About 8 years ago there was a young Japanese sumo wrestling sensation named Yamamotoyama (YMY for short). YMY was the heaviest Japanese-born wrestler in sumo history so he caused somewhat of a stir during his quick rise to the top division. His 215 kilogram/475 pound pimply-chested frame was something to behold, but it was evident that he was likely too heavy to achieve any long-term success. Fate/karma intervened and in 2011 he was kicked out of sumo for accusations of bout fixing. He and a handful of other wrestlers were suspected to arranging the outcomes of matches which is something the Sumo Association has been actively fighting in the recent past. After YMY was kicked out, he bounced around various odd jobs, but a few days ago I saw him pop up in an Ed Sheeran music video. Being in Germany, our English-language TV channel selection is limited so I tend to hover over the music video channels (music traverses many cultures for sure) and Ed's video popped up with YMY debuting at the end. With over a billion views...here is the video:
Yamamotoyama has two BBM sumo cards (#48 in 2009 BBM, and #40 in 2010 BBM) that capture his brief tenure in the Sumo Association. I don't have my cards with me yet, so here is a screen capture of his 2010 BBM card from Jambalaya.
475 pounds? That's impressive.
ReplyDeleteFor sure....and he can do the splits!
ReplyDeleteAs a newer collector of BBM sumo cards, i would so love to read you analysis of the sets released from 1997 forward with attention paid to key rikishi included, design, oddities, scarcity and personal insights or impressions of the sumo world these sets represent at the time of release. So little is known, or available for newbies like myself to reference and a article from a person of your knowledge and experience would be incredibly helpful in learning more about this unique hobby we both have a passion for.
ReplyDeleteHmmm, that would be interesting to do. Paul Fogarty is a huge resource and the premier BBM sumo collector in the English-Speaking World. I’m refreshing the BBM section of my book so maybe we could do a team effort sort of thing.
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