[sumo] Fwd: [Sumo news] - Meet Fujinokawa VI..

[Jeff A]

Moti

Best regards,
Jeffrey Anderson
Gaijingai
For of all sad words of tongue or pen,
The saddest are these:
It might have been.
- John Greenleaf Whittier


---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Moti Dichne <niramiai at gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Aug 12, 2025 at 2:37 AM
Subject: [Sumo news] - Meet Fujinokawa VI..
To: Sumo Newsletter2 <sumo-newsletter2 at googlegroups.com>


The world of sumo has traditional shikona  that have been passed down
through the generations for decades. New rikishi are expected to live up to
their names, and 20-year-old Maegashira Fujinokawa delivered a performance
that lived up to expectations at the Nagoya basho. Fujinokawa,  the eldest
son of Isenoumi beya based Kabutoyama Oyakata, graduated from the
prestigious Saitama Sakae High School and made his debut at the 2023 New
Year basho. Starting the following Haru basho, he had 10 consecutive
kachikoshi  to reach Juryo and even was listed on the world famous and
slightly prestigious lower division celebs list. He quickly passed through
Juryo in just four bashos and made his Makuuchi debut in Nagoya, where he
changed his shikona from "Wakaikari" to "Fujinokawa."

"Fujinokawa" is a highly respected shikona that has been passed down
at Isenoumi beya since the Meiji era. Entering the Nagoya basho as the
sixth generation, Fujinokawa stumbled with two straight losses on the first
days, but had five consecutive wins from Days 3 to 7. He struggled with a
1-3 record from the middle day through Day 11, but finished with four
consecutive wins (including one fusensho) from Day 12 to the final day of
the basho. He achieved double-digit wins in his debut tournament, earning
his first Fighting Spirit Prize. Fujinokawa was initially expected to
inherit the "Ooikari"  shikona his father used during his active career,
but it was at the request of the previous Isenoumi Oyakata  (former
Sekiwake, 4th generation Fujinokawa), that he decided to "adopt" the 6th
generation shikona. He is expected to continue to shine next basho and
beyond, but to do so, he will need to overcome the "26-year-old barrier"
that both his predecessors, the Fujinokawas before him, could not cross.
Both the previous two suffered from injuries.. Since 1958, when the
six-basho a year system was established, the 4th Fujinokawa was active at
Isenoumi stable from 1961 to 1972, and the 5th Fujinokawa from 1983 to
1987. Although the length of their careers differed, both retired from sumo
at the young age of 26.

The fourth Fujinokawa  <https://sumodb.sumogames.de/Rikishi.aspx?r=4043>took
about five years to make his Makuuchi debut in the Natsu basho of 1961, but
he made a significant impact in Makuuchi , spending seven bashos in
sanyaku  (two Sekiwake bashos, five Komusubi bashos), winning seven special
prizes (one Outstanding Performance Prize,  four Technique Prizes, and two
Fighting Spirit Prizes), and four kinboshi. He changed his shikona to
Fujinokawa at the first basho of 1966, when he was promoted to Juryo .
However, in the Nagoya basho of 1971, he suffered a serious injury, a broken
left fibula
<https://hartfordhospital.org/services/bone-joint-institute/conditions/sports-injuries/fractured-fibula>,
dropping him to Juryo . Then, in Aki of 1972, his second basho back in
Makuuchi, he suffered a contusion to the lateral malleolus
<https://www.webmd.com/first-aid/know-about-lateral-malleolus-fracture> of
his right foot, dropping him back to Juryo. This was the deciding factor,
and he announced his retirement before the following Kyushu basho.

The fifth Fujinokawa <https://sumodb.sumogames.de/Rikishi.aspx?r=4137>, who
had won 17 titles as an amateur, made his debut in the March of 1983 as a
Makushita tsukedashi. After three bashos in Makushita and nine in Juryo he
took the name Fujinokawa in his third basho in Makuuchi in Nagoya 1985.
However, due to a back injury he had been suffering from for some time, he
was unable to reach sanyaku and fell to Juryo in Hatsu of 1987 and to
Makushita in Haru the following year. He changed his shikona back to his
real name, "Hattori," but was unable to make a comeback and retired after
the  Nagoya basho that year.

Fujinokawa Mark VI is quite small, ranking 38th (176 cm) and 41st (117 kg)
out of 42 makuuchi wrestlers at the Nagoya basho, but he has risen through
the ranks thanks to his sharp tachiai and versatile attacking style.
However, facing larger wrestlers day after day seems to take its toll, and
he was forced to withdraw from this year's Hatsu Basho due to a distal
rupture of his left biceps tendon. From the following basho through the
Nagoya tournament, he is on a kachikoshi streak for three consecutive
tournaments, but in his match against Maegashira Kotoshouhou on the fourth
day of the basho, he appeared to be concerned about his left arm after a
monoii was called on the first bout. How he prevents injuries to this and
other parts of his lower body, which are vital for small wrestlers, will
determine his future career. It is also important for him to continue and
thoroughly adopt the same aggressive, forward-thinking style of sumo as he
has done in the past. On the other hand, if he starts to use more defensive
sumo, he will find himself in more positions that put a lot of strain on
his body, which could result in a potentially serious injury. Having won 10
matches in Nagoya, where he was ranked Maegashira 14W, Fujinokawa is
expected to rise to around Maegashira 9th in the Aki banzuke. His biggest
goal at the moment is to be promoted to sanyaku, but will he be able to
surpass his predecessors?

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