Ryuuden
Moti Dichne
In his 20th year as a rikishi, 34-year-old veteran Juryo rikishi Ryuuden showed his spirit in his best friend's hometown. On the 13th, during asageiko at the Morioka City Tour, held for the first time in nine years, he had 13 matches, the most of any sekitori. In bouts with the other sekitori, he had two wins and three losses. He was then called out by both Yokozuna, Oonosato and Houshouryuu, in that order. He won one match against Oonosato and lost all four matches against Houshouryuu, for a total of three wins and ten losses. Upon being called out by both Yokozuna, Ryuuden commented, "I was surprised, but I'm also happy, so I was determined to do everything I could."
Being named by two Yokozuna on the same day is a rare occurrence. "I had trained with Oonosato before (during a tour in Sendai) and he asked me if it was okay to do it today, but Houshouryuu calling me out came out of nowhere.. When I finished (training) with Oonosato, I felt like our eyes met for a moment," and he gestured towards me, so I mounted the dohyo again. "Atamifuji was diagonally in front of me (when he made the gesture), so I thought he might be calling him. I didn't know who he meant, so I just went up. And sure enough, he chose me.. (laughs)." While he lost all his matches against Houshouryuu due to fatigue, he showed off his signature head placement against Oonosato, carefully attacking and grabbing the mawashi and pulling, earning one win. "I think I fought tenaciously. I felt like I could achieve something if I could grab the mawashi. I felt like if I could manage the flow leading up to the mawashi, things might change," he said, confident of his chances of returning to Makuuchi next basho.
Morioka City is the hometown of his friend Nishikigi, a fellow Juryo rikishi who also graduated from junior high school and entered sumo at the same time as Ryuuden. A traditional part of previous jungyos was that Ryuuden and Nishikigi would be the first to step onto the ring during the sekitori match-ups. Until another close friend, former Komusubi Shouhouzan retired, two of the three served in that role. The three of them would go out to eat almost every day on tour, accompanying Nishikigi, who declared, "I drink sweet potato shochu 365 days a year." With one of them now retired, Nishikigi, who was looking forward to a triumphant return to his hometown after securing a return to Makuuchi, also withdrew from this jungyo midway. "I was just called out as usual, but I was also carrying Nishikigi's hopes of 'livening things up' (laughs). I was working hard because it was a local tour for him. My current condition isn't that great, but what can you do.. It's regrettable," he joked, stating that he fought harder than anyone else in his best friend's hometown. And being in his best friend's hometown gave him renewed motivation. "I'd be happy if a Yokozuna chose me again." The three close friends, including former Shouhouzan, all reached the highest rank of Komusubi. He had regained the hunger of a young rikishi, wanting to stand out among the others and reach a new high.