The champion matches of the Tokyo wrestling troupe are put off a few days and will commence on January 15, owing to illness of two or three noted men, including Asashio who was promoted, in the new list, to the first seat on the "East side." Wrestling enthusiasts in general, and personal friends and patrons in particular, are disappointed to learn that the only champion of the season, Tachiyama, hurt his right thumb recently, while training pupils in his private ring, and is unable to make his appearance at all on the Kokugikan Ring.
    Lively interest in the wrestling world was aroused two days ago, when the retiring champion Hitachiyama's queue-cutting was conducted with participation of Vice Admiral Yashiro, in the presence of three hundred friends and pupils. The Navy Minister, the late Commander Hirose of Port Arthur fame, and Hitachiyama formed a warm friendship, which they called "fraternity," a little more than ten years ago. Hence the Admiral's willingness to give the first clip of the scissors to his worthy "brother's" hair, and also to address briefly the latter's pupils, exhorting them to live up to their great master's reputation.
    This singular event took place in the private ring of the retiring champion, and several of his distinguished patrons and friends followed Admiral Yashiro's example in the use of scissors, after which a real barber gave the finishing touches, to make the three hundred pounder a veritable "modernized" gentleman. Henceforward he will no longer be a wrestler, but a toshiyori or elder, one of the referees who sit close to the four pillars of the Ring. After the formal queue-removal, the entire assembly was entertained at a luncheon, to which, however, the day's Master of Ceremonies could not stay, owing to the pressure of official business in the Navy Department.
    On the same day, in the afternoon, another incident enlivened the wrestling atmosphere. This was the wedding of Kurosegawa, the third new man of the "West side," and Akiko Kayama, a waitress of the popular Japanese restaurant Kagetsu at Shinbashi. Their marriage was solemnised in the Daijingu Shrine, Hibiya, and the owner of the establishment and his wife gave the bride away. It goes without saying that many a woman in fashionable circles, such as landladies of restaurants and geisha girls, are among the supporters and "fans" of the Japanese wrestling of mythical origin.