Gyoji story

[Moti Dichne]

Kimura Satoshi (37, Takasago ), Makushita gyojik, has been wearing a wristband under the sleeve of his robe when he steps onto the dohyo this basho. The orange wristband has the number "29" sewn onto it. This was made in the hope of the recovery of umpire Kawakami Takuto (30), who suffered a head injury while serving as the home plate umpire in a professional baseball game in April. The JABA Prefectural Baseball Federation Umpire Department made the wristbands. They are being sold to those who want them for a fee, and the proceeds are being given to the family as a condolence payment. They cost 1,500 yen each. Satoshi, who bought two and is wearing them, said, "I thought about what I could do. The rules changed after that incident, and home plate umpires now have to wear helmets. We are in the same situation as him, where we don't know when we might get injured when we're on the dohyo." The wristband also has the effect of preventing sweat stains on the referee's robe. Before joining the sumo world, Satoshi was an amateur baseball umpire. During his high school years, he was registered as an umpire with the Yamaguchi-Ube Baseball Federation, his hometown. Coincidentally, his number at the time was "29," the same as umpire Kawakami. He also aspired to become a professional umpire, but a vacancy opened up for a gyoji position, which led him to drop out of high school and choose the path of Ozumo. Just as baseball umpires and sumo gyojis are essential for their sport to function, Satoshi quietly supports them as one of them. [Ichiro Sasaki]