藤島親方：二人ともよくがんばってくれたね。これで故郷に錦を飾ることができるよ。
若花田、貴花田：これも、みなさんのおかげです。大変ありがとうございました。
Kokyoo ni Nishiki wo Kazaru
Oyakata
Fujishima: Futari tomo yoku ganbatte kureta ne. Kore de kokyoo ni nishiki wo kazaru koto ga dekiru yo.
Wakahanada,
Takahanada: Kore mo, minasan no okage desu. Taihen arigatoo gozai mashita.
Stablemaster
Fujishima: You both did well. Now you can make a triumphant return home.
Wakahanada,
Takahanada: We owe it to everyone. Thank you so much.
* * *
Kokyoo ni nishiki wo kazaru means 'to return home loaded with honors,' 'to make a triumphant return, a grand homecoming. ' Interest in sumo is growing. Most popular among the wrestlers are the brothers Takahanada and Wakahanada and the American stars Konishiki and Akebono. When the referee announces one of the brother's names, he says that they hail from Aomori Prefecture. Their father is the ex-Ozeki Takanohana.
When either one wins, the people in Aomori have a hard time containing their joy. Kare wa sumoo ni yuushoo shite, kokyoo ni nishiki wo kazatta (He's won the sumo tournament and so returned home loaded with honors).
Ability is what counts in sumo. Some wrestlers try their hardest but never make it to the upper ranks.
There are certain to be some wrestlers who grumble, "Boku wa itsu ni nattara, kokyoo ni nishiki wo kazaru koto ga dekiru no daroo (How long will I have to wait before I can return to my hometown as a champion)?" Once in their late 20s, wrestlers begin to feel their power diminish. They sadly announce they are leaving sumo-"And so, without having been able to make a triumphant return home, I have decided to retire. (Tootoo kokyoo ni nishiki wo kazaru koto mo naku, intai suru koto ni narimashita)." Such wrestlers are probably in the majority. Every time they enter the ring they are overshadowed by the cheers fans direct at popular wrestlers. They fade away without ever having been in the limelight. And to think that when they entered sumo they were starry-eyed youngsters dreaming of becoming the hometown boy who makes good (kokyoo ni nishiki wo kazaru no ga yume deshita). " This expression is often used when talking about sports. A team from Fukuoka won this year's summer High School Baseball Tournament. Yuushoo chiimu wa, migoto kokyoo ni nishiki wo kazarimashita (The winning team did a wonderful job of returning home load- ed with honors). In high school baseball, it's not so much to win or lose as to getto Koshien and be able to represent one's prefecture or city. One rarely senses any great sadness or grief during the tournament.
Rather, there's a refreshing sense that "youth" is battling "youth." ' When I was a child I remember often hearing, "Shachoo ni natte, itsuka kokyoo ni nishiki wo kazatte misemasu (Someday I'll show you. I'll become president of a company and make a grand homecoming)." There aren't many young people today who say this.
Success stories have become far and few between in Japan's credential-oriented society. Becoming prime minister with only an elementary school education, becoming a company president...not very likely anymore. And as if this weren't enough, with people leaving the countryside to come live in the big cities, the very idea of hailing from a town in the provinces to which one might one day return loaded with honors is probably doomed to extinction anyway.