Some Photos from Day 13 of the January 2012 Sumo Tournament

-
DAY 13 of January 2012 Sumo Tournament

I caught the last hour or so of the January 2012 sumo basho or tournament. Almost didn't go as the weather was nasty with first rain then wet snow that didn't stick. I was glad I did though. Saw some intense matches especially the last one. Really enjoyed it! Here are some photos of the matches I saw on Day 13 mostly with winning shots.

ARAN vs KAISEI

Brazilian Kaisei beat Russian Aran with a yorikiri - frontal force out while holding onto an opponent's mawashi - loincloth



TENKAIHO vs KYOKUTENHO

Tenkaiho wins with a yorikiri



YOSHIKAZE vs TAKANOYAMA

Czech Takanoyama wins with a hikiotoshi - hand pull down



MYOGIRYU vs YOSHIAZUMI

Myogiryu wins with a oshidashi - frontal push out without griping the opponent's mawashi and maintaining hand contact


HOMASHO vs TOSAYUTAKA

Match goes to Homasho with a yorikiri




KITATAIKI vs TOYOHIBIKI


Toyohibiki wins with a yorikiri





TAKEKAZE vs OKINOUMI

Okinoumi wins with an oshidashi that sent Takekaze into the first row seats




TAKAYASU vs WAKAKOYU

Wakakoyu beats Takayasu with an oshidashi




GOEIDO vs TOYONOSHIMA


This was a pretty fierce match and the wrestlers stopped two or three times which the crowd loved. The gyoji (referee) had to adjust Goeido's mawashi at one point. 


Toyonoshima ended up winning with an uwatedashinage - pulling overall throw that had Goeido eating salty ring dust.





KAKURYU vs AMINISHIKI


Aminishiki took a tumble to Kakuryu's hatakikomi - slap down where wrestler shifts away and slaps down the other's shoulder, back or arm.

BARUTO vs KOTOSHOGIKU


This match clinched Baruto's first tournament win with 13 wins, the highest this basho.


In this intense match Baruto actually succeeded in lifting Kotoshogiku off both of his feet before slamming him down with a shitatenage - underarm throw.





TOCHINOWAKA vs KISENOSATO


Kisensato wins with a yorikiri




MIYABIYAMA vs HARUMAFUJI


Harumafuji wins with a yorikiri after almost lifting his opponent off the ground



Whoa now, fellas! Not in front of the gyoji!

HAKUHO vs KOTOOSHU

This was an exciting match that looked like it could have gone either way several times as Yokozuna Hakuho and Ozeki Kotooshu battled for position. Finally Kotooshu forced Hakuho out with a yorikiri but with too much force that caused Hakuho to lose balance and fall backwards pulling Kotooshu into the front row seats with him.







How do you like those front row seats now?
-

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Japanese Monks Cutting Bamboo Festival - Takekiri-eshiki

-
Image
On June 20th, on Mt Kuruma north of Kyoto an interesting ritual is held where Japanese Buddhist monks hack at thick bamboo stalks in order to drive out evil and ensure good harvests. The ritual is known as Takekiri-eshiki and goes back over a thousand years. The origin of the ritual is said to come from an encounter a monk had with two huge snakes in the 9th Century. The snakes were male and female and they no doubt saw the monk as a meal. The monk, however, was able to kill the male snake with a well-aimed prayer. The female snake pleaded for mercy and promised to guard the waters of the mountain. In the Takakiri-eshiki ritual, bamboo stalks representing the male snake are cut by sword-wielding monks. There are two teams representing the ancient provinces of Omi and Tamba. It's believed that whichever team cuts the quicker their represented area will have the better harvest. The monks are dressed as Sohei who were fighting priests of Old Japan ...
Read more

Japanese Children Sumo Festival

-
Image
The Sumo festival in the small town of Wadayama in Hyogo Prefecture may not have the most skilled sumo wrestlers or the heaviest for that matter but they make up for it with a lot of energy and for their grandmothers with cuteness.  To celebrate the autumn harvest, the boys of the village gather at the local shrine to wrestle with each other in sumo fashion wearing the traditional sumo loincloth known as fundoshi. Officiating them is a referee dressed in stylish robes of the Heian Period (794-1192) known as a gyoji.  The boys range in age from about 5 to 11 or 12. There is no ritual significance in the age of the contenders. It's just that most of the boys feel embarrassed to stand around in a loincloth once they start Junior High School.  The purpose behind the sumo event other than to give their grandparents something to awe about is to bring good fortune to the community. This harkens back to sumo's origins before it became a professional sport. In ...
Read more

Japanese Penis Festival - Kanamara Matsuri

-
Image
The Kanamara Matsuri of Kawasaki, Japan is a cocky little festival where the floats would make a sailor blush. It's a balls-to-the-wall festival where zaniness reigns supreme with giant penis floats, unconvincing drag queens, people sucking on penis lollipops, and dick-themed hats and costumes. The origins of the festival go back to the Edo Period (1603-1867). Supposedly there lived a girl who had a demon take up residence in a certain part of female anatomy. When she was married her husband found out about her hidden inhabitant to his horror. In the process of consummating the marriage, the husband was castrated when the devil bit off the poor fellow's member. A second husband also suffered the same fate (presumably no one told him about the first husband). A local blacksmith forged an iron phallus and when this was put in the proper (or improper) place, the devil broke its teeth on it and thus fled. The devil-quelling device was enshrined and in later times lad...
Read more