Tosatsu Master Gonzo Sawatari Resumes Practice — 'I'll Ask for One More Shot in November'

Gonzo Sawatari, 77, master of the Shiomibashi Shopping Street Tosatsu Association, lost the previously reported monthly tournament final on the 9th to newcomer Daichi Okonogi, 23, a second-generation Drifter of the rabbit line, by a score of three tiles, two squares to four tiles, three squares — the association's first recorded tournament loss for Sawatari in roughly three years. Since then he had skipped the weekly practice sessions, prompting some in the shopping street to wonder whether the loss had hit harder than it looked.

At the practice session on the 12th, Sawatari showed up a little earlier than his usual time. "I just happened to come a bit early," he said to no one in particular, pulling out an old drawstring pouch of wooden tiles and throwing for the first time in about a week. His first few tosses drifted wider than usual, but by the end of the session his accuracy had returned to form, onlookers said.

At the close of practice, Sawatari announced to the regulars, "I'll ask for one more shot in November." He added, "Counting the squares you lost over and over doesn't make the squares come back. I'd much rather count the next one I'm about to throw" — a line that drew laughter and applause from the shopkeepers gathered to watch.

Okonogi, asked for comment, said plainly, "I'd already heard talk of a rematch. It's less that I'm bracing for it and more that I'm glad to get to throw against him again." For Okonogi, only in his second year with the association, a rematch with the master would be the biggest opportunity of his young career. An association official said, "The best part of this sport is that the master doesn't go out on a loss."

During a break in practice, when asked about the final's result — three tiles, two squares, to four tiles, three squares — Sawatari looked back on it this way: "There wasn't even any wind that day, and my hand still went wrong on the very last tile. I know it sounds like an excuse, but what really gets to me is that I didn't notice it had gone wrong until after I'd already thrown it." The younger members watching practice reportedly murmured that even the master has days like that; Sawatari laughed and shot back, "That's exactly what makes this sport interesting."

According to association records, this is only the third time in Sawatari's roughly fifty years in the sport that he has publicly called for a rematch himself. The previous two times, he had won; this is the first time he has declared one as the challenger.

The association's next monthly tournament is scheduled for November. Regulars at the shopping street are reportedly already watching the calendar to see whether Sawatari can keep his form through to then.