Sports Japan - 2013/04/14

Apr. 14, Sun.

The March Grand Sumo tournament & The Ozeki's role in Sumo
[Focus]
1. The Ozeki's Role in Sumo
Raiden Tameemon is remembered as the strongest sumo wrestler ever. He only lost 10 bouts in his career but never rose higher than ozeki in the sumo rankings. In the Edo period, yokozuna was an honorary rank and ozeki the top rung for an active wrestler. Even today, a special ceremony is held for promotion to ozeki and ozeki wrestlers receive special treatment.
The championship battle is intense when the ozeki are winning consistently. In the 90's, for example, they included Takanonami Sadahiro. He was nearly 2 meters tall and also fought on a scale rarely seen among Japanese wrestlers. Even when an opponent had the better hold, he would call on his power to lift him out of the ring or throw him to the ground. He was known for busting the traditional forms. He won his first title at the January 1996 tournament by recovering from a bad stance to overcome yokozuna Takanohana and kept his ozeki rank for 37 tournaments, the 7th most in history. He was widely respected as a highly individual wrestler.
Chiyotaikai Ryuji was another ozeki of that same period. His special technique was his spirited thrusting with his hands. The bout he is most remembered for came in January 1999, when, as a sekiwake wrestler, he clinched the title against yokozuna Wakanohana. Both wrestlers flew from the ring almost simultaneously and the championship bout had to be refought for the first time in sumo history. Chiyotaikai won the rematch and was promoted to ozeki, where he carried on to win 2 more titles.
2. A Great Ozeki - Takanohana
Takanohana was a sumo star of the 1970's. One of the most popular sumo wrestlers ever, he had a slender, well-balanced frame and, as younger brother to yokozuna Wakanohana, came to be known as the Prince of Sumo. He was on the small side but strong in both body and limb. He lifted bigger wrestlers than himself and twisted them out of the ring. The sight of Takanohana holding on even with just one leg firmly planted at the edge of the ring led people to say that he had a second soul in his legs and lower back. He had many famous bouts. Against yokozuna Kitanofuji, for example, winner of 10 tournaments, he won with that twisting throw and fell heavily inside the ring. The referee gave the victory to Takanohana but the decision was overruled because it was judged that Kitanofuji's hand, though landing first, had only done so to protect Takanohana from having the full weight of Kitanofuji's body land on top of him. Against Takamiyama, a wrestler from Hawaii, Takanohana was judged to have lost because his topknot hit the dirt fractionally before Takamiyama's hand and Takanohana was left with blood on his face. And then there was the bout with yokozuna Wajima. The two were still promising young sekiwake when they fought a tremendous bout that lasted 4 minutes! Takanohana fought in 50 tournaments and won only 2 earned his place in the memory rather than the record books and left us at the still young age of 55 in 2005. Today, his spirit has been passed on to his younger son, Takanohana, the former yokozuna and present stable master.
[Science Lens]
Racing Cars - The Mechanisms for Reaching 300km/h
Racing cars embody the ultimate in speed. They can go up to 300km/h! The super camera captures the amazing mechanics of these mighty machines.
[Guest]
"H.E." Demon Kakka

Musician and TV personality. Highly knowledgeable about sumo, he is a frequent guest analyst on sumo broadcasts and other sumo-related programs.

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