Changing of the guard in sumo wrestling happens when the new, younger generation of wrestlers out performs the older generation and the yokozuna realize it is time to hang up the mawashi. Sometimes this is noticeable, other times it is so subtle that you don't realize it happened. The last major changing of the guard occurred in 2002/2003 when
Asashoryu stormed onto the scene and pushed the older
Musashimaru and
Takanohana out. Before that it was in 1991 when
Takanohana upset the dominate
Chiyonofuji and he realized it was time to retire.
Taiho, arguable the best Yokozuna in history (we'll see where
Hakuho lands though), was an up-and-comer in 1960 and was getting ready to dethrone the great Yokozuna of their time,
Wakanohana and
Tochinishiki. His rival,
Kashiwado, was right beside him and they went on to dominate sumo throughout the 1960s until they too got dethroned in the 1970s. Such is the life in a King of the Hill type sport. Perform or retire.
This scarce 1960 Marumatsu Black and White Bromide (BB-Series) set captures this dynamic time in sumo. I recently picked up the rarer of the two different versions: Type 2 Blue Backs. In them you can see an aging
Wakanohana and
Asashio. I don't own any of
Taiho or
Kashiwado in the Blue Backs, but they all exist in this set.....the young getting ready to dethrone the old.
What do you think about the current changing of the guard? Hakuho just finished at 11-4, which is pretty bad for him (though of course a great record for virtually anybody else) and comes after missing two straight tournaments. He can definitely still compete, but his long awaited transition from untouchable to mere mortal seems to be upon us.
ReplyDeleteIts a bit of a difficult situation since there is nobody who comes close as a replacement. Kakuryu is great, but he is the same age as Hakuho and not likely to outlast him. Kisenosato is.....hey, where is Kisenosato?
The Ozeki ranks are also very thin - Goeido is too old and inconsistent, Terunofuji just hasn't performed well at Ozeki. Takayasu is probably the most promising, but is nowhere near as dominant as Hakuho.
Tochinoshin looks set to become Ozeki and is also a bit of an up and comer, but at 31 years old he's probably got most of his career behind him already....
The changing of the guard is definitely upon us, and it'll be interesting to see in which order the Yokozuna retire. Hakuho was focused and still looks in great shape. Kakuryu was in a zone this tournament, though. Kisenosato is a mess right now having only completed one tournament as a Yokozuna with the other 7 either not competing or dropping out early. I watched all 15 days of the top division matches this tournament and I can't help think that Tochinoshin has the best chance. He has incredible focus, his strength is amazing, and he has achieved a great balance of muscle and weight to make him fairly mobile, but hard to move. Like you said, Goeido is too inconsistent to advance any further. Exciting times in sumo....and its popularity is really high. There are only a few seats left for the next tournament in fact.
DeleteIt is exciting, but I guess the main thing missing is young wrestlers shooting up the ranks like Hakuho and Asashoryu did. Everybody who looks like they might make Yokozuna now falls more into the Kisenosato category - older guys who might make it but will probably have pretty lackluster, short careers as Yokozuna (Tochinoshin and Takayasu I think fall into this category, Geoido has no shot).
ReplyDeleteI think you hit the nail on the head....what 19 or 20 year old is rising up through the ranks and dominating? We really have a bunch of old rikishi at the moment dominating the sport. I think Endo was a hopeful, but he has seemed to stall out. It will be interesting to see how this changing of the guard falls out.
DeleteMe being super new to all this I see the “older” guys in a fresh light. Now that I have seen two basho’s I understand more of what you mean by them being the older guys. I hate I joined in at the downward slope of their careers. Here’s to a few more healthy years with these current veterans!
ReplyDeleteBy the way those cards are awesome! I remember you sending a few with those markings on the back. The hands confused me until I saw they were Rock Paper Scissors lol that’s cool.
Hopefully they keep performing for a while, but there is little young talent that is rising that will dethrone them at the moment.
DeleteThey are Rock, Scissors, Paper on the back. They played that as an alternative game to flipping the cards.