A literal stone’s throw from the northernmost border of Tokyo lies Oitekaze-beya.

Were you to stand on the Adachi-ku (Tokyo) and Saitama Prefecture border and, armed with a good pitching arm, chuck a well aimed ball to the east of Yatsuka, south of the famed sembei town of Soka, the chances are that someone at Oitekaze-beya could at least see it sailing past – if not catch it.

In 2007, Oitekaze is home to Georgian maegashira, the former komusubi Kokkai, Daishodai as was, Daishoyama as is, and of course the up and coming Japanese American fighting under the name of Daishoyu, son of Tokyo based Inter FM DJ Marvin Dangerfield and a former amateur at the same Adachi-ku neighborhood club as Tamanoi-beya’s makushita rikishi, Shibuya.  (Note: for the followers of anything foreign in sumo today – Daishoyu speaks no English.  A very polite lad, nice manners but not one at ease with the language of Eikoku.)

Perhaps the most famous of Oitekaze’s retirees to date is Hayateumi.  Already having discharged himself from things NSK, sumo is a less ‘bouncy’ place with the ‘leaping lizard’ now relegated to the record books.

Accessed best from Yatsuka Station on the Tobu Isesaki Line, heading north out of Tokyo for those unfamiliar with the area, Oitekaze is under an hour from Ryogoku station to station.  Tag on another 20 minutes or so and you can make a rough guess at the door to door time – Kokugikan to Oitekaze.

From the east exit of the station, across the famed Nikko Kaido and through a drab housing area made up of stereotypically Japanese suburban streets dotted with temples and deserted, long-forgotten  pachinko parlors plus a half dozen shops that have definitely seen better days, through a slight chicane, under a footbridge, past an unremarkable neighborhood temple (at this point Stephen King would say “and somewhere, a dog barked”) and the heya comes into sight on the left – currently opposite a construction site.

Recognised more by way of its concrete facade with deep set circular windows towering above huge plate glass windows revealing the innermost workings of the heya when the blinds aren’t drawn against the sun, and you have reached Oitekaze – stable of the one time maegashira 2, Daishoyama – the leader of a mixed bag totaling 15 active rikishi.

Only upon approaching the doors does the weather beaten door sign come into focus, although the tell tale sign of black mawashi hung on a fence to the right of this large detached building, plus the standard collection of beaten up rikishi bicycles is an easy one to spot for the trained eye.

The heya itself is a detached concrete facility, and of the 35 or so heya I have had the privilege to visit thus far, is by far the most open – in terms of fan / observer viewing access.  Actually entering may well be an option limited to a select few however, as I never saw another non-heya individual made welcome in the main viewing area bar yours truly - although a few older men did hang around the windows peering in, unchallenged but highly visible - to see what was going on during asageiko.  The majority of the rikishi live at the head of a flight of stairs leading from the main entrance area to the rear of the viewing area, with the lone sekitori at present housed in a small 8-mat or so room adjacent to the communal room – within shouting distance – as he proved several times during a visit last year to secure an SFM interview.

The floor above is reserved for the family of the oyakata.

The keikoba itself is comparable in size to the setup at Tamanoi-beya – a couple of kilometers to the southwest – with plenty of walk around, stretching and ‘other exercise / shiko’ space. The almost obligatory Shinto shrine is mounted on the ‘rear’ wall breaking up the wall lining drop down windows as the oyakata and visitors look, with the main rikishi entrance / exit point off to the right, behind the kitchen doorway in the far right corner – emerging at the end of the alleyway running down the side of the house – the one decorated in mawashi and long suffering bikes mentioned above.

Set back from the street to provide ample parking space for the cars, the heya is in effect easy to miss, and when the blinds are drawn and cars parked out front it would be oh so simple to stroll on past.

Work ethic wise I have personally seen very few heya with so much effort put in by each and every rikishi – from the top down. Perhaps Kitanoumi-beya, Kasugano-beya or Musashigawa-beya would come close and even surpass Oitekaze, but not much time was wasted here during the morning workout – if there was any slacking on parade I missed it.

Admittedly not one of the easier heya to find for visiting fans or even those familiar with north Tokyo, but one in which, when the work is done, the rikishi are as friendly and welcoming as anywhere else. It might be the 10 kms or so between this locale and the cluster of heya in Ryogoku, but things are different here at Oitekaze – tough when it needs to be tough and chilled when it needs to be chilled - a place I’ll be visiting again soon.





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