Nakamura Stable’s Sumo scene/revival brings back memories of notable predecessor

Just hearing the name evokes feelings of nostalgia.

At its board of directors meeting in late May, the Japan Sumo Association approved the establishment of the Nakamura Stable as its 44th stable.

The new stable master Nakamura, former sekiwake Yoshikaze, had been a sumo elder affiliated with the Nishonoseki stable led by former yokozuna Kisenosato before gaining independence to form his own stable.

Eight wrestlers joined him, including makuuchi division wrestler Tomokaze, and the stable will be in full swing at the Nagoya Grand Tournament in July.

It marks the return of the Nakamura Stable name after a 12-year absence. The stablemaster when it closed in 2012 was former sekiwake Fujizakura, who was dubbed the Shoving Rascal for his thunderous pushing attack during his active career. To avoid confusion, I will refer to him here by his ring name.

As stablemaster, Fujizakura maintained a one-track coaching philosophy. Instead of scouting wrestlers from colleges or abroad, he preferred to take his wrestlers straight from high school and train them from the ground up. He believed it was best to nurture them himself as they worked their way up, long before they could be influenced by other mentors.

Of course, not everyone finds success in the sumo world and given the uncertainty of their post-sumo lives, it has become difficult to attract recruits who are still in school these days. But Fujizakura was ahead of his time in this regard.

Aware of the hesitant parents who would say, “At least let him finish high school,” he encouraged those who had dropped out of high school to continue their education through correspondence courses.

Such thinking bordered on heretical at a time when the long-standing belief that sumo wrestlers did not need training had become deeply entrenched. However, his position gradually changed from the exception to the rule, and the Japan Sumo Association followed suit by arranging for wrestlers to attend correspondence schools.

The previous Nakamura Stable was closed in 2012 when Fujizakura reached mandatory retirement age. From its inception in 1986, the stable produced several judges division wrestlers, but none ever made it into the makuuchi division.

It may not seem satisfying based on results alone, but there’s no doubt that he upset the apple cart little by little at a time when scouting depended on finding “fight-ready” wrestlers in colleges and abroad.

That’s what came to my mind when I heard the name “Nakamura Stable” after so long.

— Kamimura is a sumo expert.