Tosatsu: Sawatari and Okonogi Build Toward November — 'I Won't Beat Him Back the Same Way He Beat Me'
At the Shiomibashi shopping district Tosatsu Association, master Gonzo Sawatari, 77, and rising star Daichi Okonogi, 23, continue to train ahead of their rematch at November's monthly tournament. Sawatari, who lost to Okonogi in the September 9th tournament final, got a measure of revenge in an informal practice bout on the 14th, both previously reported, but since then he has reportedly spent less time tallying wins and losses than reworking his form.
Daichi Okonogi, 23, a second-generation drift settler of rabbit lineage, beat master Gonzo Sawatari, 77, in the previously reported September 9th tournament final, 3 planks 2 squares to 4 planks 3 squares. In the previously reported informal bout on the 14th, Sawatari narrowly turned the tables, 3–2 to 3–3. But watching their practice on the 27th, neither man seemed especially focused on tallying wins since. "Counting wins and losses is for the real thing. Right now I'm not just drilling the same throw that lost me the final, only faster," Sawatari said.
■ "I Won't Beat Him Back the Same Way He Beat Me"
Drawing on his decades in the sport, Sawatari says he has been spending his practice time correcting a habit Okonogi read in the final — a tell in his shoulder when aiming for the left side of the target. "In thirty years, that's the first time anyone's read that habit. It stings to fix it, but I have no interest in beating him back with the same form that lost." Okonogi, for his part, revealed he has been studying the speed of Sawatari's reading itself. "I write down, every practice, what the master looks at and what he does right before he misses the target. I've started to think the real source of his strength isn't his hearing — it's the order he looks in."
■ How Others See It
One association member watching the two practice said, "Both the one who won and the one who lost are throwing with more enjoyment than before. It feels less like the score is moving and more like something else is moving between them." The Shiomibashi Tosatsu Association's office said sign-ups to watch November's monthly tournament are coming in earlier than usual this year.
■ What Comes Next
November's monthly tournament is expected to be held early next month. "Whether I've fixed my form will show in whether he can still read me on the day," Sawatari said, while Okonogi added, "I haven't decided yet whether to win by reading faster or by throwing before I can be read." Both men said they do not plan any further informal bouts before the rematch itself.
