[sumo] Dual yokozuna promotion could join list of recent…

Wed Jun 2 20:11:22 EDT 2021

Hi Carol, seems I was logged out when Windows restarted my computer to
complete an update.  Once I logged back in, I was able to see the full
article.  I believe we are both correct about the limited number of
articles we can read with a free account. As long as we are only
reading John's column we should be okay.

Kodaiyama

On Wed, Jun 2, 2021 at 5:51 PM Carol Tan <caroltan at tandynasty.com> wrote:

> I think both are true.  JT registration is free but they also limit the #
> of articles/month.  PW also expires periodically, so resetting it meant I
> could again enjoy John’s great insights and expertise!
>
> Carol
>
> On Jun 2, 2021, at 2:59 PM, Barbara Ann <barbara.a.klein at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> All you have to do is register for free. But here it is anyway
> Dual yokozuna promotion could join list of recent rare events in sumo
> John Gunning <https://www.japantimes.co.jp/author/john-gunning/>Jun 2,
> 2021
> [image: Ozeki Terunofuji (left) and Takakeisho clash during their
> championship playoff bout at the conclusion of the Summer Grand Sumo
> Tournament on May 23 at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo. | KYODO]
> <https://cdn-japantimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/np_file_90586.jpeg>Ozeki
> Terunofuji (left) and Takakeisho clash during their championship playoff
> bout at the conclusion of the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament on May 23 at
> Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo. | KYODO
>
> It’s been a bountiful few years for anyone interested in sumo’s more
> archaic elements.
>
> While the 2020 Tokyo Olympics have long endured a tough time from a public
> relations standpoint, the games did lead to the revival of one sumo’s most
> seldom-seen ceremonies.
>
> In October of 2016, at a government-funded, Olympic-focused event entitled
> “Оzumo Beyond 2020 Basho,” yokozuna pair Harumafuji and Kakuryu performed
> the first *sandangamae* seen in 20 years.
>
> The three-part ceremony had only taken place on 24 occasions since the
> Meiji Era and was normally reserved for the most significant of occasions.
>
> One year later Hakuho and Kisenosato repeated the performance at a
> similarly named event in front of an invited audience.
>
> With a large proportion of the free tickets in both 2016 and 2017 being
> distributed to embassies, international schools and similar institutions,
> it was also the first opportunity many foreign fans had to witness the
> unique ceremony.
> [image: Yokozuna Kisenosato (left) and Hakuho perform a rare sandangamae
> ceremony on Oct. 4, 2017, at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo. | JOHN GUNNING]Yokozuna
> Kisenosato (left) and Hakuho perform a rare sandangamae ceremony on Oct. 4,
> 2017, at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo. | JOHN GUNNING
> <https://cdn-japantimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/np_file_90679.jpeg>
>
> Another even rarer sight occurred in March of 2020 when the first
> *yokozuna-ozeki *in almost four decades appeared on the *banzuke*
>  rankings.
> <https://cdn-japantimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/np_file_90679.jpeg>
>
> One of sumo’s lesser-known rules is that while there is no requirement for
> a *yokozuna* to exist, there must always be at least two *ozeki* at any
> one time.
> <https://cdn-japantimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/np_file_90679.jpeg>
>
> If retirements leave the sport short of ozeki, one of the existing
> yokozuna normally covers both ranks until the next promotion occurs. That’s
> exactly what Kakuryu did for one tournament between the retirement of
> Goeido and the elevation of Asanoyama.
> <https://cdn-japantimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/np_file_90679.jpeg>
>
> While sandangamae and yokozuna-ozeki have re-emerged in recent times, some
> formerly common sights in the sumo world are unlikely to come back anytime
> soon.
> <https://cdn-japantimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/np_file_90679.jpeg>
>
> All the various
> <https://cdn-japantimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/np_file_90679.jpeg>ties
> of yesteryear
> <https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2019/07/07/sumo/sumo-101-tied-bouts/> seem
> to have been consigned to historical curiosity, with all bouts since 1974
> ending in a win for one *rikishi* or the other.
>
> Likely gone for good as well are *hari-dashi* slots on the banzuke, where
> third-ranked yokozuna or *sanyaku*-level wrestlers were offset outside
> the normal border of the official ranking sheet.
>
> Although ties and overhanging ranks have been abandoned, there is still a
> slight possibility that yet another of sumo’s rarely seen occurrences may
> be about to take place in the very near future.
>
> Takakeisho’s loss to Terunofuji in a playoff for the Emperor’s Cup last
> time out technically gives the younger ozeki what is known as a *yūshо̄* equivalent.
> That’s significant because if the same situation were to reoccur in July
> (with the opposite outcome), it’s conceivable that both men could be
> promoted to yokozuna at the same time.
>
> There is precedent for two wrestlers concurrently earning the sport’s
> ultimate rank, with double-yokozuna promotions having taken place on three
> occasions in sumo history.
>
> The first such instance occurred after the summer 1942 tournament, when a
> 13-2 record was good enough to see both Akinoumi and Terukuni receive the
> white rope despite there already being two yokozuna present. Interestingly,
> Terukuni had not yet won a title before promotion, and Akinoumi had just
> one championship to his name.
>
> Under the current six-tournaments-a-year system, double-yokozuna
> promotions have taken place just twice — in 1961 Taiho and Kashiwado earned
> the nod, and nine years later rivals Tamanoumi and Kitanofuji reached
> sumo’s summit.
>
> The last name on that list will be familiar to current fans, as the almost
> 80-year-old Kitanofuji is one of the sport’s most prominent television
> commentators.
>
> Whether the ten-time champion will see his half-century-old mark equaled
> in 2021 seems like a long shot, but a double promotion for Takakeisho and
> Terunofuji after the July meet cannot be ruled out entirely.
>
> Terunofuji — with three Emperor’s Cup wins and two runner-up performances
> in the past six tournaments — is clearly in pole position, and discussions
> of his promotion chances by both the media and those inside the sport would
> seem to indicate another championship in Nagoya will seal the deal.
>
> By the same token, the silence surrounding Takakeisho’s chances mean the
> Tokiwayama stable man’s odds of reaching sumo’s highest rank before autumn
> aren’t great.
>
> In his favor is the fact that Hakuho’s career is almost at an end, and
> Terunofuji, for all his recent brilliance and overall ability, will turn 30
> this year and has knee issues that could derail his wrestling career at any
> point.
>
> Meanwhile, Takakeisho is just 24 years old and could potentially hold down
> the yokozuna rank for a long time.
> [image: Takakeisho (right) is unlikely to achieve promotion to yokozuna
> without a flawless performance in the Nagoya Basho. | KYODO]Takakeisho
> (right) is unlikely to achieve promotion to yokozuna without a flawless
> performance in the Nagoya Basho. | KYODO
> <https://cdn-japantimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/np_file_90587.jpeg>
>
> Promotion would come with risk for the burly wrestler, however. A lack of
> consistency and susceptibility to injury has already seen him demoted once
> from the rank of ozeki, and the standards for yokozuna are far higher.
> <https://cdn-japantimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/np_file_90587.jpeg>
>
> Losing records are unacceptable at sumo’s highest rank and should
> Takakeisho struggle to reach double digits or have a run of performances
> similar to those in late 2019 and early 2020, he would likely face calls
> for his retirement.
> <https://cdn-japantimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/np_file_90587.jpeg>
>
> The prospect of one of the sport’s few young stars being forced into early
> retirement has to be on the minds of the Yokozuna Deliberation Council and
> Japan Sumo Association elders.
> <https://cdn-japantimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/np_file_90587.jpeg>
>
> Short of a dominating 15-0 title run with wins over Terunofuji and Hakuho,
> it’s hard to see Takakeisho being in the conversation for yokozuna
> promotion after July.
> <https://cdn-japantimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/np_file_90587.jpeg>
>
> Given the pressure of the rank and the Damocles-esque threat of forced
> retirement that hangs over it, it’s probably a good thing that Takakeisho
> likely won’t need to worry about such matter for a while more.
> <https://cdn-japantimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/np_file_90587.jpeg>
>
> If the burly ozeki does rule the roost in July however, we could see
> history made.
> <https://cdn-japantimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/np_file_90587.jpeg>
>
> PHOTO GALLERY (CLICK TO ENLARGE)
> <https://cdn-japantimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/np_file_90587.jpeg>
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
> On Jun 2, 2021, at 2:53 PM, R. Brown <brownro214 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> 
> Blocked on this one.  Apparently I only get access to a couple of
> articles a month.
>
> Kodaiyama
>
> On Wed, Jun 2, 2021 at 12:41 PM Jeffrey Anderson <jpaitv at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>
>> https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2021/06/02/sumo/terunofuji-takakeisho-double-yokozuna/
>>
>> Gaijingai
>> Sent from my iPhone
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