[sumo] Kitazakura Toyozakura Interview Part 1

[Joe Kuroda <joe_kuroda@yahoo.com>]

This is from an interview section in Sumo Magazine
called "Friendly Talk" - in this September issue, the
interview was done with Toyozakura and Kitazakura (it
was conducted after the Nagoya Basho, before the Aki
Basho.)

Actually it has more to do with Toyozakura's
performance in the Nagoya Basho but you can also get a
glimpse of Kitazakura's personality.

So here's Part 1 of 2 parts (I will translate the next
shortly):

===================================================

-Sumo Magazine: Last time we did an interview with
you, Toyozakura-zeki just made the Juryo debut so it
has been six years.
Kitazakura : How many bashos were you in Makushita
since you fell from your Juryo debut basho? About a
year?
Toyozakura : Over a year. I think it's around 10
bashos.
Kitazakua : If you were there for 10 bashos, that was
a kind of waste of time, wasn't it. I've fallen down
often too. I fell five times, a total of six bashos. I
was stuck in Makushita for over a year.

Sumo: What was the hardest thing while you were in
Makushita after you were demoted from Juryo?
Toyo: I've gone down due to an injury so until I had
recovered from it, that was the toughest time for me.
To be honest there were times when I was thinking of
leaving. 

Sumo: Have you talked to each other as brothers in
such a time?
Kita: We've talked a lot. I guess we can talk about it
now but at the time, you were crying a lot.
Toyo: Yeah, true, I've cried a lot.
Kita: I was worried about a surgery then, whether to
do a surgery or not. But when I think about it now, it
turned out he was better off not having it. 
Toyo: Well, we still are not sure how it turned out
though.

Sumo: The injury you are speaking of is the one you
suffered when you made your Juryo debut.
Kita: Right. In the Juryo debut basho, he had 7 wins
and 6 losses record on the Day 14 and he managed to
get himself injured. On the Senshuraku he went in
after getting a shot of painkiller, but it was simply
no contest. 
Toyo: It was a badly twisted ankle. I had some damages
in the ligaments too, as well as some broken bones.
Since it was only for one day, I just had it taped up
tightly and got a shot of painkiller. If I got
Makekoshi, I'd go down to Makushita so I pushed myself
through but it was no use.
Kita: Since he went back on the Senshuraku, he didn't
qualify for a Kosho status so he had to go back the
next basho. But he couldn't do any training whatsoever
to prepare for the basho.

Toyo: After I got to Fukuoka (for Kyushu Basho), I
went back to Tokyo to get it check over again. I
withdrew for three days and decided to enter but I
ended up only winning two bouts.
Kita: And after that basho, he just did this climbing
up a bit and falling down a bit routine and stayed
down there for 10 bashos.
Toyo: Even once I got back in Juryo, I stayed for two
bashos and fell down, and then came up for three
bashos and went down again. I just could not stay in
Juryo for a long.

Sumo: In those days, as an older brother, what have
you been saying to your younger brother?
Kita: Two of us discussed about getting a firm grip on
the injury and how to best respond to it. 

Sumo: When were you able to start training again?
Toyo: I started resuming working out about in January
but it was still so painful so I needed to rest quite
a bit. Even in March it was more like I work out a bit
and then I rest a bit type of thing. I really couldn't
train well at all.
Kita: You know, we went through a pretty tough time
there. But even going through such a difficulty, him
getting the Kantosho and the fact that right now both
of us together are able to compete as Makuuchi
rikishis, we are really happy.

Toyo: How many times in the sumo history did we have
two brothers, competing at the same time in Makuuchi?
Sumo: You guys are the fifth in the sumo history.
Toyo: We have Terao-zeki, Waka-Taka, Ogi-zeki and who
else?
Kita: I believe Tanikaze...
Toyo: So we are the fifth brothers. Wow!
Kita: For the brothers belonging to a different heya,
aren't we the first?

Sumo: You are correct. But perhaps very soon we may
have the sixth. 
Toyo: Huh? Who are they?
Sumo: Roho and Hakurozan.
Kita: Well, they haven't faced any major injury yet.
It could be possible they may get an injury as it's
never a smooth sailing. You never know. This is sumo
so you can never go on without suffering some type of
injury so you need to wait and see. 
Sumo: I guess it's true that you have to live with
your injuries.

Sumo: In the Nagoya, both of you had good records.
Kitazakura-zeki, you had consecuetive wins, didn't
you?
Kita: Well in my case I was just lucky. But how many
wins did you have?
Toyo: I won four straight, lost one, two straight
wins, one loss, two straight wins and another loss and
then finished with four straight wins. 
Kita: That's amazing. I won nine straight, too. So
it's really amazing (laugh).

Sumo: Until the Senshuraku, you both had a chance of
winning the Yusho.
Kita: If you just looked at the record, that's true,
but I never even thought about it at all. The winning
streak was just one of those things, you know. The
thing that pleased me the most was that I was able to
get Kachikoshi without getting any injury. I was
thinking even if I did get Makekoshi, if I could
finish without suffering any injury, I would be happy.
Actually around from the Day 14 onwards, I was more
concerned what Toyozakura-zeki was doing, far more
than my own situation. 

Sumo: He was in the Makuuchi Yusho race and at that
point, his winning a Sansho-award was pretty certain.
Kita: Well he has the same DNA as I have, it's just
the way it's been lined up is little different. So
from a point of view of someone sharing the same DNA,
I was so happy that the same DNA got the Kantosho
award (laugh). Actually not only I was really happy,
it gave me a tremendous motivation.

Sumo: Toyozakura-zeki, you stepped on the dohyo after
seeing your older brother competed, so I think it must
have given you a motivation as well. 
Toyo: Yes, that's true. It really gave me a boost.

Sumo: You'd always watch his bouts every day.
Toyo: Hmm...actually I missed several. What can I
say...I've forgotten to see it.
Kita: You didn't want to watch it, did you? 
Toyo: I just forgot about it. That's all. Like...oh it
was already over, you know. I figured there was no
point in worrying about it so much.
Kita: Well actually I have't seen all of his bouts
either so...it's each individual's battle.
Toyo: This isn't a "friendly talk" at all then!
Kita: Hahahaha. But since you were winning you had a
time to relax a bit.
Toyo: He had a pretty good record then so I figured
even if he dropped one or two...
Sumo: Do you worry more when you two are not doing so
well?
Toyo: Yes, especially when there is an injury
involved.

Sumo: Weren't your father (former Sandanme with
Tokitsukaze Beya) Yoshiharu, happy about your record? 
Toyo: He was very happy. As soon as the basho was
over, I immediately called him but he sounded rather
nervous. Apparently there was a reporter from a local
paper (the Chugoku Shimbun) there and he sounded like
a stranger.
Kita: That's because the comment would get printed in
the paper. 

Sumo: He must have been ecstatic.
Kita: When an older brother like myself was that
happy, I imagined he must have been way way happier. I
hope he will try to do his best to stay healthy and
live long by seeing both of us doing our best (laugh).
Toyo: Exactly.
Kita: Hahaha. But we are starting to sound rather
serious.

Sumo: Your first Kachikoshi in your third Makuuchi
Basho was 12 wins.
Toyo: My objective was to get Kachikoshi so I've
outdone myself.
Kita: This was your third Makuuchi basho?
Toyo: Right. It was my third.
Kita: The next one is my fourth.
Toyo: So that means we have the same number of
Makuuchi bashos under our belt.
Kita: In your just fourth basho, you'd be going up
pretty high in the Banzuke. I must work much harder.

Sumo: You should go up pretty high.
Toyo: I figure I would climb up to around M5.
(note: Toyozakura went up to M5 from M14). 

Sumo: It's a position that you may or may not face the
yokozuna or ozekis.
Kita: If you get Kachikoshi at that rank, you may get
to Maegashira 1 or possibly even a Sanyaku.
Toyo: To get to a Sanyaku, I probably need to win 13
bouts or so. It's pretty crowded up in the top ranks. 
Kita: That may not be so. If a higher rank gets
Makekoshi and Sanyaku rikishis also get Makekoshi, you
will definitely have a good chance. So why don't you
just shoot for a Sanyaku as well?
Toyo: It never goes that smooth.
(note: Toyozakura finished the Aki with 5 wins and 10
losses.)

(continues....) 

=====
.....Jonosuke 
  <  Heart  Technique  Physique      &#24515;&#12288;&#25216;&#12288;&#20307;&#12288;>

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[EndPost by Joe Kuroda <joe_kuroda@yahoo.com>]