[sumo] Fwd: [Sumo news] - Ex-Kyokutenhou talks about Ex-Takanoshana

[Jeff A]

Moti

Best regards,
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 29, 2026 at 3:24 AM
Subject: [Sumo news] - Ex-Kyokutenhou talks about Ex-Takanoshana
To: Sumo Newsletter2 <sumo-newsletter2 at googlegroups.com>


Ex- Toyonoshima hosted  Mongolian born former Sekiwake Kyokutenhou, now
Ooshima Oyakata (51), on his YouTube channel. When Toyonoshima asked, "Who
do you think was the strongest rikishi you faced?", Ooshima Oyakata
replied, "I remember when I faced Takanohana, I wasn't able to do anything.
I just couldn't do anything. I couldn't attack, and before I knew it, I was
outside the dohyo. Of course, there were strong Yokozuna like Asashouryuu
and Hakuhou, but he was different from them. With him (Takanohana), he
would mostly just wait for you as if to say, 'Okay, good job. Thanks for
coming..' I don't know if it's because I was young then, but that's my
impression." He continued, "With the other Yokozuna, once you gain
experience, you might think, 'Maybe I could have succeeded if I had tried
this.' But with Takanohana, I never thought that." During his active
career, Ooshima faced eight Yokozuna: Takanohana, Akebono, Musashimaru,
Asashouryuu, Hakuhou, Harumafuji, Kakuryuu, and Kisenosato. Even from the
perspective of a legend who continued to do sumo for 23 years, Takanohana's
presence was in a class of its own. He further recalls, "The only Mongolian
rikishi who faced Takanohana were Kyokushuuzan, myself, and Asashouryuu. He
was very strong back then." "I only faced him three times, but I won for
the first time on my third try. I heard afterward that I was the only
Mongolian to have beaten Takanohana. I found out later, but I think that's
something to be proud of." He then recalled with a smile, "In the first two
matches, I went in headfirst and it was no contest at all. Before the third
match, my mentor at the time (former Ozeki Asahikuni) told me to 'turn
slightly to the left and try to get a good grip.' I'm not usually capable
of doing something that skillful, but I did it that time. And I won. I got
a good grip and put my head down. I attacked with full force, and I've
never done a throw-down before. Takanohana just fell to the west side where
the salt was. I've never done anything like that before."

   -


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