Later on today I will return to the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo for yet another day of osumo. Frankly, although I went last week, and have watched the “sumo digest” every night on TV during the current basho (tournament), I just can’t get enough.
It will be the last day of the tournament, and yokozuna Asashoryu‘s loss yesterday means that who will claim the yusho (tournament championship) is up for grabs. It’s a possibility Asashoyru, currently 12-2, could end up tied with Kaio (presently 11-3), which would mean a “sudden-death” playoff match to determine the winner (and a rematch of yesterday’s bout, which Asashoryu lost). Wouldn’t that be something? Asashoryu has the tougher battle of the two, going up against Haru Basho winner Chiyotaikai, who won’t be happy he’s out of contention with 4 losses and his dream of yokozuna rank deferred for now.
Rather than chance ticket availability at the venue (there are 500 same-day tickets that go on sale each day), I bought a ticket the other day when I was in Tokyo for work. And although it’s in the second row from the back of the house, I could hardly care less. I’ll be there early too, just to soak up more of the atmosphere, and hopefully take more photos. Speaking of which, yesterday I picked up my photos from last week, and started the slow and tortuous process of scanning the better ones tonight. Below are a few examples, and a few more can be seen in my gallery. These are all wrestlers in the lower ranks, and as such I don’t know their wrestling names (yet).
