[sumo] Fwd: [Sumo news] - Tamawashi - is he slowing down?

[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: Sat, Aug 23, 2025 at 11:44 AM
Subject: [Sumo news] - Tamawashi - is he slowing down?
To: Sumo Newsletter2 <sumo-newsletter2 at googlegroups.com>


Tamawashi continues to perform beyond his years. He also showed his
vitality at the Nagoya basho. Tamawashi, now 40, is widely known as one of
the most durable wrestlers in history. From his debut in the 2004 Hatsu
Basho to the 2025 Nagoya tournament, he is currently breaking the all-time
record for consecutive appearances (1,718 as of the end of the 2025 Nagoya
basho). He has long been nicknamed the "Iron Man of Sumo." Not only is he
durable, but his consistent strength is also noteworthy. At the 2025 Nagoya
basho, where he competed as Maegashira 4W, he defeated one Yokozuna, one
Sekiwake, and two Komusubi to finish with an 11-4 record, earning him his
third Outstanding Performance Award. At the Aki  basho, there's a chance
he'll return to the Sanyaku ranks for the first time since the 2022 Kyushu
basho. Judging by his impressive performances overcoming rikishi in their
twenties, it seems likely he'll continue to demonstrate his high-level
abilities for some time to come. On August 20, however, Tamawashi submitted
a medical certificate to the Kyokai stating that he had "degenerative
lumbar spondylosis and acute lower back pain," and multiple media outlets
reported that he was withdrawing from the jungyo he was currently
participating in. While the extent of his symptoms and their impact on the
Aki basho are currently unknown, this is a worrying accident that could
potentially affect his future career.

Could this lead to retirement? Sumo is broadly divided into two styles:
yotsu-zumo and oshi-zumo. In both styles, the lower back plays a crucial
role in both offense and defense. The importance of the lower back is
evident from the fact that rikishi regularly train by doing shiko to
strengthen the muscles around the lower back and buttocks, and by doing
matawari  to develop flexibility in the hip joints and core strength.
Injuring the lower back not only impacts matches, but can also lead to
serious long-term risks of recurrence. Among active rikishi, the case of
Takayasu, who was ranked at Komusubi West in the recent Nagoya basho, is
well-known. Takayasu, who was was kadoban at Ozeki at the 2019 Kyushu
basho, suffered a slipped disc just before his bout on the 8th day, and was
sidelined from that day until the final day of the tournament. This
impacted him, causing him to lose his Ozeki rank. He has since frequently
missed matches due to back pain, and was forced to withdraw from the
ongoing jungyo. Lower back pain has also led to a number of rikishi leaving
the dohyo in the past. Otowayama Oyakata (former Yokozuna Kakuryuu) missed
the entire 2020 Aki basho and the 2021 Hatsu basho due to back pain. This
meant that the Haru basho that year was a crucial stage for his future, but
he decided to retire after suffering a strain in his left thigh just before
the basho.

Tamawashi is a rikishi  who has honed his thrusting technique since his
debut. However, due to the nature of the technique, which requires using
the entire body to engage in offense and defense, it is said to place a
greater strain on the body than yotsu-zumo. After more than 20 years of
continuous, uninterrupted activity on the dohyo, significant fatigue may
have accumulated in his lower back. It is also possible that the jungyos he
had participated in up until this point contributed to the worsening of his
symptoms. The Kyokai  official website has a page detailing the jungyo
schedule, titled "A Day in the Jungyo." According to this page, rikishi
board a bus to the jungyo location the day before and participate in the
jungyo from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM the following day. After the day's jungyo
they immediately board a bus and head to the next location. It is not
difficult to imagine that Tamawashi's body gradually wore down from
repeated jungyos and long-distance travel without rest. Even if rikishi
suffer an injury, they usually continue to compete on the dohyo without
showing it. Tamawashi is a prime example of a rikishi who has never missed
a tournament since his debut, so his decision to sit out the summer jungyo
carries a heavy weight. There are about three weeks until the start of the
next Aki basho on September 14th, and we can only hope that his symptoms
will improve even a little during this time.

Written by Masato Shibata, Sporting News

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