Latest news with #Yokozuna
Time Out
21 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Osaka Expo to host two sumo events with matches and exhibitions in August
Expo 2025, Osaka, Kansai, Japan is the place to explore the world as well as the latest advancements in science and technology. It's also a fantastic opportunity to experience Japanese culture, as the Expo hosts regular Japan-specific events ranging from a monthly fireworks showcase to an upcoming sumo special. The national sport of Japan, sumo is more than just a battle of physical strength; it's also a competition of mind, technique and discipline. Moreover, the sport is filled with rites and rituals that are deeply symbolic. And for two special days in early August, you'll get to experience all that at the Expo. The Expo Grand Sumo Tournament Sunday August 3, 9am-3pm, at Expo Exhibition Center Wasse The official Grand Sumo Tournament is making an exclusive stop at the Expo to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Japan Sumo Association. This majestic spectacle will bring together 200 sumo wrestlers from the association, including the highest ranked Yokozuna athletes. For this one-day special, you get to witness not only authentic sumo matches but also events not typically seen at a regular tournament. There will be sumo chants, taiko drum performances, public sumo practices with children, sumo technique demonstrations as well as the sacred ring-entering ceremony. The highlight, however, will be the sumo matches: the third division (Makushita) and below grapples at noon, and the top division (Makunouchi) at 2pm. Note that you'll need more than an Expo admission ticket to attend the Expo Grand Sumo Tournament. Numbered tickets will be handed out on the day at 9am from a special reception counter near the Expo Exhibition Center Wasse entrance. There are three slots – 9.15am-11.30am, 12noon-1.15pm, 1.45pm-3pm – each capped at 720 spectators. For more information, check the event website. Sumo Expo 2025 Monday August 4, 9am-7.30pm, at Expo Exhibition Center Wasse While Sunday revolves around the tournament, the Sumo Expo 2025 on Monday is all about celebrating sumo culture. This time, you can expect to see not just local but also overseas wrestlers. Aside from international and women's sumo matches, you'll be able to explore exhibitions and partake in experiences hosted by the many local sumo associations across Japan. Moreover, if you're curious about how sumo wrestlers build up their enormous frame, check out the sumo food area for a mouthwatering look at chanko stew, sumo wrestler bento and more body-building dishes. Of course, make sure you pop by the sumo experience area to get a hands-on lesson on how to be a wrestler, from learning the special rites on how to enter the ring respectfully to fighting an opponent. For this event, there's no need for reservations or numbered tickets (except your regular Expo admission). However, entry may be limited for crowd control purposes. For more information, check the event website.
NHK
2 days ago
- Sport
- NHK
Ukrainian sumo wrestler Aonishiki cheered on from hometown
Ukrainian sumo wrestler Aonishiki has narrowly missed out on his first top-division championship in Japan's latest Grand Sumo Tournament. But his former coach remains hopeful that he will one day reach the sport's highest rank of Yokozuna. Aonishiki is originally from Vnnytsia in western Ukraine. He lost a crucial match to Kotoshoho on the final day of the Nagoya tournament on Sunday. A win would have secured him a place in a championship playoff. His former coach, Vazha Daiauri, runs a sports club in Vnnytsia and has supported Aonishiki since he was a child. Aonishiki took up judo at age 6 and later switched to sumo. Daiauri trained him until he left Ukraine to escape the Russian invasion. Daiauri watched the final-day bouts on TV. He looked anxious when Aonishiki stepped onto the ring. The former coach cheered, saying a firm grip on the mawashi belt would lead to victory. But Aonishiki lost by a thrust-down. Daiauri said he thinks the wrestler was too fired up and couldn't secure a grip. He added that it was frustrating and very disappointing. Still, Daiauri expressed hope that Aonishiki's future success will inspire the people of Ukraine. He noted that the wrestler moved to Japan at just 18, not knowing the language. He said Aonishiki's journey is just beginning and he is sure the wrestler will become a Yokozuna one day.
Kyodo News
3 days ago
- Sport
- Kyodo News
Sumo: Kotoshoho nears title as Kusano downs Aonishiki to stay in race
NAGOYA - No. 15 maegashira Kotoshoho took the outright lead and moved within a victory of his first Emperor's Cup on Saturday though Kusano's defeat of Ukrainian Aonishiki means any one of the three could still bag the title heading into the final day of the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament. Kotoshoho (12-2) traded shoves and slaps with Kirishima (8-6) before the sharp-looking title chaser stepped to his right to dodge the outrushing sekiwake and threw the former ozeki out of the ring at IG Arena, having grabbed a right overarm belt hold. Kotoshoho has stagnated since making his top-tier makuuchi division debut in Nagoya in 2020, spending time both as a rank-and-filer as well as in second-tier juryo. The 25-year-old from Chiba Prefecture is on the verge of his first Emperor's Cup, however, following an impressive nine straight wins. Makuuchi debutant Kusano (11-3), who won back-to-back juryo championships to clinch promotion to the top tier, secured an fine victory over Ukrainian star Aonishiki (11-3) to keep his title hopes alive. The pair clashed head-on and it was Kusano who quickly seized a firm left overarm belt hold before the No. 14 maegashira immediately shifted his body attempting to pull the top-ranked maegashira down. A relentless Kusano grappled forward and Aonishiki stepped out before he was floored by an ensuing throw. Atamifuji (10-4) fell out of the title race after the No. 10 maegashira failed to make the most of his promising start against komusubi Takayasu (9-5). His vigilant attack had Takayasu on tiptoes on the straw but the lack of a final push allowed the former ozeki to recover and win with an emphatic right underarm throw. Yokozuna debutant Onosato (10-4), who was out of contention before appearing for the day's final bout, put aside his bad habit of backing off easily and instead kept driving at sekiwake Wakatakakage (9-5) in a one-sided push-out win. Ozeki Kotozakura (8-6) secured a winning record with a beltless arm throw against No. 5 maegashira Hiradoumi (7-7).
The Mainichi
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Mainichi
Sumo: Kotoshoho nears title as Kusano downs Aonishiki to stay in race
NAGOYA (Kyodo) -- No. 15 maegashira Kotoshoho took the outright lead and moved within a victory of his first Emperor's Cup on Saturday though Kusano's defeat of Ukrainian Aonishiki means any one of the three could still bag the title heading into the final day of the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament. Kotoshoho (12-2) traded shoves and slaps with Kirishima (8-6) before the sharp-looking title chaser stepped to his right to dodge the outrushing sekiwake and threw the former ozeki out of the ring at IG Arena, having grabbed a right overarm belt hold. Kotoshoho has stagnated since making his top-tier makuuchi division debut in Nagoya in 2020, spending time both as a rank-and-filer as well as in second-tier juryo. The 25-year-old from Chiba Prefecture is on the verge of his first Emperor's Cup, however, following an impressive nine straight wins. Makuuchi debutant Kusano (11-3), who won back-to-back juryo championships to clinch promotion to the top tier, secured an fine victory over Ukrainian star Aonishiki (11-3) to keep his title hopes alive. The pair clashed head-on and it was Kusano who quickly seized a firm left overarm belt hold before the No. 14 maegashira immediately shifted his body attempting to pull the top-ranked maegashira down. A relentless Kusano grappled forward and Aonishiki stepped out before he was floored by an ensuing throw. Atamifuji (10-4) fell out of the title race after the No. 10 maegashira failed to make the most of his promising start against komusubi Takayasu (9-5). His vigilant attack had Takayasu on tiptoes on the straw but the lack of a final push allowed the former ozeki to recover and win with an emphatic right underarm throw. Yokozuna debutant Onosato (10-4), who was out of contention before appearing for the day's final bout, put aside his bad habit of backing off easily and instead kept driving at sekiwake Wakatakakage (9-5) in a one-sided push-out win. Ozeki Kotozakura (8-6) secured a winning record with a beltless arm throw against No. 5 maegashira Hiradoumi (7-7).
Indian Express
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
What Hulk Hogan meant for Indians, and America in India
Around 1993-94, a six-year-old was hanging on for dear life onto the railing with one hand and the other clutching his mother lest he fall out the door of one of Delhi's once-infamous Red Line buses. Terrified, but unwilling to show it, the boy shouted, 'Hulk Hogan ki yahi pehchan, peeli kacche, phati banyaan'. Everyone in earshot, including the driver and conductor, burst out laughing and soon, the kid had pride of place – sitting on the large covering over the gear stick, next to the driver. Hulk Hogan (the stage name Terry Bollea was known by), who died on July 24 at the age of 71, likely didn't realise the impact he – and the WWF, later WWE – had on a country that had just been opened up to the American. But for a generation, particularly the boys among them, wrestling was our soap opera and our cultural context. It shaped how we saw the US in much the way Ramanand Sagar's Ramayan moulded our view of mythology. And America was, at least back then, a mythical place. Liberalisation – both in terms of how it pushed up upper-middle-class incomes and impacted culture – didn't truly hit till the 2000s. In the early '90s, most of us were much more 'local', still struggling to be part of the flattening of culture that shows like Friends and Seinfeld would later bring about. Today, Americanisms are a part of the vocabulary for most Indian English speakers. 'My bad' (instead of my fault) and 'I'm good' (not as a moral assessment but to say 'I am well') are thrown about without a thought for the poor English teacher who taught us the basics of grammar. It wasn't so when Hulkamania – and Bret Hart, The Undertaker, Lex Luger, Shawn Michaels, Razor Ramon and Yokozuna – came into the lives of today's millennials. Nonsense rhymes like the one uttered on the bus were the most common form of comedy: 'Yokozuna went to Poona, eating Choona' or 'Undertaker, ice cream maker', etc. WWF Trump cards were the card game of choice, and recreating wrestling matches was practically a sport. The first 'fancy' birthday parties were wrestling-themed – with masks and championship belts. The first designer cakes were shaped like wrestlers. As the kids grew up, WWF-WWE kept up. The risque 'attitude era' meant boys kept imitating Stone Cold Steve Austin and Triple H – giving the middle finger and the 's***k it' gesture. It was dangerous, feeding the proto-adolescent's desire for risk-taking and masculine assertion. Wrestling – and most of all Hulk Hogan – clearly had a deep cultural impact. And this impact became a weapon for the assertion of American soft power and propaganda. Hogan, 'a good guy' for much of his career (he did 'turn heel' and become 'Hollywood Hogan' for a while), was the first global wrestling superstar. And he was an all-American hero. His nemesis was the Iron Sheik (an evil, conniving character from West Asia). His theme song was 'I am a Real American' and justified military intervention in the name 'fighting for the rights of every man'. And we swallowed it all up, as kids, without knowing better. Blond American, good guy. Brown and Black, not as much. Through soap-opera plots, Hulk and the WWF kept us hooked. Wrestling today no longer pretends to be 'real'; it has many more stars and looks way more slick. In deference to the Indian market, it made superstars of the Great Khali and Jinder Mahal. Hulk Hogan had his share of controversies, a reality show and something of a sordid personal life. But for those who idolised him when they were five, who remembered the rhyme about his costume when hanging out of the door of a bus, there will always be a soft spot for Hulkamania.
