Great sumo champions or "yokozuna", despite recent scandals, are expected to demonstrate superior sumo strength and technique.
Great Mongolian Champion Hakuho won last tournament sumo on saturday national sport Japan still continued to attract media attention after another famous wrestler was suspected by police of attacking a sumo wrestler. Thus, Hakuho won the Emperor's Cup for the fortieth time.
The sixty-ninth grand champion scored fourteen victories at the last classic tournament of 2017, held in the city of Fukuoka on the island of Kyushu.
"I'm relieved to have achieved (his 40th victory)," Hakuho told reporters, without commenting on the scandal.
ARD previously reported that yokozuna Harumafuji is suspected of attacking his fellow fighter. According to Japanese media reports, Harumafuji was angered by the fact that during a conversation with him Takanoiwa was busy with his smartphone. Harumafuji perceived this behavior as disrespectful towards the senior wrestler.
But the great champion Hakuho, who was also at the party, had his own version of what happened.
Harumafuji "didn't hit him with a beer bottle," Hakuho said Thursday at the Kyushu Grand Sumo tournament in Fukuoka.
Harumafuji, 33, may have to back down from his position if he is charged.
Note that Hakuho himself is involved in another scandal. On the eleventh day of Basho, he, not wanting to admit defeat, began to put pressure on the judges. The white phoenix refused to bow to his opponent.
Oyakata Isegahama, Acting Chairman of the Judges Committee, issued a severe reprimand to Grand Champion Hakuho on November 23.
The white phoenix apologized for his behavior after the fight with sekiwake Yoshikaze. Still, sumo is boring without the Mongols.
By the way, a 33-year-old native of Inner Mongolia Sokokuray won the championship title in jūryō.
You can’t look at the appearance of sumo wrestlers and think that they are fat, small and clumsy Japanese guys.
These are really fat guys, but by no means small and clumsy, but large, powerful, very agile, flexible and with excellent reaction. Many of them even do the splits and do a bridge.
But let's start the story about this magnificent struggle from afar.
The exact date of the origin of sumo is unknown. But the traditions are many hundreds of years old. And they remain virtually unchanged. This struggle is a whole philosophy or, if you like, a religion. Those athletes who dare to connect their lives with sumo remain in it forever.
And not everyone will be accepted there. It must be earned.
Sumo schools have very strict discipline and hierarchy. Wrestlers get up very early and train for five hours. Then they rest and eat a lot. During the day they must eat at least a kilogram of chanku (the traditional food of sumo wrestlers); each school prepares it according to its own recipe. But it always includes several types of meat and seafood. Beer is not neglected either. All this is done in order to gain weight and gain fat. The fat protects wrestlers from serious injuries, both when falling, especially from a dohyo (this is a sumo ring, up to 60 centimeters high), and when colliding with an opponent. A special hairstyle on the head also serves the same purpose.
Wrestlers of higher rank are served by fighters of lower rank.
There are six hierarchical categories in sumo: Zenokuchi is the sixth, initial category; then comes the fifth, Jonidan; fourth - Sandamme; the third is Makushita.
The first two need to be given special attention. This is the elite of sumo. It includes only seventy wrestlers. And this figure does not change. If a wrestler has not confirmed his skills at the next tournament, and has not confirmed his right to remain in his own league or start competing in a higher league, then he will be relegated.
In the first category, Makuuchi, 42 wrestlers (rikishi) compete. Here they have their titles.
The highest level is occupied by the Great Champions (yokozuna).
The third stage, the same sekiwake. This title can only be held by two wrestlers.
And also two wrestlers can occupy the fourth stage - komusubi.
All other levels are maegashira titles. The rest of the rikishi wear them. Numeric values are assigned here. Starting from the first maegashira of the east and west, and ending with the 16th maegashira of the west.
The title of yokozuna is awarded for life. All others must be confirmed at each tournament, held six times a year. And depending on the result, the wrestlers are demoted or promoted in rank (banzuke). The fight is for the Emperor's Cup.
All wrestlers are paid and are very popular in Japan.
I would like to pay special attention to the Great Champions. Although sumo is many hundreds of years old, the historical record dates back to the beginning of the Edo era, approximately from the late 17th to early 18th centuries.
The first yokozuna is called Akashi Shiganosuke. He is considered a legendary figure. But practically nothing is known about him.
The second was Ayakawa Goroji. Only the year of his birth is known - 1704.
More detailed list of yokozuna you can
To date, only 71 rikishi have been awarded the title of yokozuna (and this is over more than 300 years). Three people still take part in tournaments:
69 Grand Champion- Hakuko Sho, who won the Emperor's Cup 32 times. Height 192 centimeters, weight 155 kg.
70 Grand Champion - Haramafuji, who took the cup 6 times. Height 186 centimeters, weight 133 kg.
71 Grand Champion - Kakuryu, who has won 1 time so far. Height 186, weight 151 kg.
Nowadays, this wrestling is increasingly gaining popularity outside of Japan. For example, all three current Grand Champions are natives of Mongolia.
And the Europeans left their mark on dohyo. Moreover, in major league.
This is a Czech, who looks nothing like a sumo wrestler Pavel Boyar (wrestling pseudonym Takanoyama) b.-187 cm., H-98 kg..
Estonian Kaido XYovelson(Baruto) b.-198 cm, height-189 kg., and Bulgarian Kaloyan Stefanov Maklyanov (Kotoosyu) b.-203 cm., height-150 kg., reached high rank ozeki. But, unfortunately, they have already retired. And Kotooshu even conquered once highest award- Emperor's Cup. It is mainly the Great Champions who can boast of such achievements.
Two Georgians have reached, and may well be reached, great heights in this fight: Teimuraz Dzhugeli (Gagamaru) b.-185 cm, w.-200 kg., and Levan Gorgadze (Totinosin) r.-191 cm, h.-159 kg..
Not long ago, Russian wrestler Alan Gabaraev (Aran), b.-187cm, w.-152kg, left his career as a rikishi.
Russian rikishi Nikolai Ivanov (Amur) b.-192 cm, height-130 kg continues his ascent to the top of the hierarchy.
By the way, the first record holder for the number of victories in Emperor's Cup tournaments is Taiho Koki (Ivan Markinyanovich Baryshko) R. - 187 cm, weight - 153 kg (years of life 1940-2013). He was the 48th yokozuna and won the cup 32 times. His father, as you understand, was a Russian citizen, and his mother was Japanese.
The appearances of the wrestlers on the dohyo are very interesting, colorful and spectacular.
Especially the exits of the Great Champions.
All these are age-old traditions of the Japanese people. They love and respect sumo wrestlers very much.
At the tournament held in November 2014, the Emperor's Cup was won by yokozuna Hakuko. He won 14 victories in 15 bouts. This is his 32nd cup. And he equaled the victories of the great Taiho Koki.
Russian wrestler Amur made his debut in the top division at this tournament, but unfortunately did not win enough victories to remain in it. In January, at the next tournament he will fight in Juryo, in the rank of first wrestler. And if he says good result, will again compete in the Makuuchi top division in March.
First tournament in 2015 won by yokozuna Haku-ko. He did not suffer a single defeat. This is his 33rd victory and new record in sumo.
At the March tournament , again the Great Champion Haku-ko excelled. He won 14 victories and won the Emperor's Cup 34 times.
Amur returned to Makuti and won 7 fights and will continue to fight in the top division in May.
Emperor's Cup in May , won sekiwake Terunofuji, winning in 12 fights.
This young wrestler is from Mongolia. At the last tournament he won 13 victories in 15 fights. Considering these achievements, the board of directors of the Japan Sumo Association awarded the wrestler the title of ozeki.
The 69th and 70th Grand Champions each had 11 victories. The 71st champion did not take part in the tournament due to a left shoulder injury.
Russian sumotori Amur won 9 victories and gained a slight foothold in the top division of Makuuchi.
July tournament 2015 won the Grand Champion Haku-ko. This is his 35th cup. Truly, we are witnessing the rise of a great sumo wrestler. His record is unlikely to be broken in the coming decades. At this tournament he won 14 victories and suffered 1 defeat.
70 The great champion Haramafuji was forced to withdraw from the tournament because he injured his recently operated elbow.
71 Kakuryu champion, won 13 victories.
Russian sumotor Amur, won 8 fights, and will be promoted to rank.
September tournament missed Haramafuji due to an elbow injury. Hakuko withdrew from the tournament on the third day, after two defeats from ordinary maegashira. Therefore, the 71 Kakuryu Grand Champions had a better chance of winning the Emperor's Cup. And he took advantage of it. Although with difficulty.
Our wrestler Amur is progressing steadily so far. He won 8 out of 15 possible victories. This is a good result and
A promotion awaits him.
The last tournament of this year, the November tournament, has ended. It was won by 70 Yokozuna Haramafuji.
Our wrestler Amur won 4 victories. He will be greatly demoted, but will remain in the major leagues.
First in 2016, January tournament was not devoid of entertainment and intrigue, which lasted until the last day of the tournament.69 the great champion at first left no doubt about his victory. But in recent days something happened to him and he suffered 2 incomprehensible defeats, and one was earlier.
As a result, the ozeki Kotoshogiku won the cup. Over the past 10 years, the Japanese again won the cup. This is his first victory in the tournament (14 wins, 1 loss).
The first and so far only Russian rikishi Amur won 7 victories and suffered 8 defeats. He will be demoted but will remain in the major leagues.
In March, Haku-ko won the Emperor's Cup. He did not behave very well at the tournament, in terms of discipline befitting a great champion. But this is his 36th victory. Cupid won 7 victories, and will again be slightly demoted in rank.
May 2016. The Emperor's Cup was won by the 69th great champion. He did not suffer a single defeat. Russian wrestler Amur was injured on the first day of the competition. I missed 5 fights and went to dohyo. But the injury is serious and the sumo gods did not support our wrestler. He won a few victories, but not enough to stay in the big leagues. Unfortunately, Amur is relegated to the second elite league-juryo. But let's hope that in July he will prove himself and win a ticket back to Makuti. Let's wish him good luck!
July 2016. 70 great champion Haramafuji won 13 victories and won the Emperor's Cup 8 times. 71 yokozuna Kakuryu withdrew from the tournament due to injury. Everyone hoped for the success of ozaki Kisenasato, who at this tournament bore the unofficial title of “tsunatori,” that is, a candidate for the title of yokozuna. But after a treacherous “tatiakenko” (evasion from wrestling) from his fellow tribesman Shohozan, the wrestler lost his temper and won only 12 victories. His unofficial “tsunatori” status will be extended until the September tournament.
Our wrestler Amur won 9 victories and took the position of 3rd wrestler in the West in Juryo.
September 2016. For the first time in the history of sumo, an ozeki who was in kadoban won the Emperor's Cup and achieved a perfect result of zen-sho ("only victories"). This was Goeido, and if he wins the November tournament, he will receive the title of yokozuna. Kisenasato lost the title of "tsunatori". Hakuko did not take part in the tournament. Yokozuna Harumafuji won twelve bouts, yokozuna Kakuryu - ten.
Yokozuna Hakuho did not take part in the Autumn Tournament. On September 12, the 37-time Emperor's Cup winner underwent surgery. Surgeons removed thumb the right leg of the White Phoenix is a fragment of a bone broken in July in the city of Nagoya.Ozeki Kotoshogiku came out of the kadoban with nine white balls.Sekiwake Takayasu scored ten victories.Sekiwake Takarafuji, komusubi Kaisei and Tochiozan were unable to achieve kachikoshi (predominance of victories based on the results of the basho). They will descend from sanyaku to hiramaku (become private maegashira).He will rise to the post of sekiwake in a new banzuke ( official ranking) Okinoumi.And in komusubi Mitakeumi and Tamawashi or Aoiyama will be produced. Amur suffered 9 defeats and remains in dzyuryo.
November 2016.
For the third time, Yokozuna Kakuryu won the Emperor's Cup. Won the first tournament in 2017 (14 wins, 1 loss) oprisoners Kisenosato. He will also become the 72nd grand champion. He worked towards this for a long time and received a well-deserved reward. Cupid, unfortunately, suffered 10 defeats and
lost elite sekitori status. March 2017. 72 Ykozuna confirmed his title by winning another cup in a row. And although he received a serious shoulder injury on the 13th day of the competition, and on the 14th dayOzeki Terunofuji applied to
Kisenosato is a technique not revered in this wrestling (namely, tachiokenko “that is, he simply avoided the fight, thereby exposing the opponent to his own strength,” but this technique is not prohibited in sumo. And many wrestlers can resist it). And despite this, on the 15th day of the tournament, a super fight was held, and the Great Champion proved that he is one.May 2017. Yokozuna Hakuho quenched the thirst for victory that had tormented the sixty-ninth great champion for an unbearably long time. The White Phoenix won the Emperor's Cup for the thirty-eighth time, twelve months after the thirty-seventh yusho.
The Russian hero Amur, who has not yet recovered from a shoulder injury, has suffered six defeats and will be promoted.July 2017. Hakuko won the 39th cup. The great champions Kakuryu and Kisenasato withdrew from the tournament early. At this tournament, the 69th Grand Champion broke another record, previously held by ozeki Kayo.The white phoenix brought the number of his victories in professional dohyo to 1050. But despite the absence of two main rivals, Hakuko again used techniques that did not correspond to his status.
Several members of Yokoshin delicately noted that harite slaps and avoidance of forceful starting confrontations with opponents (tachiai-henka) do not add to the glory of the greatest champion.
Yokozuna Kisenosato, in turn, received a recommendation to properly improve his health and not force the rikishi’s return to duty at any cost.
The 33-year-old Russian hero Amur, gradually recovering from a shoulder injury, scored a minimum katikoshi (4-3). But he fights in the 3rd (non-elite league), and so far he does not pretend to return to the rank of sumatori.
September 2017. This time Haramafuji won the cup. It wasn't easy win for the champion, although many top wrestlers, including the 69th, 71st and 72nd Grand Champions, were unable to compete in the tournament due to injury. He won 11 victories, just like ozeki Gueido. The fate of the cup was determined in an additional match between these wrestlers.
It doesn’t matter what the situation is with the Russian hero Amur. He suffered 5 defeats in 7 fights.
A pioneer of Russian professional sumo Aurora, he wrestles in the 5th league (jonidan) recorded the minimum makekosi (3-4). Aurora (Orora) debuted in professional sumo in March 2000. A native of the Buryat village of Zaigraevo, Aurora is now famous as the heaviest rikishi in the history of professional sumo. During a medical examination before the Autumn tournament, the 34-year-old Russian outweighed Konishiki's record, Anatoly Mikhakhanov registered 288.8 kilograms. The pinnacle of his professional career was the title of 43rd wrestler of the third division (makushita).
November 2017. Yokozuna Hakuho won the Emperor's Cup for the fortieth time. The sixty-ninth great champion scored fourteen victories at the last classic tournament of 2017, held at the Fukuoka International Center on the island of Kyushu. Thirty-two-year-old Munkhbatyn Davaazhargal overshadowed his anniversary triumph with a severe reprimand. On the eleventh day, Basho Hakuho grossly violated etiquette. Unwilling to admit defeat, the White Phoenix began to put pressure on the judges and refused to bow to his opponent. In an interview hot on the heels of the award ceremony, Hakuho apologized on behalf of all rikishi to the fans for the scandal caused by the incident that occurred at the end of October in Tottori Prefecture, and promised “to do everything possible so that Harumafuji-zeki and Takanoiwa-zeki again enter the dohyo.” The first maegashira of the East Tamawashi, the first maegashira of the West Takakeisho, the third maegashira of the West Hokutofuji and the twelfth maegashira of the East Okinoumi, “shared second place,” were three behind Hakuho victories. The seventy-first yokozuna Kakuryu came to Kyushu, but did not enter the tournament. The seventieth yokozuna Harumafuji withdrew from the competition after the second failure, the seventy-second yokozuna Kisenosato - after the fifth.
The 34-year-old Russian hero Amur won five victories.
January 2018. Won the first cup this year third maegashira of the West Tochinosin (14 victories). This is rare in sumo. True, of the 4 great champions, only one reached the end - Kakuryu (11 victories). But this does not mean that the cup was won easily by the sumo wrestler from Georgia.
So: 70 The great champion - Haramafuji was forced to retire because he hit a junior sumo wrestler. And Hakuko and Kisenosato withdrew from the tournament in the first days due to injuries.
The 34-year-old Russian hero Amur was content with the minimum makekosi (3:4).
Anatoly Mikhakhanov weighs almost 300 kilograms, so each of his fights was very spectacular. In Japan, he was given the nickname Northern Lights, he was recognized on the street, and he had an army of fans. What about in Russia? What will he do? Are you planning to lose weight?
There should be a lot of good sumotori. Record combat 288 kilograms. No wrestler in the more than thousand-year history of the Japanese sport has ever weighed this much.
The major achievement belongs not to the one who was born in the land of the samurai, but to the Russian Anatoly Mikhakhanov. Division by weight categories not in sumo. The rival of the Siberian hero is almost two hundredweight lighter than him. The fight did not last long.
Clear victory. One of the last on the Russian’s account. Known in Japan as Orora, or northern lights, Anatoly returned to his homeland.
In the Zaigraevsky region of Buryatia, those who have changed their mawashi headband to a sumotori suit are greeted with bread and salt, or, according to the Buryat tradition, milk, and are given a blue hadak scarf.
“So many years have passed, I came to my homeland not to rest, but returned forever, we’ll look at it from the beginning, get used to it, well, I think everything will be fine,” says Anatoly Mikhakhanov.
From the airport home by minibus. The car becomes noticeably taller when the Buryat heavyweight gets out of it. According to his mother, Tolik was always larger than his peers. The future Orora Satoshi never looked like a baby. And at the age of 16, I already weighed 190. To find out, I had to go to the store where they had the largest scales.
“I was born not too heavy, but I grew by leaps and bounds. In Rodov we had a very large man, he weighed 320 kilograms, his name was Zagsha in the Irkutsk region, and he surprised everyone because he could not ride a horse, he rode a buffalo,” says Dulsan Mikhakhanova.
At school, the descendant of the Buryat giant could not fit at his desk. I sat at the teacher’s table on two chairs at once. The skill later came in handy on Japanese planes. This is how he flew from one Japanese island to another for 18 years. Star of the most popular martial art The Land of the Rising Sun on his Instagram page told how Sumotori live. Tens of thousands of subscribers liked his photos with his teammates. We watched Orora-san train.
Here fans also saw the ending ritual sports career. Tokoyama - a hairdresser - cut Anatoly's temage - a braid that protects his head when he falls.
Anatoly started training sumo at 16. He left Buryatia for St. Petersburg. There the famous yokozuna, Kitanoumi Toshimitsu, saw him and invited him to train in Tokyo. Agreeing meant getting up at four in the morning every day, practicing twice a day and living a reclusive life with other novices of the sumo cult. Many simply can't stand it.
“I was born in Siberia, Buryatia is considered Siberia, plus I am Buryat in my soul, if I can’t stand what they will say in my homeland, the new guy came, I couldn’t stand it, how could I not stand it, although, of course, it was hard when I was alone.” , says Anatoly Mikhakhanov.
During his career, Anatoly took part in 111 tournaments. He won 376 victories in them. But there were about the same number of defeats.
When two sumotori rush towards each other, the impact force during a collision can be more than a ton. But weight is not everything. Orora-san also lost to smaller opponents. And in general, he was far from becoming a champion. But the fans loved him.
“Every sumo fan knew who Northern Lights Orora was. And it was nice. I didn’t achieve heights, but they knew... The main thing is not what kind of wrestler you are, but what kind of person you will remain in life,” says Anatoly Mikhakhanov.
Orora Satoshi retired at 35 and immediately returned home. Now his Instagram is not sushi, but Buryat buuz. Sumotori is not very willing to talk about plans for the future. And his mother shares a secret: after returning home, Anatoly dreams of losing weight.