Re: Takanohana and humility

[Gunnar Jeschke <jeschke@mpip-mainz.mpg.de>]

OhSumo@aol.com wrote:

> I missed Takanohana coming up through the ranks, but always wondered
> that he
> had 7 wins before he was made a yokozuna.  Is this the reason - to
> teach him
> humility?

IMHO not. The reason was that Konishiki had been denied promotion
because he did not come up with back-to-back yusho. And Takanohana just
could not win outside of Tokyo at that time, so his pattern was more or
less yusho- no yusho- yusho- no yusho... Occasionally he had something
like an 11:4 performance in between yusho, one time he went makekoshi
(7:8), he was sick in this basho. I still think after his sixth yusho
(the first 15:0) he had deserved promotion, but denying it so long made
him all the better.

> Was he really arrogant?

I don't know him personally, but I don't think so. Much of this opinion
is "social envy", as Taka's rise looked too effortless in the beginning
and his sumo still looks. Sometimes his style seems to tell: Look, you
do all your best, but I still win easily.

Gunnar