Photo By Sponichi
The Summer Sumo Tour took place on the 4th at the Nagano Prefectural Budokan in Saku City, Nagano Prefecture. The tour, which started that day, will cover the Hokuriku, Tokai, Kanto, Tohoku, and Hokkaido regions, spanning a total of 19 days until the Yokosuka location on the 25th.
Sekiwake Ōnosato (24, Nishikido Stable) revealed that he had spent the week following the Nagoya tournament watching the Paris Olympics on TV every day. The night before, he was absorbed in the mixed judo team event. “I thought France would win the final (against Japan) 3-1, so I turned off the TV and went to sleep. I was surprised when I woke up in the morning.”
Ōnosato has a deep connection with judo athletes participating in the Paris Olympics. He revealed that he faced 23-year-old Sanchiro Murao, a silver medalist in the men’s 90 kg category who also participated in the mixed event, during a nationwide sumo tournament when they were in sixth grade. “I was thrown around. I still remember how strong he was.” They faced each other in the fifth round to advance to the top 8, with Murao winning with a left-side throw. That video has been circulating on social media in recent days, and Ōnosato chuckled, saying, “I never expected it would go viral now… It would have been nice if I had won, but I got thrown around.”
Since Murao quit sumo to focus on judo after junior high, they have only met once. Ōnosato has occasionally checked on Murao’s achievements since then, expressing admiration: “I thought it was amazing to see him win at the Inter-High and defeat Tatsuya Saito in the team event at the All-Japan University Championship in June 2022.” Twelve years after their battle in sumo, one has gone on to achieve the fastest victory in sumo history, while the other became an Olympic silver medalist. Looking back on their elementary school memories, he remarked, “It’s a priceless video.”
Also, he shares a class with 24-year-old Uta Abe in the Department of Sports Culture and Martial Arts Education at Nippon Sport Science University. The women’s 52 kg competition coincided with the closing ceremony of the Nagoya tournament, and he reflected, “I was shocked to learn Abe lost after the closing party. I thought she would win the gold medal.”
Among his classmates at Nippon Sport Science University, there is also Naoya Kusaka (23), who competes in Greco-Roman wrestling at 77 kg. Additionally, Kusaka practiced sumo until middle school and participated in the National Middle School Championships. “Wrestling is about to start, and I’m definitely curious about my peers,” he expressed hope for his affiliated Olympic athletes.
While sumo is not an Olympic sport, Ōnosato has represented Japan in the “World Games,” an international competition for non-Olympic sports often referred to as the “second Olympics.” In the summer of his senior year in college, he won a gold medal in the open category at the event held in Birmingham, U.S.A. “The opening ceremony was incredible, and there was an athlete village; it probably felt similar to the Olympics.” Two years ago, “gold medalist” Ōnosato had a deep connection to the Olympics.
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