After basho tidbits

[Moti Dichne]

Kyokai Chairman Hakkaku has criticized Houshouryuu, who has yet to win a yusho since being promoted to Yokozuna at last year's Haru Basho. Houshouryuu lost to Kirishima on the 13th day, dropping him out of contention for the yusho. On day 14, he lost to Ozeki Kotozakura, which secured Kirishima's victory. Hakkaku harshly criticized Houshouryuu, saying, "Houshouryuu was no good. Yesterday's sumo was his worst. A Yokozuna who allows a 12 win yusho is no good." He continued, "He needs to reconsider his tenacity. In the first half of the basho, he lost to opponents who had nothing going for them. He needs to rethink his mental game." Houshouryuu has achieved double-digit wins for four consecutive bashos, but he hasn't had a breakthrough performance. Chairman Hakkaku said, "He needs to develop one signature style. His tachiai is different every time. He should standardize his tachiai. Whether he tries to get a good grip, a bad grip, or pulls, there isn't one thing he can do that works, so when he's not in form, nothing he does works. He might win 10 matches like that, but that's the problem."

Rikishi brothers Makuuchi Asakouryuu (27) and Juryo Asasuiryuu (25, both from Takasago beya), fought through 15 days of the basho while carrying deep sorrow. On the morning of February 27th, before this basho, their mother, Naomi Ishizaki, passed away at the young age of 58. The cancer had metastasized from her duodenum to her liver. When  she was diagnosed with the cancer three years before his promotion to Juryo, it was already at stage 4. Asakouryuu said during the basho, "I was told she only had a year to live, but she did her best. I'm glad I was able to show her that I made it to Makuuchi." His younger brother, Juryo Asasuiryuu, entered the sumo world after working in the corporate world for a year after graduating from Nippon Sport Science University, and revealed that the main reason was "because my mother wanted me to go into professional sumo, I wanted to show her that I had become a sekitori ." That's why he said, "What I regret most is that I couldn't show her the sight of the brothers entering the Makuuchi together," as he looked into the distance.

In a rare case, it was the mother, not the father, who guided the brothers down the path of sumo wrestling with strict keiko regimens. It all began when the older brother, Asakouryuu, was in the second grade of elementary school. He was defeated in the first round of the Shijonawate City Wanpaku Sumo Tournament in Osaka, his first time participating as a complete beginner. Naomi then bought a punching bag. At home, he would repeatedly charge into it like a tackle, and he was made to do 1300 push-ups every day. As a result, Asakouryuu won the same tourney the following year. Invited by those involved, he began practicing sumo seriously at the Shijonawate Sumo Federation from the third grade of elementary school. And Asasuiryuu followed a similar path. Both brothers were able to be present at their family home in Shijonawate City, Osaka, in her final moments. "She passed away not during the Haru Basho, but right before it started, and she was thinking of us until the very end. She said, 'I don't want to die and hold you back.' It's no exaggeration to say that I continued sumo from a young age to make my mother happy. She passed away about 10 minutes after we got home. My mother's last words were, 'Ryoma (Asasuiryuu) has a weak mentality, so do something about it.' She was worried about sumo until the very end. If I get weak now, I won't be able to properly honor her memory." (Asakouryuu)

Asasuiryuū said, "I tried not to think about (my mother's death) during the basho. I wasn't able to get a kachikoshi, so I'll do my best to aim for Makuuchi next basho." He dreams of the day when he and his brother can enter the dohyo together in the Makuuchi, a wish his mother in heaven had always had. [Fumita Takada]