Enho (31, Isegahama stable) scored a win on the opening day of the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament, marking his return to the juryo division for the first time in three years. The wrestler, who suffered a severe spinal cord injury at the 2023 summer tournament and missed seven consecutive tournaments, has climbed back from the lowest jonokuchi rank.
One of those watching Enho’s journey with a warm gaze was Minatogawa-oyakata (29), the former ozeki Takakeisho. On March 25, when the Summer Tournament bout scheduling committee confirmed Enho’s return to juryo, Minatogawa picked up the phone. “I’m truly happy for you. I feel as joyful as if it were my own achievement,” he offered his heartfelt congratulations.
The two belong to different stables, different ichimon groups, and attended different schools. Enho is two years older, but Minatogawa, who joined sumo after high school, entered the professional world about two and a half years earlier, making him Enho’s senior in the dohyo. What brought them together? Minatogawa explained, “Toward the end of my active career, I had neck problems, so we shared information on good treatment clinics. Both of us weren’t big guys, and our necks weren’t in perfect shape. I didn’t have close friends among active wrestlers, but we both understood the hardship of a bad neck, so we’d occasionally talk, hoping things would improve.”
They faced each other three times in official bouts, all when Takakeisho was an ozeki and Enho had climbed into the upper makuuchi ranks. Takakeisho won all three. Plagued by his neck injury, Takakeisho retired at age 28 in September 2024. At that time, Enho was fighting in the jonidan division, just his second tournament back after his injury.
Minatogawa continued, “After I retired, we no longer fought. He kept believing in himself and pushed forward desperately. I watched, hoping he would make a comeback. To see him return to the sekitorai rank… it’s not me, and he’s not my disciple, but I rarely feel this happy for someone else. That’s why I contacted him when he made it back. He believed in himself, and it paid off – that made me incredibly happy.”
Takakeisho stands 173 cm tall, Enho 167 cm. Both are shorter than most, and when they struggled or got injured, whispers of their limitations crept in from those around them, forcing them to fight their own minds. The neck cannot be fully strengthened even with training. According to Minatogawa, even the same neck pain responds differently to treatments depending on the individual. When there’s hope for improvement, you try every method, grasping at straws. That’s why Minatogawa values the struggle period when no one was watching. “I want him to savor this applause. Behind it, we haven’t forgotten the time when he wasn’t expected to succeed. That endurance is beautiful and admirable. More than winning, he endured everything, believed in himself, and competed. That’s where his true beauty lies. When things are good, you can counter criticism. But when you’re down, negative words cut deep. I want fans to know the months he fought through that. I want them to understand the background of his comeback and the depth of his character.”
Having faced his own neck pain without making close allies in the active ranks, Minatogawa understands that suffering. That’s why he empathized with Enho’s time away from the ring. Enho expressed his gratitude for that phone call.
