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Nankairyū Tarō
Nankairyū Tarō (born 22 February 1965 as Kilifi Sapa) is a former sumo wrestler from Samoa. His highest rank was ''maegashira'' 2. He was the third foreign-born wrestler to reach the top ''makuuchi'' division after Takamiyama and Konishiki. However he quit sumo suddenly in September 1988 after an argument with the head coach of Takasago stable about his persistent drinking problem. He subsequently had a brief spell as a professional wrestler with New Japan. Career Born in Apia, Western Samoa, he joined Takasago stable in 1984, after he responded to a TV recruitment campaign placed by a Japanese businessman. He was picked out of a group of around 300 youths by the former ''sekiwake'' Takamiyama. Another Samoan, Nanyozakura (Fofoga Faaleva), joined at the same time. Sapa was given the fighting name of Nankairyū, or "South Seas dragon." Although he was not unusually large for sumo he was a superb athlete and was dedicated to training. He was highly thought of by his stable-mate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast, and the Philippines to the south. The territories controlled by the ROC consist of 168 islands, with a combined area of . The main island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', has an area of , with mountain ranges dominating the eastern two-thirds and plains in the western third, where its highly urbanised population is concentrated. The capital, Taipei, forms along with New Taipei City and Keelung the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Other major cities include Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan, and Kaohsiung. With around 23.9 million inhabitants, Taiwan is among the most densely populated countries in the world. Taiwan has been settled for at least 25,000 years. Ancestors of Taiwanese indigenous peoples settled the isla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Banzuke
A , officially called is a document listing the rankings of professional sumo wrestlers published before each official tournament (''honbasho''). The term can also refer to the rankings themselves. The document is normally released about two weeks before the tournament begins. On the ''banzuke'', wrestlers are divided into East, which is printed on the right, and West, which is printed on the left. Each wrestler's full ''shikona'' (ring name), hometown and rank is also listed. The top of the page starts with the highest ranked ''makuuchi'' wrestlers printed in the largest characters, down to the wrestlers in the lowest divisions which are written in much smaller characters. The names of ''gyōji'' (sumo referees), ''yobidashi'' (ushers/handymen), '' shimpan'' (judges), ''oyakata'' (elders of the Japan Sumo Association), and occasionally ''tokoyama'' (hairdressers) are also listed. While not as old as sumo itself, the form and production of this document can be traced as fa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wakanohana Kanji I
was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler. He was the sport's 45th ''yokozuna''. He was a popular wrestler and was nicknamed the due to his great fighting spirit and endurance. Wakanohana's younger brother (by twenty-two years) was the late former '' ōzeki'' Takanohana Kenshi and he was the uncle of Wakanohana Masaru and Takanohana Kōji. He won ten top division ''yūshō'' or tournament championships during his career and at a fighting weight of around 100 kg was one of the lightest ''yokozuna'' ever. He had a long-standing rivalry with Tochinishiki and was one of the most popular wrestlers of the 1950s. After his retirement in 1962 he established Futagoyama stable and was also head of the Japan Sumo Association from 1988 until 1992. Career Born in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, he moved to Hokkaidō as a child. After working as a stevedore, he was scouted by the ''maegashira'' Onoumi, joining Nishonoseki stable in November 1946. He was trained harshly by Rikidōzan in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tokyo Weekender
''Tokyo Weekender'' magazine is the oldest English publication in Japan. Founded in 1970 by Corky Alexander and Susan Scully, ''Tokyo Weekender'' was first published bi-monthly. Now ''Tokyo Weekender'' is published monthly and is distributed in embassies, luxury hotels, shops, stations and airports. Early years ''Tokyo Weekender'' was co-founded by Korean War veteran Millard "Corky" Alexander and Susan Scully, previously co-workers at ''Pacific Stars and Stripes''. It was the first free regular English publication in Japan. As well as being free at various locations, it used to come inside the Friday edition of the English ''Daily Yomiuri'', a real distribution coup. After Corky died, the publication was taken over by his daughter and son-in-law before being relaunched by Caroline Pover. In 2008 ''Tokyo Weekender'' was purchased by Bulbouscell Media Group. In 2015, Bulbouscell Media Group was bought by the PR Agency Sunny Side Up Inc., and later merged with ENGAWA K.K., an SSU g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asashio Tarō III
was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Tokunoshima in the Amami Islands. He was the sport's 46th ''yokozuna''. He was also a sumo coach and head of Takasago stable. Career He was born on Tokunoshima in the Amami Islands. Due to the Amami Islands being occupied by America, in 1948 he stowed away on a cargo ship and was supported by a relative in Hyogo Prefecture. Making his professional debut in October 1948, he at first fought under his real name. He was billed in sumo as being from Kobe in Hyogo until America returned the Anami Islands to Japan in 1953, and was thereafter billed as being from Kagoshima Prefecture. In September 1950 he reached the second highest ''jūryō'' division and won the championship with a 14–1 record. This earned him immediate promotion to the top ''makuuchi'' division in January 1951. He adopted the ''shikona'' or ring name of Asashio Tarō in 1952. In his early career he earned seven ''kinboshi'' or gold stars for defeating ''yokozuna'', ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japanese Language
is spoken natively by about 128 million people, primarily by Japanese people and primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language. Japanese belongs to the Japonic or Japanese- Ryukyuan language family. There have been many attempts to group the Japonic languages with other families such as the Ainu, Austroasiatic, Koreanic, and the now-discredited Altaic, but none of these proposals has gained widespread acceptance. Little is known of the language's prehistory, or when it first appeared in Japan. Chinese documents from the 3rd century AD recorded a few Japanese words, but substantial Old Japanese texts did not appear until the 8th century. From the Heian period (794–1185), there was a massive influx of Sino-Japanese vocabulary into the language, affecting the phonology of Early Middle Japanese. Late Middle Japanese (1185–1600) saw extensive grammatical changes and the first appearance of European loanwords. The basis of the standard dialect moved f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
English Language
English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the island of Great Britain. Existing on a dialect continuum with Scots, and then closest related to the Low Saxon and Frisian languages, English is genealogically West Germanic. However, its vocabulary is also distinctively influenced by dialects of France (about 29% of Modern English words) and Latin (also about 29%), plus some grammar and a small amount of core vocabulary influenced by Old Norse (a North Germanic language). Speakers of English are called Anglophones. The earliest forms of English, collectively known as Old English, evolved from a group of West Germanic (Ingvaeonic) dialects brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the 5th century and further mutated by Norse-speaking Viking settlers starting in the 8th and 9th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hokuten'yū Katsuhiko
(August 8, 1960 – June 23, 2006) was a sumo wrestler, from Muroran, Hokkaido, Japan. The highest rank he achieved was '' ōzeki'' which he held for seven years from 1983 until 1990. He won two top division ''yūshō'' or tournament championships. After his retirement as an active wrestler he worked as a sumo coach until his death in 2006 from cancer. Career Hokuten'yū was scouted at the age of nine by former ''ōzeki'' Masuiyama Daishiro I of Mihogaseki stable, and given 3,000 yen to ensure his commitment. He made his professional debut in March 1976. He served as a ''tsukebito'' or personal attendant to the great ''yokozuna'' Kitanoumi, another Hokkaidō native who belonged to the same stable. In his early career he fought under his own surname of Chiba, but in 1978 he was given the ''shikona'' of Hokuten'yū, or "heavenly gift from the north", a reference to his birthplace. He was the first wrestler to have a fighting name including the "tenyu" character, which has since been ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Makuuchi
, or , is the top division of the six divisions of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers (''rikishi''), ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments. This is the only division that is featured on NHK's standard live coverage of sumo tournaments. The lower divisions are shown on their satellite coverage, with only the ''makuuchi'' broadcast having bilingual English commentary. ''Makuuchi'' literally means "inside the curtain", a reference to the early period of professional sumo, when there was a curtained-off area reserved for the top ranked wrestlers, to sit before appearing for their bouts. Wrestlers are considered for promotion or demotion in rank before each grand tournament according to their performance in the one previous. Generally, a greater number of wins than losses (''kachi-koshi'') results in a promotion, and the reverse (''make-koshi'') results in demotion. There are stricter criteria ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sekitori
A ''sekitori'' (関取) is a ''rikishi'' (力士, sumo wrestler) who is ranked in one of the top two professional divisions: ''makuuchi'' and ''jūryō''. The name literally translates to having taken the barrier, as only a relatively small fraction of those who enter professional sumo achieve ''sekitori'' status. Currently there are 70 ''rikishi'' in these divisions. The benefits of being a ''sekitori'' compared to lower ranked wrestlers are significant and include: * to receive a salary and bonus (those in the lower divisions merely receive an allowance) * to have one's own supporters' club * to wear high quality men's kimono and other items of attire * to have a private room in the training stable * to be able to get married and live away from the training stable * to have junior ''rikishi'' to effectively act as their personal servants * to wear a silk ''mawashi'' with stiffened cords (called ''sagari'') in tournament bouts * to participate in the ring entrance ceremony and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_1956_Scan10012.jpg "Click for more on -> Asashio Tarō III")
