Wakatakakage- tongue twister..

[Moti Dichne]

Wakatakakage. It's pronounced "Wakatakakage." It's a little difficult to pronounce. How can you say it without stumbling? What's the trick to not stumbling? When asked about it during the summer jungyo, he said, "I don't know..." However, he also said, "I understand that it's difficult to pronounce." Some experts were consulted:

Former NHK announcer Kariya Fujio explains, "You have to be conscious of the 'taka' sound. Waka, 'taka', 'kage'. It's hard to say them all at once, so make sure you pronounce the two sounds in the middle. Yasuo Yamada, who used to commentate on sumo, would often cut up words that were difficult to say. For example, "Tochitsukasa" can be pronounced as "Tochii Tsukasa." "If you're not careful, the pronunciation won't be conveyed properly, so if you focus on the middle, it's easier to say," he said. He currently provides remote commentary on the sumo bouts of Wakatakakage and Wakamotoharu on NHK's Fukushima's evening news. That's why, although he "stumbled at first," he's now resolved that "if I can't say it, there's no point in talking about it."

Seino Shigeki, the announcer who provides commentary for Abema Grand Sumo LIVE, explained, "You have to pronounce the first 'ta' sound strongly. The 'ta' sound is difficult. I've never tripped up (Wakatakakage), but I'm careful. It's definitely difficult to pronounce."  Shigeo, the yobidashi who calls out the names of the sanyaku rikishi - how does he feel about this? "I don't trip up... I try to say each character clearly. I get nervous no matter who I'm calling out. Shishi is more difficult. Nishi, Shishi becomes 'Nishi~shii~, Shii~shii~'. The same goes for Nishikigi. (Wakatakakage) seems like you can trip up when you speak it..

What about the gyoji? During the Makuuchi dohyo-iri, the gyoji announces, "Wakatakakage, from Fukushima Prefecture, Araiso stable." From the first day onwards, the announcing gyoji will be Makushita-ranked Shikimori Terunonori, and from the ninth day to the final day, it will be Kimura Kazuma. Terunonori has unique strengths and weaknesses. "I'm not bad at (Wakatakakage) at all. I've never blown it, so I've never really thought about it. I know it's hard to say, but different people have their strengths and weaknesses. I couldn't say 'Tochinonada'. When I tried to think about it, it was even worse. I don't know why, but I couldn't say 'Kitakyushu City, Kokuraminami Ward' either... When I couldn't, I failed two or three times."

Makushita gyoji Kimura Kazuma  explained his trick, saying, "(Wakatakakage) was hard to say at first, but I got used to it. It's not easy to say, is it? There have been times when I thought it was hard to say, but I've never tripped up. If you say 'ta' clearly, I think 'ka' will follow."

Please give it a try.

Sasaki Ichiro (Nikkan Sports.com/ top sumo journalist -  "Behind the Scenes of Grand Sumo")