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[sumo] A Wakanosato Story
Wakanosato Shinobu - Naruto Beya
---------------------------------
Born: July 10, 1976
Place: Hirosaki-shi Aomori Prefecture
School : Shinwa Elementary School
Hirosaki No.2 Middle School
Dohyo Debut: March 1992
Juryo Debut: November 1997
Makuuchi Debut: May 1998
Yusho: Jonokuchi(1), Makushita(1), Juryo(1)
Wakanosato Story as told by his father and mother
--------------------------------------------------
- From Sumo Magazine, October 1999
When he was born, he weighed 3,800 grams. Our eldest
son was 4,200 grams so we didn't think he was
particularly big.?@But then he just ate so much. By
the time he entered a kindergarten, he was already so
much bigger than other?@kids. When he was in Grade 3
or 4, we couldn't fit him any children's clothes and
we needed to make his clothes custom-made.
He loved to eat meat. He could eat one kilo easy. He
used to eat all our leftovers so we used to call him a
vacuum cleaner (laughs). His brother was eight years
older than him and whenever they had a fight it was
over food. Like?@who had more servings or who got more
plates etc...they used to argue all the time. Since
his older brother was a big boy too, 182 cm tall and
weighed around 100 kg, you?@should have seen those two
eat, it was really a sight to behold.
Shinobu is the youngest with an older brother and
older sister, so he was a bit more spoiled and used to
follow around his mother a lot. But then he had a
rather cheerful
personality and very outgoing. He could make friends
easily and was a very popular child through
kindergarten and elementary school.
He never caused any mischief nor troubled us at all.
He used to help out a lot at the orchard (his father
owns an apple orchard). As he was already big and
strong, he could do the job of a full adult worker. He
was an enormously helpful member for us. Often the
other people told us the work must have been done by a
grown man. We really can't say enough about the amount
of work he did for us back then.
As he was huge, he didn't run quickly but he loved
sports and just about tried every kind of sports there
is. He especially loved skiing. We used to drop him at
the slopes
in the morning and he would be skiing by himself all
day long until we picked him t the evening.
The first time he tried sumo was when he was in Grade
3. Because he was a big kid, he was invited to
participate in a sumo tournament for those Grade 4 and
older kids. Then what do you know, he placed in the
third place and brought home a trophy. It was pretty
small one but for a kid it must have meant so much. He
started sumo soon after but initially we thought he
kept at it because he was so
looking forward to get more trophies and certificates.
In kids sumo at the time no special techniques were
required so big kids usually won. So Shinobu who was
pretty big kid won many tournaments. We still have
many trophies and certificates from those days at
home.
Whenever there was a tournament we used to go and
cheer for him. We were really into it. We could hardly
watch the last bout of his, you know. But then that's
still the same today. (laughs)
Once he started a middle school, he started going to a
sumo dojo. He had the practice every single day. In
those days he was totally into sumo. There was no such
thing as a summer nor winter vacation for us. We don't
recall taking any family trip to anywhere in those
days. Once we noticed the skins got torn off from his
feet and got him a pair of tabi socks. It was just too
painful to see. But he never once said he wanted to
take a rest nor quit. He didn't even take a time out
when he broke his shoulder bones.
When he was in middle school (Grade 9), there was an
Ozumo Jyungyo tour at Hirosaki City and he got
Takahanada (then Komusubi, later Yokozuna Takanohana)
to lend him the chest. We missed the tour day but we
saw it on the Jyungyo
coverage program shown on a local TV station.
Takahanada must have been his idol at the time as he
came back home all smiling and happy with his
autograph. It must have been the best memory of his
young life as he must still have the next day's
newspaper clipping with him.
When he graduated from the middle school, he received
an invitation from four or five heyas but it was
Shinobu who decided to join Naruto Beya all on his
own. At the time it was relatively new so we were bit
worried. "If I go to a larger heya, I may finish my
life carrying around other people's clothings,"
Shinobu explained.
Actually while he was still in the school, he visited
the heya in Tokyo and probably made up his mind.
Apparently a heya's supporter took a liking to him and
he told us on the New Year's Eve, he would be going to
Tokyo. It was totally unexpected so we were really
surprised but then we never imagined he was thinking
of joining Ozumo at the time. Like we figured he just
wanted to go for a visit because he loved sumo so
much.
After he came back home, he never talked about it and
we didn't ask. Until his graduation in March, there
were several oyakatas came to see us but he just sat
there and never uttered a word. So we figured he would
go on to a high school (note: he actually was admitted
to Hirosaki Jitsugyo High School, among its graduates
Takamisakari and Iwakiyama).
At the graduation when Naruto oyakata came to visit
us, he appeared to have already made up his mind to
join the heya. As he looked to be very determined, we
decided to respect his decision.
We were sure the life must have been tough at the
beginning but he never said a word to us. It was
really a shock to read in a magazine article of a
comment made by him that, "there were often times he
wet his pillow because Keiko has been so hard". But as
he got stronger, we believe he must be feeling he has
made the right choice by entering in the sumo world.
These days he only comes back home about once a year.
He won't call home unless there is something really
important. when he has been going well, he sometimes
called but when he was doing badly, then not at all...
Of course it's rather difficult for us to call him in
a time like that too.
He has never been a talkative person. He won't make an
initiative to start a conversation. When someone asks
him. then he will answer. So for us, it's no news is
good news. Right now watching our son's sumo is half
fun and half concern. It's been almost a year since
his right knee injury (Day 13 Kyushu Basho, 1998) but
it doesn't look like he has fully recovered from it.
An injury is something we most fear. We are sure that
it's the hardest thing when he cannot compete. So just
no injuries... we think as parents, that is our sole
wish, nothing else.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
A trivia for you: Wakanosato was a Tachimochi for
Wakanohana III Yokozuna Dohyo -iri.
=====
.....Jonosuke
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