Interview with Tamawashi
Moti Dichne
Tamawashi (Kataonami beya), 40 years and 4 months old, is ranked at Maegashira 7 west for the Haru Basho. His consecutive appearances since his debut are the longest in history. but there are about two other records that he may break every tournament.. He doesn't really care about that anymore, and it's become customary for him to answer, "Maybe it will become a topic of conversation after I retire." He won nine bouts last tournament, becoming the second person in history to get a kachikoshi in two tournaments in a row in his 40s. On the final day of the tournament, he lost to Kotoshouhou in the bout for the Fighting Spirit Award, missing out on tying Kyokutenhou for the record for being the oldest rikishi to win one of the three sanshos, but there is a good chance that he will set another record in the future. During last basho he began saying some surprising things: "I want to further improve myself as a person, Tamawashi. As a human. To do that, I have to study. I've been a rikishi for 20 years, but there are still many things I haven't noticed or don't understand. I'm not good at sumo, after all."
Interview, by Kentarou Tsukasawa:
When I asked him, "Are you bad at sumo?" he thought for a while, then looked ahead and began to speak. "I'm still lacking. When will I get better? I can't get better at oshi-zumo. I'm not a genius, and I'm very clumsy. That's why it's fun. There are a lot of things to look forward to."
Many Mongolian wrestlers enter sumo after graduating from high school or university in Japan, but Tamawashi has worked hard despite having no sumo experience and has won the yusho twice. He has a great personality and is excellent at fan service. He cares for the people around his lodgings at regional tournaments and always expresses his gratitude. At home, he is a good father and seems flawless, but he says he is still growing. Tamawashi's sumo is often described as youthful, and when interviewing him in the dressing room, his skin looks tight and there is no sign of aging. The oldest-ever active makuuchi wrestler is Noshirogata, who retired in the May tournament in 1936 at the age of 41 years and 1 month. Since the introduction of the six-tournament system in 1958, Kyokutenhou (currently Ooshima Oyakata) is the third - ever oldest rikishi active in Makuuchi at 40 years and 10 months, with the rest born in the Meiji and Taisho eras. Tamawashi is of course the oldest rikishi in Makuuchi at the moment and I would like him to break that record as well..