[sumo] Fwd: [Sumo news] - After basho tidbits

[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: Sun, Mar 22, 2026 at 7:34 AM
Subject: [Sumo news] - After basho tidbits
To: Sumo Newsletter2 <sumo-newsletter2 at googlegroups.com>


Kyokai Chairman Hakkaku has criticized Houshouryuu, who has yet to win a
yusho since being promoted to Yokozuna at last year's Haru Basho.
Houshouryuu lost to Kirishima on the 13th day, dropping him out of
contention for the yusho. On day 14, he lost to Ozeki Kotozakura, which
secured Kirishima's victory. Hakkaku harshly criticized Houshouryuu,
saying, "Houshouryuu was no good. Yesterday's sumo was his worst. A
Yokozuna who allows a 12 win yusho is no good." He continued, "He needs to
reconsider his tenacity. In the first half of the basho, he lost to
opponents who had nothing going for them. He needs to rethink his mental
game." Houshouryuu has achieved double-digit wins for four consecutive
bashos, but he hasn't had a breakthrough performance. Chairman Hakkaku
said, "He needs to develop one signature style. His tachiai is different
every time. He should standardize his tachiai. Whether he tries to get a
good grip, a bad grip, or pulls, there isn't one thing he can do that
works, so when he's not in form, nothing he does works. He might win 10
matches like that, but that's the problem."

Rikishi brothers Makuuchi Asakouryuu (27) and Juryo Asasuiryuu (25, both
from Takasago beya), fought through 15 days of the basho while carrying
deep sorrow. On the morning of February 27th, before this basho, their
mother, Naomi Ishizaki, passed away at the young age of 58. The cancer had
metastasized from her duodenum to her liver. When  she was diagnosed with
the cancer three years before his promotion to Juryo, it was already at
stage 4. Asakouryuu said during the basho, "I was told she only had a year
to live, but she did her best. I'm glad I was able to show her that I made
it to Makuuchi." His younger brother, Juryo Asasuiryuu, entered the sumo
world after working in the corporate world for a year after graduating from
Nippon Sport Science University, and revealed that the main reason was
"because my mother wanted me to go into professional sumo, I wanted to show
her that I had become a sekitori ." That's why he said, "What I regret most
is that I couldn't show her the sight of the brothers entering the Makuuchi
together," as he looked into the distance.

In a rare case, it was the mother, not the father, who guided the brothers
down the path of sumo wrestling with strict keiko regimens. It all began
when the older brother, Asakouryuu, was in the second grade of elementary
school. He was defeated in the first round of the Shijonawate City Wanpaku
Sumo Tournament in Osaka, his first time participating as a complete
beginner. Naomi then bought a punching bag. At home, he would repeatedly
charge into it like a tackle, and he was made to do 1300 push-ups every
day. As a result, Asakouryuu won the same tourney the following year.
Invited by those involved, he began practicing sumo seriously at the
Shijonawate Sumo Federation from the third grade of elementary school. And
Asasuiryuu followed a similar path. Both brothers were able to be present
at their family home in Shijonawate City, Osaka, in her final moments. "She
passed away not during the Haru Basho, but right before it started, and she
was thinking of us until the very end. She said, 'I don't want to die and
hold you back.' It's no exaggeration to say that I continued sumo from a
young age to make my mother happy. She passed away about 10 minutes after
we got home. My mother's last words were, 'Ryoma (Asasuiryuu) has a weak
mentality, so do something about it.' She was worried about sumo until the
very end. If I get weak now, I won't be able to properly honor her memory."
(Asakouryuu)

Asasuiryuū said, "I tried not to think about (my mother's death) during the
basho. I wasn't able to get a kachikoshi, so I'll do my best to aim for
Makuuchi next basho." He dreams of the day when he and his brother can
enter the dohyo together in the Makuuchi, a wish his mother in heaven had
always had. [Fumita Takada]

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