All Japan Amateur Yokozuna

["Katrina" <katrina@shoin.ac.jp>]

The Emperor and Empress were at the Kokugikan today to see 3rd year Nihon 
Taiku Daigaku student, Masatsugu Ohnishi, win the Emperor's Cup trophy.

The competition has it's preliminaries in the morning with all contestants
(a total of 60: 25 from the corporate league 33 from college and  2 from
high school) competing three times. Those with two or more losses are
eliminated and the rest (41 competitors today) draw numbered sticks to
decide the line up for the tournament finals in the afternoon.

The contestants are the best from competitions which have been held
throughout the year, including national and regional  high school, college
and corporate league tourneys as well as international ones such as the
World Junior Sumo Championships and Asian Championships.  This results in a
wide age range with the oldest this year being 36 year old Kazuyori
Matsumoto from the corporate league and the youngest, 17 year old Yuya
Morishita, the All Japan High School Yokozuna.   The other high school boy,
Takayuki Ichihara ( 18 years old 182cm 150 kg), who earned his place with a
win at this year's World Juniors, made it through the preliminaries, but
lost in the first round of the finals tournament.

Toyo Daigaku's Hideki Yokoyama, who won the All Japan College Yokozuna title
last month, failed to even make it to the finals, and heavily favoured 4th
year Nihon University student, Izumi Uchida, lost to the winner, Ohnishi, in
the second round of the finals.  Previous winner of this title, last year's
runner up and former world champion, Takahisa Osanai also lost in the second
round of the finals to corporate veteran Matsumoto.  Perhaps both Uchida and
Osanai were suffering from jet lag and lack of keiko, having only returned
to Japan on Friday from this year's World Championships in Poland last
weekend.  However Osanai  appears to be past his prime as he put in a very
lackluster performance at that event as well.

The boys from Nichidai were falling like dominoes with the exception of
strong 1st year student Keisho Shimoda.  Despite his size, or lack of it,
(173 cm 120kg) Shimoda has been strong since his high school days, taking a
title at the World Juniors last year, and this May, and winning the East
Japan "Newboys' Tournament (shinjinsen) for 1st year college students.
Shimoda defeated Kanazawa High School teacher, Shigeaki Yamagami (former
Nichidai), to proceed to the final round with Ohnishi.  Ohnishi defeated
Chuo University's Satoru Shibuya to get to there.

To recap the winners:
Round 0ne
O Onishi    (bye)
O Shimoda  (bye)
O Yamagami X Maekawa (Kyoto Water Board)
O Shibuya  X Tazawa (Daitobunka Daigaku)
Round Two
O Onishi  X  Uchida (Nichidai 4th year)
O Shimoda X  Toganoki (Corporate)
O Yamagami X Satoyama (Nichidai 3rd year)
O Shibuya  X Noda (Doshisha 4th year)
Quarter Final
O Onishi  X  Matsumoto ( Corporate)
O Shimoda X  Nakano (Toyo Daigaku 3rd year)
O Yamagami X  Hikage (Akita Prefecture)
O Shibuya  X  Tsubakimoto (Kansai Gakuin 3rd year)
Semi Final
O Onishi  X   Shibuya
O Shimoda X Yamagami
Final
O Onishi  X   Shimoda


Toshio Takahama, older brother of Oitekaze beya's Hamanishiki, lost in the
first round of the finals to Matsumoto, but he didn't go home empty handed.
Along with Akihide Asada, from the Wakayama Prefectural Office, and Eiichi
Tanaka,  of the Kyoto Educators' Team, Takahama - himself a social studies
teacher in Kumamoto - received a certificate commemorating 10 years of
participation in the tournament (starting from their college days of
course).

Not so lucky, former Musashigawa beya sandanme rikishi Wakanoumi, now
participating under his real name of Hisashi Maeda for the Wakayama
Prefectural Office, lost in the first round of the finals.  He promised to
train harder and come back for a better result next year.

The lack of jungyo presented many rikishi with the opportunity to visit the
Kokugikan as spectators.  In particular former college sekitoris, like
Tochinonada and Takamisakari, came to cheer for their old schools, and quite
a few lower ranked college trained rikishi lent their support too.  Some
oyakatas were present, probably on the look out for new talent, and there
was plenty on offer.  Kotonowaka and his wife were there with their son, who
at 5 years old looks big and strong enough to take on a few elementary
school opponents already.  Russian brothers, Roho and Hakurozan came to
check out the amateurs and see some of the competitors they'd met in past
international competitions.  Roho's Japanese is getting very good, but
Hakurozan, who is a bit shy and not very talkative even in Russian, seems to
be making little linguistic progress.  Maybe he's just concentrating on his
sumo and leaving the yusho interviews in Japanese to big brother Roho, who
is determined to get zensho next basho.

It was an exciting and enjoyable day and the Imperial couple looked as if
they would agree with that assessment too.  New Yokozuna Ohnishi has
developed amazing strength over the past year and looks to have a bright
future in his final year at college, but there are many who will be working
hard to knock him from his pedestal in 2003.

Katrina