[sumo] List of trophies and prizes

[sumorina at mac.com]

Thanks Doreen for the comprehensive list of prizes.

It's obvious that the monetary prizes would be welcome, but as Doreen  
pointed out:

Zennosho (National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations  
Prize):
       bronze statue of a rikishi in kesho-mawashi carrying a large  
gilt rice-bale; plus a real straw bale that actually contains very  
little rice, so that the representative can handle it; the yusho  
winner actually receives 30 bales of rice, a valuable addition to his  
heya; plus some other delicacy such as eggs boiled in a hot spring

the prizes of food represent a truly important addition to the  
supplies of the winning rikishi's heya and it goes to the heya.

Naruto Oyakata tells a funny story about his wife ringing up the rice  
merchant to order 10 kg of rice the day after the then Yokozuna  
Takanosato had won the yusho.  The merchant wondered why he would be  
buying rice when he'd just won 30 bales of it.  Naruto Oyakata also  
said that, although he'd won the Czech trophy several times, he'd  
never tasted the Czech Pilsner that was awarded with it - his oyakata  
apparently enjoyed that.  Shiroikuma kindly brought some for him on a  
visit, much to the Oyakata's delight.  "At last," he cried as he  
drained his glass, "I know what this beer tastes like!"

Visiting Azumazeki Beya one morning, some friends and I were chatting  
with Akebono over a tasty post training (his not ours!!) chanko.  The  
wife of the oyakata, the okamisan, put her head around the doorway and  
admonished the yokozuna saying, "You'd better win this tournament.   
You're eating the last of the beef you won previously."  That prompted  
me to ask about what form the prize took:

Miyazaki prefecture: trophy in the form of a bull, on a stand  
supported by full-frontal male nudes (it weighs around 37 kilograms);  
carcass of prime beef

When we mere mortals buy a side of lamb or quarter of beef and store  
it in the home freezer it's legs, shoulder ribs etc. the whole deal -  
tough and tender meat, but Akebono said that the prize was actually  
delivered as the weight of a steer in prime cuts of beef and that the  
local butcher, from whom the heya usually bought their meat, was kind  
enough to store it for them in his freezer.

What's a year's supply of Coca Cola, beer or gasoline? How much Coke/  
beer can a rikishi drink in a year?  Scary!   Don't know precisely  
about the first two, several cartons of it are delivered post basho to  
the heya based on some kind of calculation of a year's worth, however  
Konishiki told me he got 3000 litres of gas, but that it didn't last a  
year.

How many watches, how many cars can a rikishi wear or drive?  Multiple  
yusho winners generously share these with their family and friends,  
and in the case of the cars, sometimes give them to charity.  A  
Hawaiian friend joked that it was easy to recognize Akebono's  
relatives - they all drove the same kind of car!

Finally, among my yusho winnings recollections, apart from seeing  
"backstage" the contents of Dave Wiggin's favourite "Jug o' Mushrooms"  
being emptied very unceremoniously into a blue plastic garbage bag for  
transport to the heya, is the look of delight on Ozeki Takanonami's  
face after winning the yusho in Kyuushu because one of the  
agricultural prizes there was a large quantity of sato imo -  directly  
translated as "country potato" - a small brown hairy vegetable which  
is like a sticky, slightly sweet potato when cooked.   These were a  
particular favourite of his and he was looking forward to eating them  
back in Tokyo.

I always thoroughly enjoyed watching the awards ceremony.  Seeing the  
startling array of prizes, watching the presenters struggle to lift  
trophies and prizes which were then passed lightly by the winning   
rikishi - literally strong man - to the helpers below, and hearing the  
dignitaries glide or stumble through their reading of the award  
certificate.  The foreign presenters in particular can be entertaining  
in their linguistic struggles but even Japanese presenters sometimes  
mess up.  In Osaka when Yokozuna Onokuni won the yusho someone loudly  
proclaimed he was presenting the prize to Ono Kuniyasu instead of  
Onokuni Yasushi.  Not a big sumo fan, I guess.  I always did feel  
sorry for the yusho's runner up though - amid all those trophies and  
prizes was nothing for him, unless he'd managed to score one of the  
sansho prizes.  Motivation to try harder next time perhaps.

Katrina