Harumafuji beat Yokozuna Hakuho on the final day of the July Sumo tournament in Nagoya to go undefeated and clinch his third championship. It was the first time Harumafuji has gone 15-0 in a tournament. Hakuho has now won just one of the last four tournaments (after winning nine of the previous ten). Kyokutenho, after his rather lame championship in May, got bumped up to a higher rank, faced tougher competition, and ended up winning just two of his fifteen bouts.

Today’s photo is of Harumafuji grabbing Kotooshu by the neck in a 2010 bout. Kotooshu rebounded from this position to beat Harumafuji on this day.

Here is a video (with English commentary) of the final bout between Harumafuji and Hakuho:

Posted on July 24th, 2012 under Japan. Tags: sumo. Comments Off on Harumafuji (日馬富士) wins his third Sumo tournament

Posted on July 19th, 2012 under Japan. Tags: bamboo, hasedera, kamakura. Comments Off on Hasedera (長谷寺)

Manin Gorei (満員御礼) is a Japanese term meaning something like “thanks for filling the seats” that you only see in sumo, and only when the place is packed due to a sellout. The reason for this day being sold out was it was the final day of the tournament. As it turned out (although no one knew it at the time), this was Asashoryu’s final bout ever (in January of 2010).

The current (July 2012) tournament is more than halfway done. As of today Hakuho and Harumafuji are undefeated. Kotoshogiku and Kaisei are still in the hunt with only one loss each.

Posted on July 17th, 2012 under Japan. Tags: sumo. Comments Off on Sumo full house (満員御礼)

Today’s photo looks to the southwest of central Tokyo from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office (東京都庁舎) in Shinjuku. The other tower of this building can be seen on the far left.

Posted on July 15th, 2012 under Japan. Tags: Tokyo. Comments Off on Tokyo Metropolis

Kanazawa's famous street of tea houses

Posted on July 12th, 2012 under Japan. Tags: buildings, geisha, kanazawa. Comments: 1