The splendor of "Sanctuary." And a shove from a sumo geek
In a recent article, I mentioned that my Sagami Original T-shirt, which I always wear during interviews and media appearances, had worn out, and I asked Mr. H for advice on what to do about it. Upon reading that, Mr. H from Sagami Rubber Industries kindly sent a new T-shirt to the company.
Daily records and presentation of results (FY2022)
As always, thank you so much. I feel like I've reached my ultimate form now. Even if it becomes a hot topic among the parents at my daughter's kindergarten, I will continue to wear it.
The reason I've been wearing this Sagami Original T-shirt is due to the connection I made around 15 years ago when I was in charge of the advertising project "LOVE DISTANCE" for Sagami Original.
The project involved an actual long-distance couple running from Tokyo and Fukuoka over two weeks, eventually meeting in Osaka where the "distance of love" became 0.02mm. We did various digital tricks, like live streaming the two-week-long run, publicizing their chat conversations during that time, and syncing their physical information. I was the person in charge of the development of the digital department.
On the other hand, there was a commercial and video team responsible for creating a documentary-style commercial that included the two-week-long run. The director in charge of the video was Director Kan Eguchi. Since I was on the digital side, I wasn't closely involved with him, but I was naturally present at the final filming location and had the opportunity to work with him. At that time, he had suffered from a severe backache or something similar, and he directed the shoot while lying down and using a megaphone.
Since then, Director Eguchi has become active as a director for dramas and movies, and I have been occasionally watching his works. His latest creation, which holds a special place for me, is a Netflix production about sumo wrestling called "Sanctuary"
Ever since I was in the second year of junior high school, I have been watching sumo wrestling, starting from the match on the 6th day of the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in 1990, when Kirishima defeated Chiyonofuji with a tsuridashi (lift out) technique.
I also mentioned in an article four years ago that sumo wrestling is an extremely difficult subject to adapt into a live-action format. (In Japanese)
On the other hand, I also thought that because sumo wrestling is such a challenging subject, the only platform capable of realizing it nowadays would be Netflix. And here we have this series, released with the amazing combination of Director Eguchi and Netflix.
The following contains minor spoilers. Please be aware that they are not enough to fully understand the plot, but proceed with caution.
I had no choice but to watch it all in one sitting while sitting properly, as it was Golden Week and everywhere was crowded, making it impossible to go out. Despite my children's complaints about not wanting to watch sumo, I watched the entire series in one go, sitting properly.
My impression was that I am utterly grateful to everyone involved for turning this difficult subject matter into such an incredible visual experience and releasing it on a platform that can share it with the world.
The story is quite intense, and it's not until the latter half that the viewers' frustrations are alleviated. I wondered if people who are not sumo fans, especially those from overseas, would be able to endure it. However, as someone who considers themselves a hardcore sumo fan, I thought it was excellent, including the ending.
There is so much process and conflict leading up to a single bout. As someone who has been watching sumo for a long time, I have been overwhelmed by this on several occasions, and it has been an integral part of my sumo-watching experience. I am extremely grateful to the creators for focusing on this aspect and portraying it fully.
The movie "Blue Giant" has reportedly increased the number of customers at a jazz bar run by a friend of mine (I haven't seen the movie because I'm not a fan of the original work). I hope that the impact of "Sanctuary" will lead to more visitors at sumo tournaments and tours, ultimately increasing the number of newcomers. The portrayal seemed to convey the appeal.
That being said, at the time of writing, I have only watched the series once. As someone who watches sumo daily, there were a few moments where I thought, "Hmm, that's a bit off." However, considering that other manga and similar subject matter usually have many more inconsistencies, I was impressed by how well-done it was. Nevertheless, I noticed some points worth mentioning, so I thought I'd list them.
The series hasn't ranked high in overseas rankings yet, but if it becomes more popular abroad, I'm considering translating this article into English.
In the first official tournament scene, it seems unreasonable for Shizuuchi to appear in the first match of the third division, two bouts after Enno's match.
At this point, Shizuuchi should have a 14-win streak from his debut.
In actual sumo, we have recently seen Takanofuji achieve a 14-win streak (eventually reaching 17 wins). When a wrestler achieves a 14-win streak from their debut, they would typically be in the upper ranks of the third division (around 10th position or so). Therefore, it's odd for Shizuuchi to be in the first match of the third division.
Enno is just after a 7-win streak and should be in the upper ranks of the second division, so it doesn't feel strange for him to be in that position. However, it seems a bit of a stretch for Shizuuchi to appear two bouts later, even for the sake of dramatization.
Enya is seen watching Shizuuchi's match in the dressing room.
This point is a bit unclear in actuality, but in this tournament, Enya, who was declared "certain to return to the Juryo division" after his fourth win, should be at least in the third rank of the Makushita division (If he is in the fourth rank with four wins, it's unlikely that he would be declared "certain" unless something extraordinary happens). This means he should be wrestling in the top five bouts of the Makushita division after the Juryo ring-entering ceremony every day.
Therefore, Enya's matches should be roughly after 2:30 PM.
On the other hand, Shizuuchi, being in the upper matches of the third division, should be wrestling around 1:00 PM. This raises the question of whether it's acceptable for Enya to be in the dressing room at such an early time.
Preparation in the dressing room for wrestlers in the Makushita division and below is generally fast-paced, and I wondered if it might be unusual for a wrestler from the upper ranks of the Makushita division to be in the dressing room from such an early time.
The spot at the very back of the dressing room is reserved for Yokozuna.
There's a possibility that this depiction deliberately ignores the norms due to a lack of knowledge, but the place where Enno lays down and smokes in the back of the dressing room is traditionally a place where no one but the Yokozuna is allowed to sit.
It's possible they deliberately chose not to address this, and indeed, there seem to be quite a few young wrestlers who are not aware of these traditions. While this might be acceptable, it feels like the others could have reacted with a bit more of a "Hey, wait a minute" kind of response.
The other day, Hiyonoyama also sat at the very back.
https://twitter.com/sumokyokai/status/1651149120982364160
Ryuki is watching Shizuuchi's match from the audience seats.
It's probably unthinkable for an active wrestler, especially a sekitori, to watch another wrestler's match from the audience seats. Moreover, at this point, Ryuki has his hair in an oicho-mage. It's quite attention-seeking to come out into the audience with an oicho-mage.
If a sekitori with an oicho-mage were watching from the audience during a tournament, it seems like it would cause chaos in the stands.
Inujima Oyakata's manipulation of the matches between Shizuuchi and Enya.
Generally, matches in the ranks below Makushita are algorithmically arranged to pit those with similar records (same number of wins and losses) against each other from the top down. Therefore, it would be quite difficult for a stable master in the judging department, as depicted in the film, to arbitrarily change the pairings of specific matches, I think. However, in that case, it could be possible to create an irregularity in the algorithm by, for example, making a high-ranked Makushita wrestler fight in Juryo. So, I guess we could interpret it that way if we wanted to.
The Asashoryu issue.
As appears in the drama, the actual 68th Yokozuna, Asashoryu, exists in this storyline.
In reality, Asashoryu retired in 2010, and Enno's childhood years (around 10 years old, judging by the looks) coincide with Asashoryu's active years. As I recall, there were also depictions in the drama that Enno was a minor towards the end, so it seems reasonable to deduce that the setting of the drama is around 2018 to 2019, perhaps a bit earlier.
In any case, with the existence of Asashoryu, the generation of characters like Matsuo Suzuki and Pierre Taki in the drama would likely be about two rounds older than Asashoryu, around the generation of the current chairman (Yokozuna Hokutoumi). This would gradually throw the history of sumo into chaos. I'd really like to see a match between Matsuo Suzuki and Konishiki.
Enya vs Shizuuchi
While this isn't necessarily a point of contention, the drama features several actors who are former sumo wrestlers. The actor playing Enya is Chiyonoshin, a former Makushita, and the actor playing Shizuuchi is Hishofuji, a former Juryo, with a three-year age difference.
The match was a striking scene in the drama, and I checked to see if there had been a real sumo match between Chiyonoshin and Hishofuji, but there wasn't. There seems to have been a match between Chiyonoshin younger brother, Chiyonokuni, and Hishofuji though.
Upon rewatching, there may be other areas to critique, but there seem to be far fewer points of contention compared to the largely contrived storylines typical of sumo manga. The sense of disillusionment from inaccuracies in the portrayal of sumo seems quite minimal in this show.
As of May 8th, "Sanctuary" is ranked first in Japan's TV drama rankings, yet it has only just made its debut at 10th place in Netflix's international rankings. There's a tendency for Netflix in Japan to become somewhat isolated from international trends. Shows like "Physical 100," for instance, are generating huge buzz outside of Japan, but seem to be going largely unnoticed domestically. It's a concern and a shame if this series ends up being watched only in Japan. I think it would be great if it could gain more international viewership. If it succeeds broadly, a second season could be quickly confirmed, so I hope it continues to do well.
Regardless, with the actual Grand Sumo Tournament set to begin next week, I'd like to commend everyone involved in creating and delivering such an excellent piece of content.