Sumo wrestling of Recent Article

The incident reportedly occurred at around 4 a.m. One cannot help being astonished at the fact that the yokozuna was out drinking during a tournament. The incident has raised questions about whether he was regularly drinking late even during tournaments, his relations with the victim and why a false report was filed with the Japan Sumo Association.

 

Three years ago, Asashoryu was hit with an unprecedentedly strict punitive measure as a yokozuna. He was suspended from two consecutive tournaments and slapped with a 30 percent pay cut after it came to light that he had skipped a summer regional tour and returned to Mongolia on the pretext of receiving treatment of his injuries but actually played soccer in his home country. Stablemaster Takasago also got a pay cut for his poor supervision of the wrestler and declined to be re-elected a member of the association's board the following year.

Asashoryu has since been involved in a series of scandals that have raised questions about his qualifications as a yokozuna.

"The association is too lenient toward Asashoryu," says scriptwriter Makiko Uchidate, who stepped down as a member of the Yokozuna Deliberation Council on Jan. 25 and has been a longtime critic of Asashoryu.

"As a yokozuna, I will do my best to contribute to the development of sumo," Asashoryu told a messenger who visited him to notify that he would be promoted to the top rank of sumo seven years ago.

One cannot help but wonder whether the yokozuna and his boss who listened to his message forgot his resolution.

The campaign for the biennial election of the Japan Sumo Association board is under way. Board members were elected without a vote in the past three elections. However, voting will be held for the first time since 2002 because 11 candidates are vying for its 10 seats. The new board's ability to deal with the incident will be tested immediately after its inauguration on Monday.

 

Japan Sumo Association needs to learn lesson from departure of Asashoryu

Sumo Yokozuna Asashoryu, who secured 25 tournament wins during his career, the third highest number for a wrestler in the sport's top division, retired on Thursday.

The grappler's move was triggered by an incident during the January Grand Sumo Tournament, in which he allegedly assaulted a waiter -- an unforgivable act for a yokozuna. The Japan Sumo Association summoned Asashoryu and his stablemaster Takasago to a meeting of the board of directors on Thursday and questioned them over the incident.

The board recently held its first election in eight years, and it was expected that the new administration would severely punish the yokozuna over the incident, and possibly even sack him. It is unheard of for an active yokozuna to be fired, and such an incident would blemish the tradition-bound history of the sumo association, not to mention Asashoryu's own name. It can be concluded that by resigning before any action was taken, Asashoryu was able to end the issue with an amicable settlement.

But the sumo association must not be allowed to heave a sigh of relief now that the problem yokozuka has gone. There must be an investigation into the reason why one of the most popular and successful wrestlers left the clay mound in this way, and the association must establish measures to prevent any recurrence of such a turn of events.

There is no need to go back and explain the scandals that surrounded Asashoryu, starting with his game of soccer in Mongolia after he skipped a regional tour on the pretext of receiving treatment for injuries. Each time a problem surfaced, it was Asashoryu's stablemaster Takasago who bore the brunt of the criticism. In the world of sumo, which is governed by the rule that a pupil is the responsibility of the stablemaster, the spotlight was placed on Takasago's lack of leadership. Needless to say, Takasago indeed bore heavy responsibility, but so did the executives of the Japan Sumo Association.

It was the board of directors that recommended Asashoryu ascend to the rank of yokozuna seven years ago, in spite of a Yokozuna Deliberation Council decision that the move was "premature." But each time a scandal erupted, the responsibility fell on the shoulders of Takasago alone, while the association executives took a back seat. It can also be said that the association's board, failing to provide appropriate instruction at an early stage, went easy on the "monster yokozuna," allowing him to become arrogant.

When Asashoryu was questioned over his "dignity as a yokozuna," was it too heavy a burden for Takasago, a former wrestler of the lower ozeki rank, to teach him? One cannot help feeling that the sumo association as a whole, including former yokozuna wresters, fully grasped the weight of raising up a yokozuna service as the face of sumo.

Asashoryu's exciting sumo techniques, in which he displayed speed and fighting spirit, drew many fans. He supported Heisei Era sumo following the retirement of the popular Yokozuna Takanohana, and achieved the notable feat in 2005 of dominating all six tournaments that year. Following the rise of compatriot Hakuho to sumo's top rank, the two yokozuna sustained sumo's popularity. With one of those top wrestlers no longer in the ring, sumo's popularity will undoubtedly be affected.

Learning a lesson from the problems surrounding Asashoryu, the association needs to put in more effort than ever into the education of its wrestlers. Without such an effort, sumo is not qualified to be called a "national sport."

横綱：白鳳[Yokozuna, Hakuhou] He is from Mongolia.

大関：琴欧州[Ozeki, Kotooushu] He is from Bulgaria.

Japan Sumo Association has some faction.

The faction's unity is very hard, and they always suppress act of betrayal.
They terribly dislike the person who tries to change old common sense.

A free sumo wrestling champion like Asashoryu might change the sumo wrestling of Japan.
If the number of sumo wrestlers like him increases, the sumo wrestlers' controls by Japan Sumo Association will become difficult.

It is not attractive to the sumo wrestler who doesn't have individuality though the rule is certainly important.
So that , there are many sumo fans which dislike Asashoryu. However, there are many sumo fans which love Asashoryu.

"横綱の品格[Grand champion sumo wrestler's dignity and grace] " on Japanese sensibility.

The Japanese demand dignity and grace from the sumo wrestling champion.
This " 品格(hinkaku)[Dignity and grace] " might be a peculiar Japanese sense.

If the person grew up in Japan, it will be able to be understood.
But, it might be very difficult for the foreigner to understand it easily.

The foreigner comes to the country where the language, the custom, and food, etc. are quite different, and they study the language first and should train a painful sumo wrestling every day.

And, Japanese force "A peculiar dignity and grace of Japan" on them as soon as becoming a sumo wrestling champion.

When the foreign-born sumo wrestler takes a thoughtless action on the sense of Japan, Japanese people  criticizes them at once.
(Their great achievement and contribution to the sumo wrestling are disregarded.)

Japan Sumo Association should change.
The Japanese should change, too.

And, I think that Japan Sumo Association and people in Japan should have the generosity for the foreigner sumo wrestler.

Finally, this is a video of the retirement press conference of Asashoryu.
I watched this press conference on television.
The attitude that Asashoryu is manly was more remarkable than journalists who repeated a stupid question.

By Hararie