna Tsunenohana

1928/10 Yokozuna Miyagiyama1929/1 Sekiwake Tamanishiki

1929/3 Ozeki Toyokuni1929/5 Yokozuna Tsunenohana1929/9 Yokozuna Tsunenohana

1930/1 Ozeki Toyokuni1930/3 Yokozuna Tsunenohana

1930/5 Maegashira 5 Yamanishiki1930/10 Ozeki Tamanishiki1931/1 Ozeki Tamanishiki1931/3 Ozeki Tamanishiki

1931/5 Komusubi Musashiyama1931/10 Maegashira 4 Ayazakura193212 Sekiwake Shimizugawa1932/3 Komusubi Okitsuumi1932/5 Ozeki Tamanishiki

1932/10 Ozeki Shimizugawa1933/1 Betsuseki Minanogawa1933/5 Yokozuna Tamanishiki

1934/1 Sekiwake Minanogawa1934/5 Ozeki Shimizugawa1935/1 Yokozuna Tamanishiki1935/5 Yokozuna Tamanishiki1936/1 Yokozuna Tamanishiki

1936/5 Sekiwake Futabayama1937/1 Ozeki Futabayama1937/5 Ozeki Futabayama1938/1 Yokozuna Futabayama1938/5 Yokozuna Futabayama1939/1 Maegashira 17 Dewaminato1939/5 Yokozuna Futabayama1940/1 Yokozuna Futabayama1940/5 Sekiwake Akinoumi

1941/1 Yokozuna Futabayama1941/5 Ozeki Haguroyama1942/1 Yokozuna Futabayama1942/5 Yokozuna Futabayama1943/1 Yokozuna Futabayama1943/5 Yokozuna Futabayama1944/1 Komusubi Saganohana1944/5 Yokozuna Haguroyama1944/11 Ozeki Maedayama1945/6 Maegashira 1 Bishuyama1945/ Il Yokozuna Haguroyama1946/ Il Yokozuna Haguroyama1947/6 Yokozuna Haguroyama1947/11 Yokozuna Haguroyama1948/5 Ozeki Azumafuji1948/10 Sekiwake Masuiyama

10-110-110-110-110-110-0-lH11-0

9-210-1

9-210-1

8-39-2

10-111-0

9-29-2

10-110-110-1

8-09-1

10-19-2

11-010-1

9-211-010-110-111-011-011-013-013-013-013-015-014-114-114-114-114-113-215-015-013-210-09-17-0

10-013-0

9-110-110-110-1

5

1949/1 Yokozuna Azumafuji 10-2-1H1963/5Yokozuna Taiho 15-01949/5

Ozeki Masuiyama 13-21963/7Ozeki Kitabayama 13-21949/10

Ozeki Chiyonoyama 13-21963/9Yokozuna Kashiwado 15-01950/1

Ozeki Chiyonoyama 12-31963/11Ozeki Tochinoumi 14-11950/5

Yokozuna Azumafuji 14-11964/1Yokozuna Taiho 15-01950/9

Yokozuna Terukuni 13-21964/3Yokozuna Taiho 15-01951/1

Yokozuna Terukuni 15-01964/5Yokozuna Tochinoumi 13-21951/5

Ozeki Chiyonoyama 14-11964/7Maegashira 9 Fujinishiki14-11951/9

Yokozuna Azumafuji 13-1-1H1964/9Yokozuna Taiho 14-11952/1

Yokozuna Haguroyama 15-01964/11Yokozuna Taiho 14-11952/5

Yokozuna Azumafuji 13-21965/1Ozeki Sadanoyama 13-21952/9

Sekiwake Tochinishiki 14-11965/3Yokozuna Taiho 14-11953/1

Ozeki Kagamisato 14-11965/5Yokozuna Sadanoyama 14-11953/3

Ozeki Tochinishiki 14-11965/7Yokozuna Taiho 13-21953/5

Maegashira 6 Tokitsuyama15-01965/9Yokozuna Kashiwado 12-31953/9

Yokozuna Azumafuji 14-11965/11Yokozuna Taiho 13-21954/1

Ozeki Yoshibayama 15-01966/1Yokozuna Kashiwado 14-11954/3

Ozeki Mitsuneyama 12-31966/3Yokozuna Taiho 13-21954/5

Ozeki Tochinishiki 14-11966/5Yokozuna Taiho 14-11954/9

Ozeki Tochinishiki 14-11966/7Yokozuna Taiho 14-11955/1

Yokozuna Chiyonoyama12-31966/9Yokozuna Taiho 13-21955/3

Yokozuna Chiyonoyama13-21966/11Yokozuna Taiho 15-01955/5

Yokozuna Tochinishiki 14-11967/1Yokozuna Taiho 15-01955/9

Yokozuna Kagamisato 14-11967/3Ozeki Kitanofuji 14-11956/1

Yokozuna Kagamisato 14-11967/5Yokozuna Taiho 14-11956/3

Sekiwake Asashio 12-31967/7Yokozuna Kashiwado 14-11956/5

Ozeki Wakanohana 12-31967/9Yokozuna Taiho 15-01956/9

Yokozuna Kagamisato 14-11967/11Yokozuna Sadanoyama 12-31957/1

Yokozuna Chiyonoyama 15-01968/1Yokozuna Sadanoyama 13-21957/3

Sekiwake Asashio 13-21968/3Maegashira 8 Wakanami13-2

1957/5Komusubi Annenyama 13-21968/5Ozeki Tamanoshima 13-2

1957/9Yokozuna Tochinishiki 13-21968/7Ozeki Kotozakura 13-2

1957/11Maegashira 14 Tamanoumi1'5-01968/9Yokozuna Taiho 14-1

1958/1Ozeki Wakanohana 13-21968/11Yokozuna Taiho 15-0

1958/3

Ozeki Asashio 13-21969/1Yokozuna Taiho 15-01958/5

Yokozuna Tochinishiki 14-11969/3Ozeki Kotozakura 13-2

1958/7

Yokozuna Wakanohana 13-21969/5Yokozuna Taiho 13-2

1958/9

Yokozuna Wakanohana 14-11969/7Ozeki Kiyokuni 12-31958/11

Ozeki Asashio 14-11969/9Ozeki Tamanoshima 13-21959/1

Yokozuna Wakanohana 14-11969/11Ozeki Kitanofuji 13-2

1959/3

Yokozuna Tochinishiki 14-11970/1Ozeki Kitanofuji 13-21959/5

Yokozuna Wakanohana 14-11970/3Yokozuna Taiho 14-11959/7

Yokozuna Tochinishiki 15-01970/5Yokozuna Kitanofuji 14-11959/9

Yokozuna Wakanohana 14-11970/7Yokozuna Kitanofuji 13-2

1959/11Ozeki Wakahaguro 13-21970/9Yokozuna Tamanoumi 14-1

1960/1Yokozuna Tochinishiki 14-11970/11Yokozuna Tamanoumi 14-1

1960/3

Yokozuna Wakanohana 15-01971/1Yokozuna Taiho 14-11960/5

Maegashira 4 Wakamisugi14-11971/3Yokozuna Tamanoumi 14-11960/7

Yokozuna Wakanohana 13-21971/ 5Yokozuna Kitanofuji 15-01960/9

Yokozuna Wakanohana 13-21971/7Yokozuna Tamanoumi 15-0

1960/11

Sekiwake Taiho 13-21971/9Yokozuna Kitanofuji 15-01961/1

Ozeki Kashiwado 13-21971/11Yokozuna Kitanofuji 13-2

1961/3

Yokozuna Asashio 13-21972/1Maegashira 5 Tochiazuma11-4

1961/5Maegashira 13 Sadanoyama12-31972/3Sekiwake Hasegawa 12-3

1961/7

Ozeki Taiho 13-21972/5Sekiwake Wajima 12-3

1961/9

Ozeki Taiho 12-31972/7Maegashira 4 Takamiyama13-2

1961/11

Yokozuna Taiho 13-21972/9Yokozuna Kitanofuji 15-0

1962/1

Yokozuna Taiho 13-21972/11Ozeki Kotozakura 14-1

1962/3Sekiwake Sadanoyama 13-21973/1Ozeki Kotozakura 14-1

1962/5

Sekiwake Tochinoumi 14-11973/3Yokozuna Kitanofuji 14-1

1962/7

Yokozuna Taiho 14-11973/5Ozeki Wajima 15-01962/9

Yokozuna Taiho 13-21973/7Yokozuna Kotozakura 14-1

1962/11

Yokozuna Taiho 13-21973/9Yokozuna Wajima 15-0

1963/1Yokozuna Taiho 14-11973/11Yokozuna Wajima 12-2-1

1963/3

Yokozuna Taiho 14-11974/1Sekiwake Kitanoumi 14-1

6

1974/3 Yokozuna Wajima 12-31985/7Ozeki Hokutenyu 13-21974/5

Ozeki Kitanoumi 13-21985/9Yokozuna Chiyonofuji 15-01974/7

Yokozuna Wajima 13-21985/11Yokozuna Chiyonofuji 14-11974/9

Yokozuna Wajima 14-11986/1Yokozuna Chiyonofuji 13-21974/11

Komusubi Kaiketsu 12-31986/3Sekiwake Hoshi 13-21975/1

Yokozuna Kitanoumi 12-31986/5Yokozuna Chiyonofuji 13-21975/3

Ozeki Takanohana 13-21986/7Yokozuna Chiyonofuji 14-11975/5

Yokozuna Kitanoumi 13-21986/9Yokozuna Chiyonofuji 15-01975/7

Maegashira 1 Kongo 13-21986/11Yokozuna Chiyonofuji 13-21975/9

Ozeki Takanohana 12-31987/1Yokozuna Chiyonofuji 12-31975/11

Sekiwake Mienoumi 13-21987/3Ozeki Hokutoumi 12-31976/1

Yokozuna Kitanoumi 13-21987/5Ozeki Onokuni 15-01976/3

Yokozuna Wajima 13-21987/7Yokozuna Chiyonofuji 14-11976/5

Yokozuna Kitanoumi 13-21987/9Yokozuna Hoku toumi 14-11976/7

Yokozuna Wajima 14-11987/11Yokozuna Chiyonofuji 15-01976/9

Maegashira 4 Kaiketsu 14-11988/1Ozeki Asahifuji 14-11976/11

Yokozuna Kitanoumi 14-11988/3Yokozuna Onokuni 13-21977 /1

Yokozuna Wajima 13-21988/5Yokozuna Chiyonofuji 14-11977/3

Yokozuna Kitanoumi 15-01988/7Yokozuna Chiyonofuji 15-01977/5

Ozeki Wakamisugi 13-21988/9Yokozuna Chiyonofuji 15-01977/7

Yokozuna Wajima 15-01988/11Yokozuna Chiyonofuji 14-11977/9

Yokozuna Kitanoumi 15-01977/11

Yokozuna Wajima 14-1HEl SEI ERA1978/1

Yokozuna Kitanoumi 15-01989/1Yokozuna Hokutoumi 14-11978/3

Yokozuna Kitanoumi 13-21989/3Yokozuna Chiyonofuji 14-11978/5

Yokozuna Kitanoumi 14-11989/5Yokozuna Hokutoumi 13-21978/7

Yokozuna Kitanoumi 15-01989/7Yokozuna Chiyonofuji 12-31978/9

Yokozuna Kitanoumi 14-11989/9Yokozuna Chiyonofuji 15-01978/11

Yokozuna Wakanohana 15-01989/11Ozeki Konishiki 14-11979/1

Yokozuna Kitanoumi 14-11990/1Yokozuna Chiyonofuji 14-11979/3

Yokozuna Kitanoumi 15-01990/3Yokozuna Hokutoumi 13-21979/5

Yokozuna Wakanohana 14-11990/5Ozeki Asahifuji 14-11979/7

Yokozuna Wajima 14-11990/7Ozeki Asahifuji 14-11979/9

Yokozuna Kitanoumi 13-21990/9Yokozuna Hokutoumi 14-11979/11

Yokozuna Mienoumi 14-11990/11Yokozuna Chiyonofuji 13-2198011

Yokozuna Mienoumi 15-01991/1Ozeki Kirishima 14-11980/3

Yokozuna Kitanoumi 13-21991/3Yokozuna Hokutoumi 13-21980/11

Yokozuna Wajima 14-11991/5Yokozuna Asahifuji 14-11981/1

Sekiwake Chiyonofuji 14-11991/7Maegashira 13 Kotofuji 14-11981/3

Yokozuna Kitanoumi 13-21991/9Maegashira 5 Kotonishiki13-21981/5

Yokozuna Kitanoumi 14-11991/11Ozeki Konishiki 13-21981/7

Ozeki Chiyonofuji 14-11992/1Maegashira 2 Takahanada14-11981/9

Sekiwake Kotokaze 12-31992/3Ozeki Konishiki 13-21981/11

Yokozuna Chiyonofuji 12-31992/5Sekiwake Akebono 13-21982/1

Yokozuna Kitanoumi 13-21992/7Maegashira 1 Mitoizumi13-21982/3

Yokozuna Chiyonofuji 13-21992/9Komusubi Takahanada 14-11982/5

Yokozuna Chiyonofuji 13-21992/11Ozeki Akebono 14-11982/7

Yokozuna Chiyonofuji 12-31993/1Ozeki Akebono 13-21982/9

Ozeki Takanosato 15-01993/3Komusubi Wakahanada 14-11982/11

Yokozuna Chiyonofuji 14-11993/5Ozeki Takanohana 14-11983/1

Ozeki Kotokaze 14-11993/7Yokozuna Akebono 13-21983/3

Yokozuna Chiyonofuji 15-01993/9Yokozuna Akebono 14-11983/5

Sekiwake Hokutenyu 14-11993/11Yokozuna Akebono 13-21983/7

Ozeki Takanosato 14-11994/1Ozeki Takanohana 14-11983/9

Yokozuna Takanosato 15-01994/3Yokozuna Akebono 12-31983/11

Yokozuna Chiyonofuji 14-11994/5Ozeki Takanohana 14-1198411

Yokozuna Takanosato 13-21994/7Ozeki Musashimaru 15-01984/3

Ozeki Wakashimazu 14-11994/9Ozeki Takanohana 15-01984/5

Yokozuna Kitanoumi 15-01994111Ozeki Takanohana 15-01984/7

Ozeki Wakashimazu 15-0199511Yokozuna Takanohana 13-21984/9

Maegashira 12 Tagaryu 13-21995/3Yokozuna Akebono 14-11984111

Yokozuna Chiyonofuji 14-11995/5Yokozuna Takanohana 14-11985/1

Yokozuna Chiyonofuji 15-01995/7Yokozuna Takanohana 13-21985/3

Ozeki Asashio 13-21995/9Yokozuna Takanohana 15-01985/5

Yokozuna Chiyonofuji 14-11995/11Ozeki Wakanohana 12-3

7

Hasegawa (yorikiri) KaiketsuKotozakura (yorikiri) KitanofujiWajima (shitatenage) KitanoumiKaiketsu (tsuridashi) KitanoumiTakanohana (yorikiri) KitanoumiTakanohana (uwatenage) KitanoumiWajima (hatakikomi AsahikuniKitanoumi (yorikiri) WajimaKitanoumi (yorikiri) WakamisugiKitanoumi (uwatenage) WakamisugiWajima (yorikiri) MienoumiChiyonofuji (uwatenage) KitanoumiChiyonofuji (yoritaoshi) AsashioChiyonofuji (hatakikomi) AsashioKotokaze (yorikiri) AsashioChiyonofuji (yorikiri) KitaoChiyonofuji (tsuridashi) FutahaguroOnokuni (tsukiotoshi) HokutoumiHokutoumi (yoritaoshi) AsahifujiHokutoumi (tsuridashi) AsahifujiChiyonofuji (uwatenage) HokutoumiKonishiki (yorikiri) HokutoumiKirishima (yorikiri) KonishikiHokutoumi (oshidashi) KirishimaHokutoumi (shitatenage) KonishikiAsahifuji (shitatedashinage) KonishikiAkebono (oshitaoshi) WakanohanaAkebono (yoritaoshi) TakanohanaAkebono (hikiotoshi) MusashimaruTakanonami (hatakikomi) TakatorikiAkebono (tsukitaoshi) TakanonamiAkebono (oshitaoshi) TakatorikiTakanohana (yorikiri) MusashimaruWakanohana (shitatenage) TakanohanaTakanonami (kawazugake) TakanohanaMusashimaru (yoritaoshi) WakanohanaTakanonami (sukuinage) KaioAkebono (fusensho)Musahimaru (yorikiri) AkebonoMusashimaru (yorikiri) TakanonamiTakanohana (uwatenage) KaioAkebono (yorikiri) MusashimaruTakanohana (uwatehineri) AkebonoAkebono (yoritaoshi) TakanohanaTakanohana (yorikiri) MusashimaruTakanonami (uwatenage) TakanohanaChiyotaikai (yoritaoshi) WakanohanaDejima (oshidashi) AkebonoTakanohana (yorikiri) MusashimaruTakanohana (uwatnage) Musashimaru

1997/51997/91997/111999/11999/72001/12001/3

H=hikiwake drawA=azukari draw

1997/3

1995/11995/111996/11996/11

Notes: The officiai yusho system was launched inJune1909; records for earlier "yusho" are based upon the systemin use from 1909 to 1946, in which in the case of equalrecords, the higher ranked rikishi automatically won theyusho without a playoff.

The following rikishi won yusho und el' differentshikona: Tamanoshima (later Tamanoumi), Wakamisugi(later Wakanohana II), Hoshi (later Hokutoumi),Takahanada (later Takanohana II), Wakahanada (laterWakanohana III).

1993/111994/3

1991/51993/7

1972/31973/71974/71974/111975/31975/91976/31976/51978/31978/51979/71981/11981/111982/51983/11986/71987/11988/31989/11989/51989/71990/3

14-114-114-113-215-011-414-112-313-213-213-214-112-314-112-314-113-214-113-213-213-213-212-312-313-213-214-113-214-114-114-113-213-213-2

Ozeki Takanonamiy okozuna Takanohanay okozuna Takanohanay okozuna Takanohanay okozuna TakanohanaOzeki MusashimaruOzeki Wakanohanay okozuna TakanohanaYokozuna Akebonoy okozuna Takanohanay okozuna TakanohanaOzeki TakanonamiOzeki MusashimaruOzeki WakanohanaOzeki Wakanohanay okozuna Takanohanay okozuna Takanohana

Maegashira 12 KotonishikiSekiwake ChiyotaikaiOzeki MusashimaruOzeki Musashimaru

Sekiwake DejimaYokozuna MusashimaruYokozuna Musashimaru

Sekiwake MusoyamaMaegashira 14 TakatorikiKomusubi Kaioy okozuna Akebonoy okozuna Musashimaruyokozuna Akebonoy okozuna TakanohanaOzeki Kaioy okozuna TakanohanaOzeki Kaio

1966/91969/71970/11970/71970/111971/ 1

1962/31962/91963/71965/9

1956/51958/31959/51961/9

1948/101949/51950/91955/11955/31956/11956/3

COMPLETE LIST OF MAKUNOUCHI PLAYOFFS

1947/6 Maedayama (shitatehineri) AzumafujiHaguroyama (utchari) RikidozanHaguroyama (yorikiri) MaedayamaMasuiyama (utchari) AzumafujiMasuiyama (yorikiri) HajimayamaTerukuni (yoritaoshi) YoshibayamaChiyonoyama (yorikiri) TokitsuyamaChiyonoyama (yorikiri) OuchiyamaKagamisato (yorikiri) TsurugamineWakanohana (hatakikomi) WakahaguroAsashio (yorikiri) WakanohanaAsashio (yorikiri) WakahaguroWakanohana (yorikiri) OhikariAsashio (yorikiri) KotogahamaWakanohana (yorikiri) TochinishikiKashiwado (yorikiri) MyobudaniTaiho (utchari) KashiwadoTaiho (yoritaoshi) MyobudaniSadanoyama (oshidashi) TaihoTaiho (uwatenage) SadanoyamaKitabayama (yorikiri) SadanoyamaKashiwado (yorikiri) MyobudaniKashiwado (yorikiri) SadanoyamaTaiho (uwatenage) KashiwadoKiyokuni (abisetaoshi) FujinokawaKitanofuji (sotogake) TamanoshimaKitanofuji (uwatenage) MaenoyamaTamanoumi (tsuridashi) TaihoTaiho (yorikiri) Tamanoumi

1996/11996/31996/51996/71996/91996/111997/11997/31997/51997/71997/91997/111998/11998/31998/51998/71998/91998/111999/11999/31999/51999/71999/91999/112000/12000/32000/52000/72000/92000/112001/12001/32001/52001/7

8

Nagoya Basho RoundupjHi-lightsSummary of the Nagoya Basho

Kaio won the Nagoya Basho with a 13-2 record, despitenagging back pain which had forced him to withdraw inMay with a 4-5-6 record. Kaio's yusho at Nagoya wasnothing short of remarkable given his poor condition priorto the tournament. The ozeki was unable to train for more

than a few days prior to opening day and there wasconsiderable doubt whether he would even be able tomain tain his endagered ozeki rank.

Kaio wisely concentrated on attacking quickly and over­powering his opponents inJuly. The ozeki gotoffto a verystrong start and won his first eight bouts, thus saving hisrank. Meanwhile, yokozuna Musashimaru also remainedundefeated into the second week. Kaio's first loss came onthe 9th day, when after three false starts, he was unable toproperly synchronize his tachi-ai in a bout with formerOzeki Takanonami. Takanonami was expected to be awalkover for Kaio; the former ozeki had been hospitalizedwith pneumonia inJune and had then injured his shoulderafter resuming training. Despite having only one win,Takanonami easily defeated Kaio, leaving Musashimaru inthe sole lead.

Musashimaru remained undefeated until he facedkomusubi Wakanosato on the Il th day. Wakanosato upsetMaru, who then went on to lose to sekiwake Tochiazuma onthe 13th day, which gave Kaio the sole lead. ln a fatefulclash on the 14th day, Kaio overwhelmed Musashimaru,with a frontal attack followed by a powerful throw.

AlI-in-all, it was a disappointing tournament forMusashimaru, the only yokozuna competing in July.Though he managed to finish as the mnner-up (along withTamanoshima) by defeating Chiyotaikai on the final day,Musashimaru's tachi-ai was simply too slow in the crucialfinal stretch of the tournament. On the other hand, Kaio'sback pain actually worsened in the last few days, but heremained fiercely determined. With more self-confidenceand the type of concentration which Kaio displayed,Musashimaru would have won the yusho.

Display of Power - Ozeki Kaio easily threw down powerfùlkomusubi Wakanosato on the 4th day. Despite nagging backpain,Kaio got off to a strong start in the Nagoya Basho.

Ozeki Chiyotaikai and Musoyama performed crediblywith 11-4 and 10-5 records, respectively. While he Waiquite powerful through much of the tournament.Chiyotaikai still instinctively tried to pull his opponent~down on sorne days. Chiyo must overcome this bad habilif he is to be a strong candidate for the yusho again.

As for Musoyama, his sumo ran hot and cold. He lookedimpressive on quite a few days and even defeated Kaio onthe senshuraku. The less said about the other twoMusashigawa Beya ozeki, the better. Dejima had to drapout with a 3-3-9 record, due to deterioration of a painfulleginjury, and will drop to sekiwake in September.Miyabiyama got off to a poor start, rallied in the middle 01

Opening Day Upset - Komusubi Wakanosato charged hard intcChiyotaikai on thefirst day, and dejèated the ozeki by oshidashi.Chiyotaikai was urifazzed by the upset, and won 9 consecutivebouts before losing to Miyabiyama on the 77th day.

the tournament, only to 10sethree ofhis last four bouts andfinish with a failing 7-8 record. He will be demoted unlesshe wins 8 or more bouts in September.

The komusubi and sekiwake ranks were a mixed bag.Tochiazuma and Wakanosato achieved their share of im­pressive upsets, while Kotomitsuki and Asashoryu endedwith losing records, despite a decent effort. Tochiazuma's10-5 record could be the finit cornerstone in anothercampaign for ozeki promotion. Wakanosato proved to bea nemesis for the Musashigawa Beya contingent, as heupset yokozuna Musashimaru and ozeki Miyabiyama, inaddition to Chiyotaikai.

No.7 Maegashira Tamanoshima turned in an outstand­ing 12-3 record, to share jun-yusho with Musashimaru.While the level of competition in Makunouchi was some­what less than impressive overall, it was even more disap­pointing inJuryo, where the yusho slipped down to the 9­6 level and an eight-way playoff, both unprecedented.

There has been no zensho yusho in Makunouchi for fiveyears. ln fact, there are only two Makunouchi rikishi whohave ever had zensho yusho in the top division-the twoyokozuna. Takanohana is not expected to return to thedohyo until nextJanuary and March, which gives Kaio astronger chance to gain promotion to yokozuna.

Dejima Losses Ozeki Rank - No.5 Maegashira Kyokushuzan

deftated ozeki Dejima by uwatehineri on thefifth day. AlthoughDq!ma was stIll ~he.adof the game, he withdrew the next day dueto wors~nzngof h!s lnJured right leg, and thus forftited his ozekirank, slnce he had make-koshi in Mayas weil.

Remarkable Upset - After three matta (jalse starts), ozeki Kaio

was out of synch in his bout with former ozeki Takanonami on the

9th day. Takanonami won easily byyoritaoshi,for only his secondWin of the basho. It was Kaio sfirst loss.

First Loss for Musashimaru - Komusubi Wakanosato upset

yokozuna Musashimaru by sukuinage on the 77th day, handingMaru his first loss of the toumament. The yokozuna was thefavorite until his loss, but collapsed in thefinal days.

10

Musashimaru Trounces Nemesis- Yokozuna Musashimaru

required only five seconds to dispose ofhis nemesis Kotomitsuki byoshztaosh! on the 72th day. Kotomitsuki had some very excitingbouts in the Nagoya Basho, but could manage no more than a6-9 record at sekiwake.

Ozeki Clash - !n a clash between ozeki on the 73th day, Kaiodeftated Ch!yota!ka! by kotenage, to move into the sole lead with a72- 7 record.

Second Loss for Musashimaru - Sekiwake Tochiazuma drives

out a lumbering Musashimaru on the 73th day, to hand theyokozuna h!s second loss, thus propelling Kaio into the sole lead at72-7.

Kaio Clinches Yusho - After a briefstruggle, Kaio won his 73thbout and clinched his third yusho by uwatenage on the 74th day.Musashimaru lost three of his last five bouts.

13-212-312-3

9-610-511-412-3

Nagoya Basho Awards

'" Yusho: Ozeki Kaio'.' Jun-Yusho: Yokozuna Musashimaru'" Jun-Yusho: NO.7 Maegashira Tamanoshima'" Shukun-sho: Komusubi Wakanosato'" Gino-sho: Sekiwake Tochiazuma

'" Gino-sho: NO.13 Maegashira Tokitsuumi'" Kanto-sho: NO.7 Maegashira Tamanoshima

Jun- Yusho for Musashimaru - YokozunaMusashimaru drives

out ozeki Chiyotaikai by oshidashi in a bout which determinedwhich rikishi would share runner-up honors with NO.8Maegashira Tamanoshima. Chiyotaikai finished with an 77-4record.

Kaio Caught Off-Guard - Having clinched the yusho by defeat­ing Musashimaru the previous day, Kaio looked over-relaxed onthe senshuraku, and was surprised by ozeki Musoyama, who wasdetermined to win in double-digits. At first glance thisphoto mayappear somewhat defective; actually Musoyama won by oshidashi,as Kaio stepped out first.

Impressive Finish for Tamanoshima - No. 7 MaegashiraTamanoshima hurled down komusubi Wakanoshima on thefinalday by uwatenage, to win his 72th bout and clinch promotion tokomusubi. Tamanoshima took the jun-yusho, together withMusashimaru, and was awarded the Kanto-sho.

Make-Koshi for Miyabiyama - Sekiwake Tochiazuma upsetozeki Miyabiyama by hikiotoshi on the senshuraku, to rack up his70th win. Miyabiyama finished with 7-8 and make-koshi.

11

My Thoughts on theNagoya Basho

by Ryo Hatano1 have watched the six basho every year for many

years, and among the countless basho 1 have seen, somehave really created a strongimpression, while some otherswere so lacking in noteworthiness that 1 have totallyforgotten them. Among the basho that have left a lastingimpression, some marked significant milestones in sumo'shistory, while others were interesting because they wereassociated appealing stories on the personal level that 1always remember. It was mu ch the same in my days as anactive sumo reporter; some basho simply didn't leave alasting impression even when 1 was covering them on adaily basis.

Today, as an ordinary sumo fan, 1feel mu ch the sameway about basho. There are some very good ones andothers that are totally unremarkable. Though 1 regrethaving to mention, the Nagoya Basho fell into thecategory of the unremarkable basho, with no speciallystrong memories. To such an extent that it was difficulteven to tell when it ended. Actually, it was quite a upliftingbasho. Ozeki Kaio won the yusho despite being kadoban,while Wakanosato and Tamanoshimamade agood effort.But what was lacking?

Takanohana was absent and Musashimaru didn'treally take off. And Kotomitsuki and Asashoryu did notperform quite up to expectations. Actually none of thesenegative factors was decisive in itself. Rather, the boutswere not very exciting, and overall there was no sense oftension. But at this juncture 1 must stress that these aresimply my personal observations.

Nevertheless, sumo is always so unpredictable. Whowould have thought that Kaio would take the yushodespite being kadoban? Still suffering from back pain,there was much concern as to how he would fare inNagoya. Kaio wisely realized that he would be at adisadvantage in his condition if he had protracted bouts.Therefore, he aimed to win quickly, which proved to be ahighly effective strategy. Even in the second week, hemaintained his speed.

Kaio did very weil at Nagoya, but as soon as he won thebasho, the predictable, but obnoxious calls for hispromotion to yokozuna if he wins again in Septembercame to the fore. Everybody accepts that Kaio is thestrongest candidate to be the next yokozuna. Rather thancali for his promotion in September, 1 think it would bebetter to monitor his performance at a more relaxed pace.Even though he won the yusho in March as weil, he failedto achieve kachi-koshi in May. 1 don't think it is a goodidea to promote a rikishi to yokozuna so quickly aftermake-koshi. Rather, 1 would like to see Kaio achieve atotal recovery from his back trouble, and then once in topcondition, and at his own pace, strive for yokozunapromotion.

More disappointing than interesting was the 8-wayplayofffor theJ uryo yusho. The best records inJ uryo weresingle digit 9-6 records. This was, of course, the lowestnumber ofwins ever for theJuryo yusho. TheJuryo tendsto be a kind of melting pot with a large contingent of agingor injured ex-Makunouchi rikishi facing rising youngerrikishi. It is much like the farm teams of professional

12

baseball clubs. The oldest of the eight challengers for theyusho was 38 year old Terao. Three of the rikishi in theplayoff were over 30, while the average age was 29.Rather, 1 would really like to see more young rikishi,dedicated to keiko, rising up through theJuryo.

The relative lack ofyoungerJuryo rikishi has kept thelevel of competition down in recent years. ln over half acentury since the 15 day tournament system was launchedin 1949, only three rikishi have won theJuryo with zenshoyusho, or 15-0records; the late Tochihikari, a future ozeki,in March 1955, future ozeki Yutakayama (nowTokitsukaze Rijicho) in November 1961, and futureyokozuna Kitanofuji in November 1963.

Actually there was a seven-way Juryo yusho playoffwith 11-4 records in May 1958. The most number ofrikishi involved in a Makunouchi yusho playoff was inNovember 1996, when five rikishi competed with 11-4records. Then ozeki Musashimaru was the winner.

To get back to theJuryo yusho, it may have been theeight-way playoff with 9-6 records that made this bashoseem no unremarkable.

Futagoyama Beya'sTroubles

by Lora Sharnoff

This summer has certainly not been a good one forFutagoyama-Beya. First, on July 27, a Tokyo DistrictCourt judge ordered Futagoyama Oyakata (ex-OzekiTakanohana) to pay \<3.7 million in compensation to theson of the late Hanakago Oyakata (ex-MaegashiraOnoumi) for physical injuries the latter sustained duringa quarrel with the sumo coach. According to the verdict,the man went to Futagoyama-Beya onJuly 31, 1996, totalk to the oyakata about sorne toshiyori-kabu (stock forbeing a coach within the Sumo Association) he claimed tobe owed. The man was so badly injured in the neck andelsewhere that he required 20 days of hospitalization.Futagoyama Oyakata's claim that he had only acted inself-defense when the man barged into the stable wasdisregarded by the judge. On the other hand, the man'sother claim to be the rightful owner of the stock was notrecognized. The man also had some troubles in the pastwith the CUlTentHanakago Oyakata (former sekiwakeDaijuyama) over the rights to that sumo name.

Less than a week later, on August 1, divorce paperssigned by Futagoyama Oyakata and his wife, Noriko,were submitted to the Nakano Ward Office in Tokyo andapproved. Thus, 31 years of marriage came to endbetween what was once considered the ideal modernsumo couple. Vpon divorcing the former sumo star,Noriko returned to her maiden name, Noriko Fujita, andis hoping to resume the show business career sheabandoned in 1970, for marriage.

ln an exclusive interview with the August 16-23 issueof the weekly, "Shukan Bunshun," Noriko Fujita blamedmuch of her decision to give up her position as the"okamisan" of the heya to the publishing house Kodanshafor printing sorne old semi-nude photos dating back to herstarlet days in one of its magazines without herpermission. She claims she could no longer function as asurrogate mother to several young sumotori, once they

had seen photographs of her nearly naked. She alsoreiterated certain things that caused her disenchantmentwith her husband, which was already taken up in her book,"Rintoshite."

Although Noriko would not specify the financialdetails of the divorce settlement, she vehemently deniedrumors that she was to receive 100 or 200 million yen andthe full rights to the couple's vacation home in Karuizawa,Nagano Prefecture. She claimed that she will be sharingthe ownership to the Karuizawa property with her formerhusband and that the alimony she is receiving just coversthe cost of her monthly rent and other basic livingexpenses.

As if that were not already enough trouble forFutagoyama Oyakata, his mother, Kie Hanada, died of oldage on August 5. She was 92. When the former NorikoHanada showed up at Kie's funera1 on August 9, she got inthe line for general mourners rather than the one for familymembers.

Taiho's Former Koenkai Chief

Dies at 98Hagiwara Kichitaro, former Yokozuna Taiho's koenkaichief throughout his career, died from respiratory failmein Tokyo on August 8, at the age of 98. Hagiwara was aprominent figure in Hokkaido business circles, and was formany years the president and chairman of the now defunctHokkaido Mining and Coillery Company. He formedTaiho's main koenkai in January 1960, when the greatyokozuna entered Makunouchi, and remained Taiho'schief backer throughout his career. He was a member ofthe Sumo Kyokai's Unei Iinkai (Advisory Committee)from May 1961 to May 1992. He headed the Unei Iinkaifrom May 1990 to May 1992. Hagiwara was also aprominent figure in the hotel and television industries inHokkaido.

Hanada Family Matriarch DiesHanada Kie, the grandmother of yokozuna Takanohanaand former yokozuna Wakanohana III, and the mother of73 year old former yokozuna Wakanohana l and thepresent Futagoyama Oyakata (ex-ozeki Takanohana),died from old age, aged 92, at her home in Tokyo onAugust 5. Kie and her long-deceased husband Uichiro had10 children; they were married in their late teens. Thesecond child become the first Yokozuna Wakanohana,while the youngest, Futagoyama Oyakata, is 22 years hisjunior. Another son reached sandanme, under the shikonaof Wakamidori, in the 1950s.

Sumo World Website

www.sumoworld.com

Nowhere Like Home - Komusubi Asashoryu (left) poses intraditional custome with a Mongolian sumo competitor during abrief holiday back in Mongolia immediately after the NagoyaBasho. During his stay in Mongolia, Asashoryu s 55 year oldfather, aprominent former competitor in Mongolian sumo, taughthis son several new holds which he believes could be used on the

dohyo inJapan.

Elementary School Dohyo-iri - A sixthgrade boyperforms theyokozuna dohyo-iri during the annual elementary school sumotournament at the Kokugikan onJuly 29. The yobidashi in thebackground is the long retired Norio.

(Sumo World - Continued from P.2)

Yen checks drawn on Tokyo banks are acceptableso long as no handling charge is involved. We arenow set up to receive payment by credit cardo(See pg. 18) AlI subscribers should print their nameand address in block letters. AlI communication

with Sumo W orld can be in either English or Japa­nese.

NOTE: ALL MlLITARY SUBSCRIBERSARE ASKED TO lNCLUDE THE NAME OFTHE COUNTRY lN WHlCH THEY ARESTATIONED lN THE IR RETURN ADDRESS-­lN BRACKETS.

13

Otani Yonetaro-Billionaire ex-Makushita RikishiBy Clyde Newton

Two boys were born in Toyama, then a countrybackwater facing the Nihonkai (Sea ofJ apan) in the 1880s.The older of the two was the e1dest son of an impoverishedrice farmer, the other the second son of a famous andprosperous local family. While they had little in commonin terms of upbringing, the two boys shared a number ofquantities-boundless ambition, business acumen, anability to convert wild dreams into reality, andirrepressible self-confidence. Both were also bornsurvivors.

Their names were Otani Yonetaro and ShorikiMatsutaro. Otani went on to become a rikishi, and laterone ofJapan's wealthiest steel tycoons. Shoriki dabbled injudo, became a police officiai and later the publisher of theworld's most circulated newspaper and the father ofprofessional baseball injapan.

Otani Yonetaro was born in a country village inToyama-ken onjuly 24, 1881, the eldest of six sons of apoor rice farmer. Yonetaro's father's rice business,which was never very strong, failed in the late 1880s. Theboy reached third grade in elementary school, but had tostop attending school at that level to help the family makeends meet. Yonetaro's father became a sharecropper, butcouldn't make ends meet to support his large family. Hestarted working in a sake shop at 13. His only leisure wastaking part in local kusa-zumo tournaments. Quite tall forhis generation at 1.77 meters and an athletic 100kilograms, Yonetaro was toughened by the back-breakingfarm labor and years ofhauling sake casks. Legend has itthat he was able to lift a rice barrell weighing 375kilograms (827 pounds) off the fioor.

Yonetaro's father died when he was 24, around 1905.The youth felt increasing pressure to provide a subsistanceincome for his mother and sublings. He continued tocompete in local sumo, and in 1910, in the presence of thevisiting Crown Prince Yoshihito (later Emperor Taisho)he defeated five opponents simultaneously in gonin-nuki.

The following year, Yonetaro decided to seek a betterlife in distant Tokyo. He set out with a one-way trainticket, 20 sen (worth about 200 yen in today's money) anda rice bail from his mother. After spending the first nightin Tokyo in cheap lodgins, Yonetaro had only 5 senremaining.

Fortunately, Yonetaro managed to con vince a ratherobscure oyakata-Inagawa (ex-Sekiwake Inagawa) toaccept him as his deshi the following day. He was already30 years old-an exceptionally old shin-deshi even for theMeiji Era. However, Inagawa himself, as a young rikishihad been considered so lacking in promise that his ownoyakata had told him not to bother to get up early to dokeiko.

Thus Yone taro began his sumo career with theshikona ofWashiodake in 1912. He was allowed to starthis career at Makushita Tsukedashi, in recognition of hisachievements in kusa-zumo in Toyama. His got off to agood start and worked his way towards the upper part ofthe Makushita. Not satisfied with the modest allowancesgiven to low-ranked rikishi, he started selling amazake (asweet, non-alcoholic beverage made from rice) in Denoand Asakusa, from a simple yatai (cart). With his

14

Avid Sumo Fan - Still robust at 73, Otani Yonetaro (fOrmerMakushita rikishi Washiodake, right) watches sumo in thefrontrow before the dohyo in january 7955. The then KasuganoOyakata (ex- Yokozuna Tochigiyama) is at right.

exceptional enthusiasm, he tended to stand out from theother hawkers in the area. With his earnings fromamazake increasing, Yonetaro managed to open a smallsake shop. His having a chonmage attracted customers.

Aside from giving a try at becoming a sekitori, Otani'sprimary objective in entering sumo was to travel on jungyoand study ways to make money. He hoped to be taken onan overseas jungyo, but the opportunity never arose. Oneday in the early summer of 1914, he hit upon what hethought was the key to his future fortune-steel. Hisdetermination was reinforced when he heard of theoutbreak of World War l in Europe.

Meanwhile, Otani was not going any further in hissumo career. He had severely injured one of his fingereven before he launched his professional sumo career. At33, he had gone as far as NO.17 Makushita-within strikingrange ofjuryo, but felt that he couldn't go any further. Hethus asked his mentor, Inagawa Oyakata, for permission toretire, which was reluctantly granted. Inagawa died thefollowing year, but having retired in good standing, Otanimaintained strong ties with the sumo world for the rest ofhis life. One ofOtani Yonetaro's younger brothers enteredsumo a couple ofyears after he retired. The brother, whocompeted under the shikona of Toyogasaki, only reached

Sandame.Late in 1914, Otani Yonetaro established his own

small steel company, with four employees, using savingsfrom his sake shop. Demand for steel was very high, andthe little company quickly expanded. Otani became apopular, prominentfigure in Tokyo's shitamachi. Thoughtotally illiterate, Otani had a good grasp of steeltechnology and a knack for shrewdly observing thecompetition. The company registered 30 patents.

His fortunes soaring, Otani decided to dabble inpolitics. He ran for a shitamachi seat in the TokyoMunicipal Assembly and was elected with the mostnumber of votes of any candidate. However, he was soonback in dire straits when the Great Kanto Earthquakestmck on September l, 1923, and burned his factory to theground. Otani still had his loyal employees, however, andquickly sensed an opportunity in collecting the twistedsteel from destroyed buildings. ln a matter of months, hewas back where he was before the earthquake.

Misjudging the extent of his influence, Otani decidedto mn in the national elections of 1925, the first in whichunivers al suffrage was granted to aUJapanese males age 25and oveI. Otani failed to win a seat in the Diet, anddecided to withdraw from politics. He was the firstformer rikishi to seek national office, albeit unsuccessfully.

Otani prospered during the 1930s. His company,Otani Jukogyo (shortened to Otani Juko-Otani HeavyIndustries) became a conglomerate with factoriesthroughout the nation. He extended his steel empirebeyondJapan to Manchukuo (Manchuria). On the eve ofWorld War II, Otani's assets had reached the astoundingsum of 100 million yen, and his main company was the12th largest inJapan. His empire was close-to attainingzaibatsu status. OtaniJuko contibuted significantly to thewar effort, but Yonetaro himself no longer desired tobecome involved in politics.

Otani provided valuable support to the Sumo Kyokaiduring the latter war years by having the rikishi, includingmany of the top competitors, work in his factories,especially his steel works in Amagasaki, near Osaka, assangyo heishi (industrial soldiers). This cooperation savedmany lives; nearly aU the top rikishi were kept inJapanuntil the end of the war, and also escaped the Great TokyoAir Raid of March 10-11, 1945, which virtuaUy obliteratedthe sumo quarters in Ryogoku. But the final months of thewar severely impacted the Otani empire. B-29 bombersgraduaUy destroyed most of its plants in J apan. ln theclosing days of the war, the Soviet Union captured all ofthe Otani holdings in Manchukuo, and while Otanihimself retained his land inJapan, his factories had beenpounded into rubble.

When the war ended in August 1945, Otani had lostpractically everything. At age 64, he had to begin againvirtually from scratch. But once again fortune smiled.Yonetaro and his workers became scavengers once more,as after the earthquake in 1923. WithJapan's cities full oftwisted steel and rubble, OtaniJuko became arecycler andrebounded almost overnight. Further, the occupationauthorities largely ignored Otani and his company. Manyindustrialists were arrested as war criminals or purgedfrom public life.

Otani was a business genius who an uncanny ability toforesee the needs of society 10 or 15 years in advance. Hetended to delegate technical aspects of his empire, butkeep a firm grip on the overall structure. ln sorne ways, he

never outgrew his humble roots in Toyama. As late as the1950s, he still insisted upon maintaining a feudalaccounting system. Rather than use banks, he kept mostof his assets in hard cash, on premises. His personalconcept of banking was to hoard billions of yen in cash intrunks and vats. At the same time, he was popular with hisemployees. He was invariably warm, cheerful, and nevercondesceding.

ln 1950, Otani's company rebounded again when theKorean War started; steel was in great demand. At aboutthe same time, the Sumo Kyokai launched theconstruction of Kuramae Kokugikan. A crucial shipmentof steel arrived just as hositilities began in Korea. Otaniprovided invaluable, behind the scenes assistance to theSumo Kyokai in building the Kokugikan.

Though in his late 70s as he approached the pinnacleof his career in the late 1950s, Otani was still robust andwith his athletic build, was unmistakably a former rikishi.He wardrobe, or rather lack of it, had changed little overthe years; he used the same nondescript black suits dayafter day, and wore his shoes until the heels fell apart. Hisone concession to luxury was his Cadillac.

ln 1958, Otani sold sorne parcels ofland to his Toyamabrother Shoriki, and managed to acquire the former palaceof Prince Fushimi near Akasaka Mitsuke. It was amagnificent property, complete with a garden that hadonce belonged to the 17th century feudal lord KatoKiyomasa. Acquiring such a choice pro pert y was anunbelievable achievement for an illiterate farmer's son.

Otani resolved to build the largest and most modernhotel in Tokyo on the property. The project took severalyears to complete, and the result was the Hotel New Otani.The old tycoon personally directed the construction of themain wing of the hotel, which still stands.

Otani was 83 years old when the New Otani openedjust before the Tokyo Olympics in October 1964. The newhotel was the tallest building inJapan, with 17 floors anda revolving restaurant on top. At the time of the opening,the Otani empire had over 6,000 employees in about 500subsidiaries, and Yonetaro's assets were estimated to beworth 100 billion yen.

His final dream a reality, the aging tycoon entered histwilight years. The cost of establishing a substantialpresence in the hotel industry had taken its toll on thereserves of OtaniJuko. The boomingJapanese economyentered a mild recession with the inevitable letdown indemand after the Olympics ended. Banks began to drawin loans to shore up their own reserves, and the Otanigroup, which had a cash flow crisis, nearly collapsed underthe mountain of debt that had been accumulated in therush to construct the hote!. Yonetaro resigned as presidentof the Hotel New Otani only sixmonths after the opening.

yonetaro lived to see the survival of his empireassured. He became something of a philanthropist and anart collectoI. ln 1966, at age 85, he was appointedSupreme Advisor by a grateful Nihon Sumo Kyokai. Hishealth started declining in 1967-he was terminally ill witha brain tumoI. Though ill, he pushed forward his finalproject, a technical junior college in his native Toyama­ken. He died in a Tokyo hospital on May 19, 1968, twomonths shy of his 87th birthday.

yonetaro's sons inherited the old man's longevity andheaded the Otani companies into the 1990s. The secondson, Kokichi, became noted as an art collector and sumophotographeI.

15

Then Be Now:Sumo Magazines (V)

By Clyde Newton

At the beginning of the 1980s, the Rinko Era of Wajimaand Kitanoumi drew to its close. Chiyonofuji rose toprominence in 1981 and created an abrupt boom in sumo'spopularity. Chiyonofuji did mu ch to bring attendance athombasho up, and also to increase circulation of sumomagazines. Chiyonofuji faded as the new Heisei Erabegan in 1989, and the stars of recent years emerged-withAkebono, Takanohana, Wakanohana, and Musashimaruall becoming yokozuna in the 1990s. Oyer the last twodecades, the number of sumo magazines published hasremained stable; with Baseball Magazine's Sumo, YomiuriShimbun Sha's Ozumo, and NHK's Weekly Stera Sumoissue, as well as the English-Ianguage Sumo World.

Left-Yokozuna Wajima was depicted on the December1980 issue of Sumo. This was Taiho's 14thandfinalyusho.Right-Young new yokozuna Chiyonofuji appeared on theDecember 1981 coyer of sumo, after winning his thirdyusho in the Fukuoka Basho in Noyember. Chiyonofujiwas to win a total of 31 yusho.

Left-Yokozuna Takanosato is shown on the December1983 cover of Ozumo. He was promoted to yokozuna aftertheJuly 1983 tournament. Right-Maegashira Tagaryu, andhis mentor Kagamiyama Oyakata were featured on thecover of the October 1984 issue of sumo.

16

§§;

Left-The March 1989 issue of Sumo depicted YokozunaHokutoumi throwing beans at the Setsubun festival of thatyear . Right-The August 1993 issue of Ozumo featuredyokozuna Akebono, who won the yusho of the NagoyaBasho of that year; his first championship after becomingthe first foreign-born yokozuna.

Left-Sumo's February 1998 issue depicted yusho winnerozeki Musashimaru. Right-Then ozeki Wakanohana wasshown at the Nagano Winter Olympics opening ceremonyon the March 1998 coyer of Sumo.

Left-Kotonishiki on the coyer ofthe December 1998 issueof Sumo, after becoming the first rikishi to achieyehiramaku yusho twice. Right-The July 2000 issue ofNHK's Sumo Magazine featured Yokozuna Takanohana.

Meishobu RevealedOzeki Kaio vs Yokozuna Musashimaru (uwatenage)

14thDay (senshuraku)July 2001

Frame 1-As Musashimaru (right)attempts to get migi-maemitsu,Kaio moves aside sJightly in ahenka attempt.

Frame 4-Kaio surges forwardand drives Maru towards theedge of the dohyo.

Frame 7-Kaio waJks away from thefallen Musashimaru. Kaio hadc1inchedthe yusho with his 13th win.

Frame 2- Kaio concentrates ontrying to move in from the rightand get a grip on the yokozuna.

Frame 5-Musashimaru survivesand forces the action back to thecenter of the dohyo. Theyokozuna, Jacking a grip onKaio's mawashi, Jocks his armsaround the ozeki.

Frame 3-Kaio gains a secure gripon Musashimaru's mawashi.The yokozuna is now in adefensive position.

Frame 6-Kaio unleashes apowerfuJ uwatenage andMusashimaru fails to the dohyo.

Kaio celebrates his victory withhis koenkai and others atTomozuna Beya's quarters inNagoya on the night ofhis victoryover Musashimaru. Kaio is stillbehind at 17-25 in his rivaJry withMusashimaru, however hisvictory over the yokozuna will bea significant factor in hisconsideration for yokozunapromotion, if he wins the yushoagain in September.

17

Juryo ResultsBy Mark Newton

Buyuzan walked off with his firstJuryo yusho with a9-6 record after winning an eight-way playoff on the finalday of action in the Nagoya tournament. It marked the firsttime the Juryo division title was won with less than tenwins, and also produced the first playoff with eightwrestlers. There was quite an assortment of rikishi in theplayoff, with Takatoriki, who won the Makunouchi yushoin March last year, 38-year old Terao, 32-year Sentoryu inhis third playoff in the last couple of years, Wakatoba,Tamarikido, Hamanishiki, Oikari and Buyuzan. Six of theeight wrestlers were former Makunouchi rikishi. Theplayoff itself consisted of sorne rather mediocre sumo, withrikishi sidestepping and pulling each other down, but inthe final bout Buyuzan pushed out Hamanishiki to win hisfirstJ uryo title.

ln the first half of the tournament Kuniazuma set ablistering pace winning his first six bouts, and on the tenthday he was 8-2,but that marked his high point as he lost hisnext three bouts, and withdrew after an injury on the 13thday. With Kuniazuma out of the running, the race to grabthe Juryo turned into a free for aIl when Tamarikido,Oikari and Takatoriki, the three leaders going into the finalday, alliost their last bouts to wind up with 9-6 records.With only 22 or 23 rikishi completing a tournament thesedays in theJuryo, as 3 or 4 rikishi usually have to withdrawdue to injuries, perhaps a 9-6 yusho was just waiting tohappen. With the small number of rikishi in the Juryo,often the last few days ofthe tournament feature bouts withthe lowest and highest wrestlers in the division going upagainst each other, which wouldn't happen if theJ uryo hada larger number of rikishi. Perhaps it is time that the SumoAssociation gave sorne serious thought to increasing thenumber ofJuryo wrestlers from 26 to about 34 or 36.

Ex-sekiwake Takatoriki came back from a 2-3 mark on

the 5th day to take the next 7 out of 10bouts to wind up witha 9-6, which will enable him to return to the Makunouchiafter just one basho back in the Juryo. Emboldened by hisexpected promotion back to the Makunouchi he recentlyhe told reporters he was going to launch a new drive forozeki. Brave words.

Although the other ex-sekiwake, Terao, seemedwashed up in his 2-13 performance in May, he made thepoint that he was hampered by an injury, and talk ofretirement was premature. True to his word, Terao seemedto improve with each passing day, and barely missedpromotion to the Makunouchi with his 9-6 mark atJuryoNo.3. Eight wins in September should win him promotionback to the Makunouchi. The other Juryo No. 3,Hamanishiki, on the east side of the rankings, also won 9bouts, enough for promotion back to the Makunouchi inSeptember.

Juryo o. 1 Kobo miffed his chance to win promotionto the Makunouchi, losing his last three bouts to wind upwith an 8-7 mark. It must have been a severe

disappointment for the 29-year rikishi, as he was about tomove up to the top division after 12 and a half years in thelower divisions. The otherJuryo No. 1,Daishi, managed tocollect eight wins, which enabled him to return to theMakunouchi as he was ranked on the east side of therankings. Daishi seems to set to join Daizen as a

18

MakunouchiJuryo "elevator" rikishi bouncing up anddown between the two senior divisions.

ln the lower ranks of the Juryo, two old battle-scarredveterans, Tomonohana and Kotokanyu came from behindin the last few days to avoid demotion to the Makushita.With a 4-7record atJuryo No. 12, Tomo seemed headedfor retirement, but he came back to life with a veangencein the last four days, disposing of Kinkaizan, Shimotori,Aogiyama, as weIl as putting an end to Kuniazuma's hopesof winning the tournament. Juryo No. 11 Kotokanyuseemed headed back to the Makushita or possibleretirementat4-7 on the llth day, buthewonhisnextthreebouts, enough to avoid demotion to the makushita. Hewound up with a 7-8 record. Kinkaiyama collapsed with a2-13 mark and will be demoted to the Makushita.

Behind the CurtainBy David Meisenzahl

This Aki basho only one sumotori will beawarded the privilege of moving up the sumo pyra­mid and stepping out from behind the curtain. Thisis because the entire lower Juryo division managedto get kachi-koshi at the Nagoya basho.

But first, for one man to step in front of thecurtain, to Juryo, then one rikishi must step behindthe curtain, if not retire from sumo aIl together. lnthis instance it is the former, Kinkaiyama, at N 0.6Juryo, did not get enough wins, at 2-13, to remain inthe paid ranks. What is telling is that he won withthe same technique both times, hatakikomi, or slapdown. It would appear he won from his opponent'soverly aggressive taichiai, more than his skill set,which further justifies his demotion.

Kinkaiyama-zeki made his Juryo debut back inJanuary 1998. He even made it to Makunouchi onJuly of the same year. ln addition, he is only 25 yearsold, so we can be expected him to return to thesalaried ranks quite soon.

With Kinkaiyama returning to the daily duties ofsomeone' s tsukebito at Dewanoumi-beya, our nextquestion is obvious. Which lucky rikishi becomes asekitori when the banzuke is released? That man,soon to be a sekitori, again, is Kasuganishiki ofKasugano Beya.

Kasuganishiki is no stranger to being in front ofthe curtain. As recently as this year's Osaka basho,he was ranked at No.10Juryo, but only managed a5-10 record, to be sent back down to Makushita. lnNagoya he posted a respectable 5-2 at No.4Makushita. We didn't get mu ch of an indication ofhow Kasuga will handle the J uryo-ranked rikishi, ashe only was matched with only one sekitori from hisMakushita rank-Kotokanyu, who he defeated byhikiotoshi, or hand pull down. Kasuga favorstsukitaoshi, or frontal thrust down, along with extraheaps of tsuppari, or slapping. You can't knock agood tsuppari attack, which was a favored techniqueof former Yokozuna Akebono.

You may not recognize it from his shikona, butKasuganishiki has sorne prominent senpai in hisheya- Tochinohana, Tochinonmda, and Tochisakae.

This makes Kasuga the fourth current sekitori deshiof Kasugano Oyakata, who is better known to oldtime sumo fans as Yokozuna Tochinoumi, the 49thYokozuna.

Who was left behind the curtain? Azumazeki­beya's heyagashira, Takamisakari put together a 4-3at No.3 Makushita but did not get called up, againsince no one at the bottom of j uryo posted a losingrecord. This is sad since many fans enjoy his "Robo­Cop" like antics. Another rkishi who missed the cutdue to the ail the kachi-koshi at the bottom ofjuryodivision was Tamanokuni, who from No.2 Makushitaposted a 4-3 record at Nagoya. There is no doubt thatif two Juryo-ranked wrestlers close to the bottom oftheir division decide to cooperate and post losingrecords, we will see these boys back behind thecurtain in Fukuoka!

Keep Your EyesOn... Daishoma

By Clyde Newton

The Oitekaze Beya of ex-MaegashiraDaishoyama has sprung up almost overnight. Theoyakata himself, who began his career as an activerikishi as recently as 1989, is still only 34 years oldand has been retired since November 1995. Healready raised one sekiwake-Hayateumi and one­maegashira-Hamanishiki, from scratch. He has ismarried to the daughter of the old Oitekaze Oyakata(ex-maegashira Oiteyama) who is now known asNakagawa Oyakata. Nakagawa, 63, who never oper­ated a heya of his own (he was the last deshi of theprevious Oitekaze Oyakata, the prewar ozekiShimizugawa), is a coach in his son-in-Iaw's heya.

One of the secrets of Oitekaze Beya's success insuch a short period of time is its ability to recruitformer collegiate stars. Both Hayateumi andHamanishiki joined straight out of college atMakushita Tsukedashi (an auxillary position at thebottom of makushita). However, the heya also has apromising young rikishi-Daishoma-who, while agraduate of Nihon Daigaku (Nihon University), didnot qualify to start at Makushita Tsukedashi, butrather started from scratch in maezumo. Daishomabegan his career this J anuary, achieved a strongrecord in J onokuchi in March, and in May won theJonidan yusho with a perfect 7-0 mark.

Only rikishi ranked in the top 15 ranks of theMakushita and ab ove were supposed to participatein the Yokozuna Shingiinkai (Yokozuna Delibera­tion Council) keiko session at the Kokugikan on May6. Oitekaze Oyakata, however, told Daishoma thatthat he should attend. The J onidan rikishi thustrained with the top makushita rikishi, winning threebouts and losing four.

ln the Nagoya Basho, Daishoma was ranked atSandanme No.65. Though it was his first tourna­ment in the division, and the highest rank he had

Jonidan Yusho - Musashigawa Oyakata (ex-YokozunaMienoumi) presents Daishoma with theJonidan Yusho certifieateon thefinal day of the May toumament.

ever held, the 22 year old collegian was undefeateduntil the final bout, which he lost to Kainowaka, theSandanme yusho winner. Daishoma is ranked atNo.10 Sandanme in September, and can secure pro­motion to Makushita just by achieving kachi-koshi.

Daishoma's Vital StatisticsDate of Birth:January 12, 1979Place of Birth: Nakamura-shi, Kochi-ken (onShikoku)Height: 181 centimetersWeight: 139 kilogramsTechnique: Migi-yotsu, yoriHeya: OitekazeDebut: J anuary 2000

Jungyo Scene - New komusubi Tamanoshima dominates atraining session in jungyo in August.

Kuniazuma CompetitionThe winners of the Kuniazuma competition, as per theJulyissue, will be listed on the www.sumoworld.com website atthe beginning of September. Surprisingly, not a singleentrant predicted that Kuniazuma would fail ta achievekachi-koshi. Shinobu Suzuki hopes to have the secondinstal!ment of the article ready for the November issue.

19

Three-Way Race Seen betweenMusashimaru, Kaio, and Chiyotaikai

By Mark Newton

With yokozuna Takanohana out of action until at leastJanuary 2002, Musashimaru, Kaio and Chiyotaikai arelikely to battle it out for the Emperor's Cup withTochiazuma and Wakanosato playing the role of darkhorses. Normally Musashimaru would be theoverwhelming favorite with Takanohana absent andKaio's back problems, but his tendency to lose one or twobouts unexpectedly every tournament means theSeptember basho is likely to turn into a close race. Despitehaving to face only two ozeki, Maru could only win 12bouts in the Nagoya basho, and it is likely that he willloseat least one or two bouts to the lower ranked rikishi againthis time.

Nevertheless, Musashimaru will be one of thefavorites to take the yusho. Coming off 11-4 and 12-3records in the past two tournaments, Chiyotaikai is backin top shape, and could be Maru's main source ofcompetition. The third favorite, Kaio, is likely to go intothe tournament in rather po or shape due to his recurringback problem. Still one can't count Kaio out of thecontention for the yusho.

Kaio, has a strange habit of performing at his best,wh en he is not in top shape, perhaps because he is morerelaxed when has set a modest goal for himself. This iswhat happened last tournament, and if he can comethrough with his second consecutive Emperor's Cup it islikely that he willbe promoted to yokozuna. With a strongsanyaku and a powerful line-up of rikishi in the topmaegashira ranks the race for the yusho could turn into afree-for-aIl with a dark horse walking off with theEmperor's Cup, especiaIly if 12 wins is sufficient to takethe yusho.

Sekiwake Tochiazuma, komusubi Wakanosato, andNO.2 maegashira Kotomitsuki are not only likely to playthe role of spoilers upsetting Musashimaru and the fourozeki, but one of them could go aIl the way and grab theyusho if the three favorites falter. Ozeki Musoyama andMiyabiyama, on the other hand, are not likely to figure inthe race.

Musashimaru squandered his best chance to take theyusho this year, losing to Wakanosato and Tochiazumaand then Kaio in the last five days of the Nagoya basho.Maru seems to grow somewhat complacent when he haswon 5 or 6 or more bouts consecutively, and thiscombined with pressure on him to take the yusho usuaIlysparks off one or two unexpected defeats. The yokozunahas a habit of getting off to the tachi-ai rather slowly, andthis sometimes puts him on the defensive, heightening thechances of an upset. He needs to be especiaIly careful withTochiazuma, Wakanosato, Asashoryu, Kotomitsuki andTamanoshima.

yokozuna Takanohana finally had surgery on his rightknee onJuly 26 in Paris. Despite the injury Takanohanahad faced Musashimaru twice on the last day of the Maytournament and performed the dohyoiri five times afterthat. He will probably be returning to action inJ anuary orMarch next year.Although Kaio's back problems forced

20

Although back pain forced Kaio to leave the jungyo inAugust he appears to have sufficiently recovered to theextent that a repeat of his 13-2 yusho inJuly is not out ofthe question. Tomozuna Oyakata has rated Kaio'schances of winning the yusho and promotion to yokozunaat 60%. With sumo's popularity in a free fall, Takanohanainjury-prone these days and Musashimaru strong butuninspiring, the Sumo Association is anxious to have anew yokozuna. For this reason the association's big wigsand the Yokozuna Promotion Council appear ready tooverlook Kaio's 4-5-6 record in May. Ifhe were promoted,Kaio would be the first ozeki in 60 years to have pulled outof one of the three tournaments prior to promotion toyokozuna. There is even a possibility he will be elevatedto yokozuna if he finishes as runner-up with 13 or morewins. His chances of winning the yusho are probably 50­50.

Chiyotaikai has sprung back to life with 12-3 and11-4 marks, with his training at a sports gym apparentlypaying off. Chiyo's pushing can be devastating when he isin top form. Ifhe can make it through the first 10days withonly one or two losses he could take the yusho. He iscapable of defeating both Musashimaru and Kaio.

Miyabiyama is setting records of the wrong sort. He isthe first ozeki in recent history to achieve the dubiousrecord of 3 kado ban (in danger of losing his ozeki rank) inthe 8 basho since he was promoted. ln fact demotion fromthe rank might help Miyabi shake off the pressure on himas an ozeki, and allow him to make a new start. Miyabi willprobably be able to stave off demotion with 8 or 9 winsagain. The other Musashigawa stable ozeki, Musoyama,has become quite consistent, always winning at least 9bouts and he should be able to do so again in September.

Dejima is back again at sekiwake after two years asozeki. Since he underwent surgery for a foot injury afterthe July basho, Dejima is unlikely to have had sufficienttime to recover. Although he doesn't have to faceMusashimaru, Musoyama, and Miyabiyama, thekomusubi, sekiwake and upper maegashira ranks will befilled with strong rikishi in September, sojust getting his 8wins may be an uphill struggle for him.

The other sekiwake, Tochiazuma, is ready to launchhis promotion bid for ozeki. A 13-2 yusho would beenough for promotion. At worst 10 or Il wins will set himup for a promotion attempt in N ovember. Expect him towin 10 or Il bouts.

Komusubi Wakanosato already competes like anozeki. It is refreshing to see a yotsu-zumo rikishi of thetraditional ilk like Wakanosato. Once Waka gets bothhands on his opponent's mawashi the outcome of the boutis usuaIly a foregone conclusion. If he gets off to a goodstart he should be able to win 10 bouts. The otherkomusubi, Tamanoshima has made kornusubi in only hisfifth tournament in the Makunouchi. Tama will probablyprovide sorne upsets and might just rnake kachikoshi. AlIthe rikishi in the upper rnaegashira ranks ( o. 1 to 5) arecapable of upsetting any of the sanyaku rikishi.

wo MAKUUCHI 07 2001

#Rank RikishiW-L-RPrize1234 56789101112131415

1

Ye Takanohanll 0-0-15 RESTRESTRESTRESTRESTRESTRESTRESTRESTRESTRESTRESTRESTRESTREST

2

Yw Musashimaru ]2-3JY 100 5120 3130 6140 5170 3150 5160 8180 4190 4200 311.1190 48. 37. 830 3

3

Oe Chivotaikai 11-4 11. 3140 3100 3120 19066130 3170 180 1150 3160455.66250 17.1040 32. 3

4

Ow Musovama 10-5 8.45130 314010160 3180 312024150 3100 617.649. 52102420.49110 63. 370 3

5

Oe Mivabh'amll 7-8 12. 511. 5150 317.6616.15140 813.12190 410045180 530667.7321.6690158.646

Ow Deiima 3-3-9 13068100 3120 315.4920.5316. ·0RESTRESTRESTRESTRESTRESTRESTRESTREST

7

Oe Kaio 13-2YUSHO 140 3150 5906411010120 5100 580 5160 513. 6210 5250105073301020 84. 3

8

Se Tochiazuma ]0·5GS 4045170 31601210. 111.66180667. 53. 190 412073140 5210 520 325. 3 1 50649

Sw Kolomilsuki 6·9 15. 6160 57.64130 93.6611. 510.24120 58. 440 517.662. 4180515.15190 5

10

Ke ASllshorvu 7-8 2. 56. 53. 380 1130 97. 590244. 65.45110 5120 1170 514.662101118.45

11

Kw WaksnoslIlo 9-6SS 30 350 5170 37.10806690 518011150 81606610. 5201114. 54. 620.6625. 8

]2

M]e Havaleumi 4-]] 50 52. 56. 33. 17. 54·2414. 69. 518. 58.7310. 11304516.11170 3150 5

]3

M]wTakanonan.i 5-10 6.684.682. 69. 910. 93. 3501214. 570 617. 3160 812.45200 7150 529.1114

M2eKotoDowaka 8-7 7. 33. 34.102. 515. 55. 8120 6130 522073240 88. 5110 510066160 831049

15

M2wHi!!onoumi 3-12 90 67. 65. 36049140 52. 55. 311. 83. 322. 724.6432. 529. 513. 512. 5

]6

M3el'ochinonada 6-9 170 39. 38.124. 3501560 02. 87. 511.663.4513. 8190 31201114. 8220 5

]7

M3wl'oki 6-9 16. 38. 311.350662. 3190663. 120.644064130 3906610. 525. 312. 339066

18

M4eTosaDoumi 8-7 190 6220 3230 320.664. 38.661U112. 4120 55. 5260 1300739.51330 510045

19

M4wOtsukasa 4-11 18. 623. 622. 521045240 317.66260 65. 42. 427. 3280 616. 333.4529. 59. 520

M5eKvokushuzan 7·8 21. 52706424. 318066605325. 5230641706426. 52. 331. 5404913. 71106630.722]

M5wl'akanowaka 9-6 200 526064250 519.45220 5270 8240 8230 3310 47. 54.248. 5506610.1137. 9

22

M6eAkinoshima 4-11 23.4518e45190 524.4521e 526. 5280 8290 514.73150 732. 833.1131.1337.6416. 5

23

M6wl'oehisakae 4-5·6 22045190 318. 325.6627066290 320.6421. 330. 0RESTRESTRESTRESTRESTREST

24

M7eTamakasu!!a 8-7 26. 429066200 32204519. 331. 521. 837. 532.6414. 815064280 5270 3380 3350 5

25

M7wl'amanoshima 12-3JY KS 270 52801121. 52306626011200 5370 5390 5350 5300 5n103. 1170 380 3110 8

26

M8eToehiDohana 7-8 240 421. 431.45280 325.11220 519. 6400 5200 53706418. 139. 5300 532. 933. 3

27

M8wChivotenzan 6-9 25. 520. 5300 5290 523.6621. 831. 832.539.11190 3380 336. 324. 3400 8280 0

28

MgeJumonii 4-11 29. 525. 532. 526. 340. 8360 322.8330 5380 635. 319. 624. 5390 531.1127. 0

29

M9wKitazakura 6-9 280 524. 533.7227. 5300 523. 335.5422. 537. 9400 336.6438. 5150 5190 51301130

M10eKotorvu 8-7 31.64360 527. 5320 529. 5380 5330 5350 5230 025. 5370 618.7326. 539. 920072

31

Ml0wKaiho 9-6 30064350192604533. 339.45240 5270 838. 321. 432064200 537. 9220132801114.49

32

MlleKvokutenho 1

8-733. 538064280 530. 535. 939. 636066270 52406431.64220 8150 537. 5260 940.11

33

MUwDaizen 8-7 320 539. 529072310 337.6640.6630. 528e 5360 33801235.45220111904518e 5260 3

34

M12eWakanovallla 0-0-15 RESTRESTRESTRESTRESTRESTRESTRESTRESTRESTRESTRESTRESTRESTREST

35

M12wAminishiki 7-8 3606431e6439. 338. 3320 937.842905430. 525. 5280 33304541.64400124506424. 536

M]3eAsanowaka 5-10 35.6430.6437.6440.64380 328. 332.664106433. 342.4929064270 343.1146.6644045

37

M13wTokitsunmi 11-4GS 38.454001236064390 9330663508425. 5240 5290 926.6430e 6310 9320 522064210 9

38

1\114eWakatsutomu 7-8 3704532.4540064350 336. 330. 539045310 328. 633.1227. 3290 544. 524. 3410 3

39

M14wO!!inishiki 9-6 400 533072350 337. 931045320 638.4525. 52701144.64420 5260 520. 5300 917.6640

MISeMinatofuii 5-10 39. 537. 530.6436064200 03306643. 326. 541.1229. 3450 442. 035.1227. 832011

JURYO: 41-Daishi 42-Kobo 43-Jnzan 44-Takatoriki 45-Hamanishiki 46-Terao

ISBN 5-85479-089-3 Copyright (e) 2000 by Sergey Praotl.ev and Japan loday, Ltd

Ali rights teserved, including the right to reproduce thase tables or portions thereof in any form

JURYO 07 2001

w...•.

#Rank RikishiW-L-RPrize1234 S67891011121314IS

41

JI e Daishi 8-7 42e 54606440e 5440 3450 350e 347e6436e6440012520 550e 535064530 56006630e 3

42

.l1w Kobo 8-7 410 5450 947e 143e 34406448066500 5510 546e73360493ge 5400 05ge 161e2363e 3

43

J2e Juzan 7-8 44e 348e 350e66420 346e 9530 3400 3520 654e 2510 4470 565e 5360115ge4558e 3

44

J2w Takatoriki 9-6 430 3470 351e 341e 342e64520 3530 350e45550 13906454el046072300 5620 336e45

45

J3e Hamanishiki 9·6 4601242e1252e664806641e 355e 054064570 9530725902940e 4500 3470 835e64650 5

46

J3w Terao 9·6 45e1241e125404547e 3430 951066520 955e 34207353e495007244e72630 43606660045

47

J4e Wakakosho 8-7 4806644e66420 1460 350e6654066410645ge 351e666106443e 55706645e 8650 566e 9

48

J4w Yotsukasa 6-9 47e6643064410545e6651e 342e66570 353e 85804562e 55ge 360e6655e 652066610 5

49

J5e Wakalorvu 0-0·15 RESTRESTRESTRESTRESTRESTRESTRESTRESTRESTRESTRESTRESTRESTREST

50

J5w Kuniazuma 8-6-1 510665301043066540 347066410 342e 5440455ge 35501046e7245e 364e2157. 0REST

51

.f6e Senlorvu 9-6 50e66570 1440 355064480 346e666406442e 54706643e 46507254e7362e 3660 1590 2

52

.16w Kinkaivama 2·13 53e 655e 64506658e 554e 344e 346e 943e 66206641e 560e 564e 961e 548e6667e 3

53

J7e Masulsuvoshi 5·10 520 650e 657e 5600 8550 643e 344e 3480 845e724604963e4566e 541e 558. 562e 6

54

.f7w AOl'ivama 8-7 570 3580 146.4550e 3520 347.6645.6460072430 2660 1440105107365.5563. 364e 5

55

J8e Shimotori 6-9 580 3520 561. 351e6453e 6450 865e68460 3 144e 150el0660 863e 4480 664. 957. 5

56

J8w Hamanoshima 0-0-15 RESTRESTRESTRESTRESTRESTRESTRESTRESTRESTRESTRESTRESTRESTREST

57

Jge Towanovama 7-8 54. 351. 3530 564.11580666501148. 345. 966. 663066620 347.6660. 5500 0550 5

58

J9w Harunovama 8-7 55. 354e 3640 6520 557e6662080630106U 348.4565.45410 5590 566. 0530 5430 3

59

JI0e Oikari 9·6 6004564e4566. 365e66610 3630 1620 4470 3500 345e29480 358e 5420 14304551. 2

60

Jl0w Takanolsuru 7-8 5ge4563e4565e 853e 06206666e 5610 554e7264066700 5520 540066570 541.6646e45

61

Jlle Kolokanvu 7-8 620 366. 3550 363. 259. 3640 360. 5580 365e 847.6473.6470072520 54202348e 5

62

Jllw Senshuvama 8-7 6U 3650 5630 4660 560.6658.805ge 4640 252e66480 557. 3680 5510 344e 3530 6

63

J12e Buvuz.n 9-6YUSHO 640 36004562e 4610 265. 65ge 158.10660 3680 357.6653045550 446. 4540 3420 3

64

J12wTomonohana 8-7 63e 3590 650e 657011660 661. 351e6462e 260e66740 672e 8520 950021550 9540 5

65

J13e Tamarikido 9·6 66. 962. 9600 859066630 657e1155068720 6610 85804551.72430 55405547e 545. 5

66

Jl3w Wakaloba 9-6 650 961081590 362- 564- 6600 57004563e 3570 654e 155e 8530 5580 851e 1470 9

MAKUUCffi: 35-Aminishiki 36·Asanowaka 38-Wakatsutomu 39-0ginishiki 40·Minatofllji

MAKUSHITA: 67-Sumanofuji 68·Nishikikaze 70-T.manokuni 72-Takamisakari 73·Kasuganishiki 74-0101)'u

KTMARITE0= Will• = loss

l-TSUKLDASBI

16-IPPDNZEOI31-KOMATASUKUL46·MAKIOTOSBI61·TOKKURlNAGE76-0KURIBlKlOTOSBI0= win wilhoul bOlltlfighl2-TSUKITAOSHI17·NICHONAGE32·S0TOKOMATA47.TOTTARI62-KUBLHTNERI77·WARroASH(

3·0SHLDASHI

18-YAGURANAGE33·0MATA48-SAKATOTTARI63·KOTHILNERl78·UTCHARi•= loss wilhoul boutlfighl4-0SHLTAOSHI

19-KAKENAGE34· TSUMATORl49-KATASUKASHl64-B1KLOTOSBI79·KlMEDASHIlhe number on the left side5·VORlI<TRl

20-TSUKAMTNAGE35-KOZUMADORTSO-SOTOMUSO6S·HTKKAKE8O-KTMETAOSHlrefers to the Rikishi #6·YORlTAOSBI

2L·UCHLGAKE36-ASHlTORlSI-UCHIMUSO6M1ATAKIKOMI81-USHiROMOTARE

7·ABISETAOSHL

22-S0TOGAKE37·SUSOTORI52·ZUBUNERL67·S0KUBLOTOSHI82· YOBlMODOSHJthe number on the righl side8·UWATENAGE,

2)·CHONGAKE38-SUSOHARAIS3·UWATEHTNERI68·TSURIDASHITefers to the Kimarite #9·SHITATENAGE

24·KIRlKAESHI39-1Z0Rl54·SHITATEHINERI69·0KURITSURIOASHIWINNING NON·TECfL'lIQUESIO-KOTENAGE

25-KAWAZUGAKE40·SHUMOKUZORI5S·AMLUCHI70·TSURlOTOSHI83·ISAM1ASBIJY = Jun-Yusho

II·SUKUTNAGE

26-KEKAESHl4]·KAKEZ,ORT56-SABAORT71·0KURITSURTOTosm84-KOSHll<UDAKESS = Shukunsho12-UWATEDASHTNAGE

27·KETAGURI42·TASUKrZORl57·HARTMANAGE72-0KURIDASHI8S-TSUKITEKS = KaBtosho1~·SI·IIT ATEDASHLNAGE

28-MLTOKOROZEME43·S0TOTASUKIZORl58·0SAKATE73·0KURlTAOSHLS6-TSUKlliIZA

14·KOSHTNAGE

29·IVATASHIKOMT44-TSUTAEZORI59·KATNAHTNERT74·0KURTNAGE87-FUMTDASHTGS = Ginosho

IS·KUDTNAGE

30-NIMAIGERI45-TSUKTOTosm6O·GASSHOHTNERT75·0KURIGAKE KB = Kinboshi