This time, the pursuit team headed to a house in Kashiwa City, Chiba Prefecture. Inside, the boys were engrossed in eating a huge amount of rice. It was sumo that they worked up a sweat. However, these young sumo wrestlers are now in a pinch... That is, a series of price hikes. Food costs have risen to 300,000 yen in just one month! We will follow the struggles of the sumo youth group in the spring of price hikes. ■Food costs "1.5 to 2 times" From 200,000 yen to 300,000 yen a month... A municipal sumo arena in Kashiwa City, Chiba Prefecture. The prestigious sumo club "Kashiwa Sumo Youth Group" trains here every day. The coach, Nagai Akiyoshi (41), is in charge of the children. In fact, this sumo group is a prestigious group that has produced many top-ranked wrestlers. Nagai's motto is "praise and encourage," and boys who aspire to become sumo wrestlers gather from all over the country. Nagai: "Walk, bravely. Walk bravely, walk, walk. Oh, what a shame. There's no shame in losing." This is the dormitory for the Kashiwa Sumo Youth Group, a single house. The coach lives on the second floor, and the dormitory is on the first floor. There is a large 25-tatami dining room and three rooms for the boys. This is an 8-tatami room with two bunk beds for five people. Twelve boys between the ages of 11 and 16 from all over the country live here. Nagai returns from his twice-weekly shopping trip. He brings in food one after another. The food lined up in a row is enough for three or four days. It costs about 44,000 yen in total, including 4 kilograms of chicken breast and 3.5 kilograms of minced pork. Nagai is the only one who supports the boys' lives, including food, but now he has a big problem. Nagai: "Looking at the ledger, I see that my food expenses have increased by 1.5 to 2 times." With the successive price hikes, food expenses, which were 200,000 yen a month until a few years ago, are now 300,000 yen. The monthly dormitory fee is 50,000 yen per person, but they say they are barely managing to get by. What are some ways to save money amid such price hikes? Nagai: "Today, I happened to find that long green onions were half price, so I bought them all. I chopped them finely and froze them for storage." His biggest ally is a total of six large refrigerators and freezers. Nagai: "We get chicken, vegetables, and fish here. This is chicken (minced meat). Someone from Hyogo sends it to us every month. They send about 10 kilos." He also says that his water and electricity bills are nearly 200,000 yen a month. ■Chanko: "It's too expensive" but... it's filling and nutritious! Nagai has various ideas for saving money when it comes to meals. He took out some deep-fried tofu and chikuwa from the refrigerator. This is a "fried tofu-based oyakodon" style dish, which uses deep-fried tofu instead of chicken and adds volume with chikuwa. Nagai says, "Chikuwa expands when you put it in soup, so even a small amount will make it big." "(Bean sprouts) will shrink if you boil them, so I cook them all in the microwave." The bean sprouts are cooked in the microwave to maintain their volume, and are mixed with white sesame seeds and sesame oil to make "bean sprout namul." He is also particular about using ingredients that have not increased in price relatively much. Nagai says, "(Tofu) has become a little more expensive, but I don't think it has increased compared to other things." He quickly finishes the "mabo tofu" and makes miso soup at the same time using cheap spinach. And for the main dish, he uses 2 kilograms of pork and takes the time to make a "salted pork stir-fry" that is particular about the flavor. Nagai: "I marinated the pork in salt and garlic in the morning to prepare it." He also added "boiled pumpkin" and "boiled komatsuna" to make a hearty and nutritious dinner while saving money. He used to make the standard chanko nabe two or three times a week, but now he can barely make it once a month. Nagai: "The rising cost of ingredients and seasonings makes it impossible." He cooks 30 cups of rice every night using two rice cookers. In order to build up their bodies, the dormitory rules require the boys to eat 2.5 cups of rice, the equivalent of six regular bowls, for dinner. The boys are starving after training. They eat more and more. The oyakodon style made with deep-fried tofu is "delicious. It's of a quality that you wouldn't think is fake." After the meal, instead of dessert, they do "bump practice" to work off their hunger. The bath is for two people. Even if they fill it with hot water, it overflows, so they only take showers. ■Moving into the dormitory from Fukuoka... Entering junior high school A "new wall" In fact, there was a boy who ate dinner in the dormitory for the first time that day. New junior high school first-year student Takeuchi Imu (13) weighs 90 kg. He had just moved into the dormitory that morning. His goal is to become Yokozuna Terunofuji. He came from Fukuoka by car with his father. Father: "Do your best. Keep moving forward toward your goal. Have fun. Got it?" Imu: "Yes." Father: "Good luck." Imu was an undefeated wrestler in Fukuoka when he was in elementary school. However, he doesn't seem to be used to the training of the sumo club. First, he starts with basic training. He seems a little nervous. The splits look a little tough. And the practice of clashing with the big seniors seems to be a new wall. Imu: "(The seniors) are strong. They attack quickly when they hit." A day in the dormitory starts at 5:30 in the morning. Nagai prepares breakfast. At 6 o'clock, the club members wake up, and Imu also tries his best to get up. The club members take turns doing the laundry, taking out the trash, and other household chores. Imu cleans the entrance. Imu: "(Q: Have you gotten used to it?) A little bit, I've gotten used to it." And for breakfast... Nagai: "For breakfast, we have simple ginger pork, salad, and rice." The club members have a strong appetite from the morning. In fact, on that day, Imu's junior high school entrance ceremony was taking place. Imu: "I'm shy (laughs)." Visiting supporters and gathering ingredients "300 kilos of rice" When the club members go to school, Nagai goes out to buy ingredients. And then... Shop owner: "Give me some bean sprouts. Here. A little bit, bean sprouts." Nagai: "Really?! I'm sorry as always." Shop assistant: "This is all free." Shop owner: "There are so many kids." Nagai then comes back by car, visiting supporters to gather ingredients. Nagai: "Go and get it from a place that will support you." "(Q. What about comments?) It's 300 kilos." In fact, Nagai is also from this Kashiwa Junior Sumo Group. He made it to the corporate ring, but gave up due to an eye injury. 10 years ago, he took on the role of coach, turning the first floor of the house he lives in with his wife and children into a dormitory. Nagai: "I really want to leave behind the foundation of my life (sumo) for the next generation." ■First fight... "You get stronger by losing" On May 3rd, the sumo tournament was held in his hometown of Kashiwa. This is the first important tournament of the year, where the best wrestlers from the Kanto region gather. And for Imu, it's his first tournament, where he will be competing against second and third year junior high school students. Imu: "I want to be able to do my own sumo so that I won't have any regrets." He says he wears tape on his chest because it itches in the morning. First up is the team match. Imu wasn't selected, but he will compete with a team of five elementary and junior high school students. The Kashiwa Junior Sumo Group is progressing smoothly. In the semi-finals... He was defeated 2-3 and unfortunately came in third place. Then, in the open weight class for junior high school students, 66 people participated. Imu-kun stepped onto the ring. In the first round, he won handily against a fellow first-year student. In the second round, he faced a second-year student weighing over 100kg. What would the outcome be? Unfortunately, he was pushed down right from the start. It was a frustrating second-round defeat. Imu-kun: "In the second round, I was completely..." "(Q. Are you frustrated that you couldn't do your own sumo?) Yes." However, Nagai-san says, "Losing makes you stronger." Nagai-san: "Fighting against upperclassmen for the first time in my life, I think it was a good experience before the big tournament in the summer." [TV Asahi News] https://news.tv-asahi.co.jp