During a special talk show at the Sumo Museum, former makuuchi wrestler Otake Oyakata (43, previously known as Tamaasuka) shared an unexpected lesson he learned when first serving as a commentator for NHK’s sumo broadcasts: certain wrestling slang is strictly forbidden on air.
Appearing alongside Senkanoura Oyakata (former makuuchi wrestler Satoyama), Otake was asked to name a memorable match. He pointed to his 2004 Kyushu tournament bout against Chiyotenzan, which took place on the final day of his first tournament as a juryo wrestler. “From day one, my wins and losses kept alternating—it was a ‘nuke-nuke’ situation,” Otake explained. He had won on the opening day, lost on the second, won on the third, and so on through the entire tournament, finishing with an 8–7 record.
In the sumo world, the term “nuke-nuke” (ヌケヌケ) is slang used when wins and losses alternate in a pattern. However, Otake revealed that this word is considered a broadcast taboo. “Apparently it’s not a very nice expression. The first time I did commentary for NHK, they specifically told me not to use it,” he said. He went on to explain the origin: “It’s said to come from gambling, where the outcome of dice rolls—‘han’ or ‘cho’—alternates in sequence. That’s why they asked me not to say it.”
Senkanoura Oyakata then jokingly pressed him: “So what do you say instead?” Otake replied with a straight face, “Win, lose, win, lose…” drawing laughter from the audience.
