Tachiai
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The Tachiai is the initial charge of two sumo wrestlers at the beginning of a bout. This blog is intended to be my way of sharing my enjoyment of sumo - as well as my way of reaching out to an international community of sumo fans.
Tachiai
1d ago
On Tuesday, the Sumo Kyokai released the banzuke for the upcoming May tournament. So, what are the big highlights? Starting at the top of the banzuke, Kotonowaka is now, Kotozakura. Ozeki Kirishima is kadoban. Wakamotoharu stays at Sekiwake for the second consecutive basho. He’s joined at the rank by Abi (on the West), who returns ..read more
Tachiai
4d ago
Some very sad news out of Japan today as Chiyonoshin has been rushed to the hospital after an apparent stroke. As Herouth notes, the former Makushita wrestler out of Kokonoe-beya is the younger brother of Chiyonokuni and had recently played the role of Enya in Sanctuary. He is known to Tachiai playing such a big ..read more
Tachiai
4d ago
Yes, this blog is about sumo, sumo, and only sumo. There are many topics, like Japanese language, which are tangentially related to the sport and knowledge of which enriches fans’ enjoyment of the sport. While this article is not nominally related to sumo, it falls squarely in that category of related topics. The ranking sheet ..read more
Tachiai
1w ago
Asashoryu announced via Twitter today that he had undergone surgery and it had been a success. He also thanked Japanese healthcare service that he received. “Surgery? What surgery?” Rewind a few weeks to right about the time the sumo world lost Akebono, there was a tweet posted to Asashoryu’s account saying that he had been ..read more
Tachiai
1w ago
Last bashō, I documented four newcomers to the Third Division (Makushita). Three of the four managed to get kachi-koshi (majority of victories). Only Āron, from Nishonoseki, had a losing record of 2-5. Shiroma’s 4-3 record did not come as a surprise, and Takashōki also had demonstrated an ability that would allow him to succeed in ..read more
Tachiai
2w ago
Death of Akebono This past week, we learned of the passing of Akebono. He was 54 years old. Known as Chad Rowan, he was recruited by former Takamiyama to join his Azumazeki-beya in 1988. His maezumo class famously included Takanohana and Wakanohana, both of whom rose to the rank of Yokozuna and with whom he ..read more
Tachiai
1M ago
Sumo action is NOT over so Tachiai does not hibernate until Natsu basho. Jungyo (巡業) means tour in Japanese. In the sumo world, the jungyo refers to off-season promotional tour events, usually sponsored by local corporate sponsors and supporter groups. Sometimes there will be visits to important local shrines, like tomorrow’s visit to Ise Jingu ..read more
Tachiai
1M ago
At its board meeting on 3/28, the Nihon Sumo Kyokai approved a plan to shutter Miyagino-beya and move its wrestlers and oyakata to Isegahama-beya in time for the May tournament. Hakuoho and other Miyagino-beya wrestlers will be introduced at the upcoming tournament as being from Isegahama-beya and they will not be able to fight against ..read more
Tachiai
1M ago
The sekitori promotions have been announced. After a one-basho absence, Chiyomaru returns to the salaried ranks he occupied for over a decade. The others are new: Ms15TD starter Onokatsu, who makes it after 3 basho in Makushita with a combined 16-5 record, yusho winner Kazekeno, who started at the bottom two years ago and rose ..read more
Tachiai
1M ago
The stormy basho certainly lived up to its nickname! We’ve just witnessed a historic yusho by the rookie Takerufuji; may he heal fully from his injury and give us the kind of career that this brief glimpse suggests is possible. Now that all the hardware has been handed out, let’s take our customary preliminary look ..read more