Le Petit Banzuke Illustré
Hors série n°22 - july 2007
(Click on the picture to download
the full french issue, with pictures,...)


Gilles Furelaud
translated by Martina Lunau
proofread by Barbara Ann Klein
photos by Martina Lunau

The new rikishi on the banzuke

After quite a lot of shin-deshi on the last banzuke, we return to the Nagoya basho for more usual numbers. Seven young fighters passed the tests of mae-zumo during the May tournament, and they appeare for the first time on the banzuke.

Three rikishi can be pointed out in a first approach.

Oshima- beya confirms its status as "heya of Mongols". The retirement of Kyokushuzan, and the fact that other Mongols of the heya (such as Kyokutenho) are naturalized Japanese, indeed left a free slot for another foreigner:

Kyokushuho

Kyokushuho. This 18-year-old young man has been in Japan for several years, recruited for the school championships of judo. But his first goal was actually to become a rikishi, and he accepted, with enthusiasm, when Kyokutenho proposed that he join Oshima-beya. Oshima oyakata places great hope in him, and thinks he will become sekitori in two or three years. He seems to be, without any doubt, the most promising deshi of promotion, proven by the fact that he passed the tests of mae-zumo unconquered.

Tamakaizan

Tamakaizan is one of the two recruits of Kataonami-beya (the only heya to present more than one new deshi). He is a young man with an already solid past of amateur sumo: he left the Tottori Johoku college, third in the plays of Japan in the last year. He will be the eighth rikishi coming from the prestigious sumo club of this college. His father, an old rikishi of Kataonami beya, convinced him to try his chance in spite of his small size (1.76 m).

Kawaguchi

Kawaguchi, finally, is a relatively atypical case. Firstly, he is of a very small size: only 1.70 m, and a relatively modest weight of 93 kg. Secondly, he does not have experience in sumo, having in fact practised Rugby (one year at the university).

Tokitaizan

The young Tokitaizan, will not be a part of his first official basho. He died on 26 June (see the article in this number). Following this exceptional event, our whole editorial staff expresses our sincere condolences to his family.

Kinoshita

Hina

Tamakazan



Download Le Petit Banzuke Illustré n°22 to get more information on this subject:
table listing rank, shikona, real name, date of birth, height and weight, heya and maezumo results of all new recruits.
(Understandable without speaking French)