[sumo] Fwd: [Sumo news] - Wakatakakage- tongue twister..

[Jeff A]

Moti

Funny

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: Fri, Sep 26, 2025 at 5:22 AM
Subject: [Sumo news] - Wakatakakage- tongue twister..
To: Sumo Newsletter2 <sumo-newsletter2 at googlegroups.com>


Wakatakakage. It's pronounced "Wakatakakage." It's a little difficult to
pronounce. How can you say it without stumbling? What's the trick to not
stumbling? When asked about it during the summer jungyo, he said, "I don't
know..." However, he also said, "I understand that it's difficult to
pronounce." Some experts were consulted:
Former NHK announcer Kariya Fujio explains, "You have to be conscious of
the 'taka' sound. Waka, 'taka', 'kage'. It's hard to say them all at once,
so make sure you pronounce the two sounds in the middle. Yasuo Yamada, who
used to commentate on sumo, would often cut up words that were difficult to
say. For example, "Tochitsukasa" can be pronounced as "Tochii Tsukasa." "If
you're not careful, the pronunciation won't be conveyed properly, so if you
focus on the middle, it's easier to say," he said. He currently provides
remote commentary on the sumo bouts of Wakatakakage and Wakamotoharu on
NHK's Fukushima's evening news. That's why, although he "stumbled at
first," he's now resolved that "if I can't say it, there's no point in
talking about it."
Seino Shigeki, the announcer who provides commentary for Abema Grand Sumo
LIVE, explained, "You have to pronounce the first 'ta' sound strongly. The
'ta' sound is difficult. I've never tripped up (Wakatakakage), but I'm
careful. It's definitely difficult to pronounce."  Shigeo, the yobidashi
who calls out the names of the sanyaku rikishi - how does he feel about
this? "I don't trip up... I try to say each character clearly. I get
nervous no matter who I'm calling out. Shishi is more difficult. Nishi,
Shishi becomes 'Nishi~shii~, Shii~shii~'. The same goes for Nishikigi.
(Wakatakakage) seems like you can trip up when you speak it..
What about the gyoji? During the Makuuchi dohyo-iri, the gyoji announces,
"Wakatakakage, from Fukushima Prefecture, Araiso stable." From the first
day onwards, the announcing gyoji will be Makushita-ranked Shikimori
Terunonori, and from the ninth day to the final day, it will be Kimura
Kazuma. Terunonori has unique strengths and weaknesses. "I'm not bad at
(Wakatakakage) at all. I've never blown it, so I've never really thought
about it. I know it's hard to say, but different people have their
strengths and weaknesses. I couldn't say 'Tochinonada'. When I tried to
think about it, it was even worse. I don't know why, but I couldn't say
'Kitakyushu City, Kokuraminami Ward' either... When I couldn't, I failed
two or three times."
Makushita gyoji Kimura Kazuma  explained his trick, saying, "(Wakatakakage)
was hard to say at first, but I got used to it. It's not easy to say, is
it? There have been times when I thought it was hard to say, but I've never
tripped up. If you say 'ta' clearly, I think 'ka' will follow."
Please give it a try.
Sasaki Ichiro (Nikkan Sports.com/ top sumo journalist -  "Behind the Scenes
of Grand Sumo")

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