[sumo] Former Komusubi dies

[JZ8D-SMMN at asahi-net.or.jp]

How sad. He didn't enjoy much of his retirement. Wakanami is a name I 
remember well; it was his hiramaku yusho in March 1968 that was my first 
experience of seeing sumo live on color TV. I used to remind him about it when he was
tearing tickets at the gate -- a job he did quite a bit before and after his stint as a judge.

His nephew followed him into sumo but was made to add the 'i' so 
his shikona was 'Wakainami'; his uncle told him that he would not 
be allowed to remove the 'i' and have the famous shikona until he 
got into juryo; but I noticed that in January 2006 the 'i' was quietly dropped.

>Ex-Komusubi Wakanami, 66 , died from heart complications of Pneumonia 
>this morning. He joined Sumo in 1957, and in Haru 1968, while at 
>Maegashira 8, won a hiramaku yusho with 13-2. He spent 52 bashos in 
>Makuuchi peaking at komusubi. He was a small fellow but very agile and 
>strong and was known for his tsuris, which made him very popular with 
>the fans. He belonged to Tatsunami beya, and after retiring in Haru 
>1972, was Oonaruto and then Tamagaki Oyakata, serving as a shinpan and a 
>supervisor. Recently, current Makushita and Sandanme- bound Wakainami 
>changed his name to Wakanami, in honor of his elder at Tatsunami.


Doreen Simmons
jz8d-smmn at asahi-net.or.jp