04/18/24
December 01, 2011
Kisenosato promoted to ozeki: Sumo's rising star Kisenosato has been promoted to the elite rank of ozeki after a tremendous run of 60 wins in 90 bouts over the past 12 months. He seems to be the only rikishi who has Mongolian yokozuna Hakuho's number, having beaten the grand champion several times. Here's a 2006 interview with Kisenosato, and for a bonus, Hakuho vs. Asashoryu, splitting the world in half.
posted by Hugh Janus to other at 09:21 AM - 4 comments
When Americans were joining the ozeki, I followed sumo for a few years in the '90s watching Today's Japan on the local PBS station. Is there a place to watch match highlights each night during a basho?
posted by rcade at 08:20 AM on December 02, 2011
I usually just read about sumo, but apparently when a basho is going you can watch it here. I bet some of the streaming omnibus rebroadcasters like FirstRow have it as well, probably in the "Other" category.
The "beaten" link in the post goes to a youtube video posted by JasoninJapan, whose sumo recap Youtube channel is pretty informative, though his commentary can get a bit overexcited at times.
posted by Hugh Janus at 11:09 AM on December 02, 2011
Whoa, awesome links Hugh, thanks!
posted by lil_brown_bat at 12:52 PM on December 02, 2011
From the Japan Times article, it seems that a "mere" 32 wins in 3 basho is questionable for promotion to Ozeki. As a Sekiwake, Kisenosato would face most of the top-ranked Sekitori in each basho, and to win 32 out of 45 (15 matches per basho) shows good consistency and ability. Add in his success against the Yokozuna Hakuho, and there is a good case for promotion.
Thanks for the links, huge. It's been nearly 25 years since I kept up with Sumo, so the names are not familiar. Nonetheless, I still remember much about the sport and the traditions that determine promotion. It's nice to have a link or 2 to a sport I enjoyed greatly during my years in Japan.