Grand Sumo Tournaments

[katsu]

If you can't beat 'em in the dohyo, don't allow 'em in the heya . . .

The JSA announced that heya (sumo stables) can only have one foreign-born rikishi period. Previously, if a foreign-born rikishi became a naturalized Japanese citizen, his heya could go out and recruit another foreign-born rikishi. Not any more. So basically the JSA is saying if you're a naturalized Japanese citizen, you're really not Japanese.

http://www.japantoday.com/category/spor ... -wrestlers

Obviously the JSA wants to cut down on the foreign competition that has dominated sumo in recent years. It's probably embarrassed that no native Japanese has won a basho in six years; that virtually all the top rikishi are foreign-born; and that the prospects for a native Japanese winning a basho any time soon, even with the departure of Asashoryu, are bleak.

What's next-- foreign-born rikishi, even those who are naturalized Japanese citizens, have to compete with one hand tucked in their mawashi?

With this ruling, the JSA continues to NOT address the problem of why native-Japanese rikishi are getting their asses kicked by foreign-born rikishi--it is that sumo is not attracting Japan's top tier athletes to the sport; in fact, it has problems attracting anyone to the sport. Baseball, soccer, rugby, American football, mixed martial arts, professional wrestling--that's where Japan's athletes who have sumo potential are drawn to. Until the JSA can figure out how to attract good athletes to become sumotori, it will continue to have foreigners and naturalized Japanese citizens dominate the sport.

[katsu]

No surprise, Hakuho won the Osaka tournament. It was his 13th yusho (moving him past Musashimaru and Futabayama with whom he had been tied for career championships) and his fifth zensho yusho. The big news though was Baruto's 14--1 record which, combined with his previous two basho records, earned him promotion to ozeki. He now becomes the second European ozeki and the eighth foreigner to achieve that rank. Hopefully he can become a worthy and consistent challenger to Hakuho, something sumo desperately needs now that badboy Asashoryu has retired. And maybe the Estonian's promotion will motivate fellow ozeki Harumafuji and Kotooshu to step up their sumo--they need to produce more than the usual nine or 10 wins they've been earning for the most part in the past year in order to help revitalize the sport.

[katsu]

So Hakuho wins the Natsu basho, achieving zensho yusho--his second consecutive undefeated tournament, and the sixth in his career. He clinched the basho with two days left. In one article I read, he stated that he felt "lonely" because of the lack of competition. Only one other sanyaku rikishi achieved double digit wins (Baruto with 10); the runner-up in this basho was a maegashira 10 (Aran with a 12--3 record). The only other rikishi who hit 10 wins were a maegashira 5 and a maegashira 15.

This victory gives Hakuho 14 tournament wins, tying him for sixth place all-time with Wajima. He is also tied for sixth place for most zensho yusho (immortals Futabayama and Taiho lead with eight).

The embarrassingly poor quality of competitiveness in the makuuchi division is disheartening. I feel sorry for Hakuho, an outstanding rikishi, who, having to face this lackluster competition basho after basho, cannot truly test himself to see just how great he can really be.

This may be the nadir of sumo . . . until perhaps the next basho.

[katsu]

This may be the nadir of sumo . . . until perhaps the next basho.

Well, we don't have to wait for the basho to start for sumo to sink to its lowest nadir. The following info is taken from sumotalk.com:

July 4th
Details from emergency board of directors meeting
The Sumo Association's board of directors held an emergency meeting today at a Nagoya hotel and decided on the following courses of actions:

* Otake-oyakata and Ozeki Kotomitsuki were expelled from the Sumo Association. Kotomitsuki will receive 260 million yen (approximately $280K US) in severance, but it's an amount 3-4 times less what a rikishi of his rank would normally receive. Otake-oyakata will receive no compensation.

* Futagoyama-oyakata (former Juryo rikishi Dairyu) who was affiliated with the Otake-beya will now assume the name "Otake" and serve as the stable master.

* Tokitsukaze-oyakata was demoted from a status of shunin (leader) to toshi-yori and cannot be promoted back up the oyakata ranks for 5 years due to his involvement with gambling on baseball. Onomatsu-oyakata was demoted from i-in (committee member) to toshi-yori status and cannot be promoted for the next 10 years since a hair stylist and Makushita rikishi from his stable were the links between the rikishi and oyakata gambling on baseball and the yakuza.

* All 29 rikishi, oyakata, and others (like hair stylists) guilty of betting on baseball will be under house arrest at stable facilities for the duration of the Nagoya basho. The rikishi will not participate in the tournament, and the oyakata will not be allowed to perform their normal duties. Due to Miyabiyama's heavy involvement in gambling activities, Musashigawa Rijicho will also be placed under house arrest this basho. An outside director, Hiroyoshi Murayama, will fulfill Musashigawa Rijicho's normal duties such as delivering the formal day 1 greeting and presenting the emperors cup to the yusho rikishi on senshuraku.

* All officials within the Association will receive a cut in salary for July and August. Musashigawa Rijicho's pay will be cut 30%; officials guilty of some form of gambling and under house arrest will be docked 20%; all officials not guilty of gambling will have their pay cut 10%; and oyakata who are not officials within the Association but who have rikishi under house arrest for gambling will have their pay cut 20%.

* The Sumo Association will honor requests for refunds from ticket holders.

Multiple directors within the Sumo Association were strongly opposed to having an outsider assume Musashigawa Rijicho's duties during the basho and touted Hanaregoma-oyakata and Tomozuna-oyakata as replacements, but the commissioner himself used his position to declare, "We are directed by the Ministry of Education, so I am in favor of naming Murayama-san as my replacement."

Regarding the Otake-beya, there were fears that the stable founded by Taiho would be dissolved altogether, but the former Futagoyama-oyakata as the new Otake-oyakata means that the stable will be allowed to continue. Rikishi cannot fight at a hon-basho without a stable master in place, so this move allows the Otake-beya rikishi to participate in the upcoming Nagoya basho.

The Sumo Association also made public the entire list of its members who were guilty of some form of gambling. The following 11 oyakata (including 4 directors) will be under house arrest during the Nagoya basho for participating in some form of gambling themselves or harboring rikishi who were guilty of betting on baseball:

Musashigawa-oyakata
Dewanoumi-oyakata
Kokonoe-oyakata
Michinoku-oyakata
Hakkaku-oyakata
Onomatsu-oyakata
Kasugano-oyakata
Sakaigawa-oyakata
Sadogatake-oyakata
Miyagino-oyakata
Kise-oyakata

The following 18 rikishi (including 11 sekitori) will be under house arrest for the duration of the Nagoya basho for betting on baseball:

Toyonoshima
Miyabiyama
Toyohibiki
Goeido
Okinoumi
Wakakoyu
Chiyohakuho
Daido
Kasuganishiki
Kiyoseumi
Futenoh
Furuichi (Makushita)
Kobo (Makushita)
Yamatofuji (Sandanme)
Matsumidori (Sandanme)
Notozakura (Jonidan)
Ohseumi (Jonidan)
Matsunoumi (Banzuke-gai)

49 other rikishi also admitted to participating in some form of gambling but will not be punished. The Sumo Association apologized for the actions of these members and stressed that it does not condone gambling of any sort even if it doesn't involve the yakuza. Notable members from this list of 46 (3 were not announced because they are under age) include:

Michinoku-oyakata
Hakkaku-oyakata
Matsugane-oyakata
Sadogatake-oyakata
Kumegawa-oyakata
Shiratama-oyakata
Nakagawa-oyakata
Wakafuji-oyakata
Azumazeki-oyakata

Hakuho
Kisenosato
Asasekiryu
Kakizoe
Kotoshogiku
Kakuryu
Tochinonada
Kasugao
Kotokasuga
Kirinowaka
Masatsukasa
Kyokunankai

OK, more info:
Bank accounts have confirmed the yakuza involvement in this gambling scandal.
Police have raided several sumo stables to collect further evidence.
NHK has decided not to air live the Nagoya basho, the first time since 1953 when the network first started airing sumo tournaments on TV that a basho is not being televised live.
The JSA has decided not to have an awards presentation at the conclusion of the basho--this means that for the first time since the Emperor's Cup was awarded starting in 1926, the trophy will not be publicly presented to the winner of the tournament.

As the Nagoya basho is about to begin, the world of sumo is in a terrible mess. And it may even get worse, as investigations proceed, public opinion continues to mount against the sport, and the lack of competitive tournaments and competitive native-Japanese rikishi show no sign of ending.

[katsu]

Hakuho wins the Nagoya basho. It's his 15th yusho, his third consecutive zensho yusho (undefeated championship), and his winning streak now stands at 47 in a row, third all-time. He finished a whopping four victories over his nearest competitors. Of the other five rikishi who achieved double-digit wins, four were foreign-born.

Speaking of foreign-born, after two native-Japanese rikishi bowed out during the course of the tournament due to injury, for the first time in history, there were more foreign-born rikishi competing in the makuuchi division than there were native-Japanese: Eleven Mongolians, three Georgians, one Estonian, one Russian, and one Bulgarian in contrast to 16 native-Japanese.

Attendance for this basho was down 10% in comparison to last year's tournament; only four of the 15 days were sellouts--half of last year's total; and kensho kin (prize money) was down drastically. There was no awards presentation at the conclusion of the basho, but Hakuho did receive 600 kilograms (1320 pounds) of koshihikari rice from Niigata prefecture (man,you could make a lot of onigiri with that).

Some more fallout from the current gambling scandal plaguing sumo:
--the winter tour has been cancelled due to lack of sponsors
--former ozeki Chiyotaikai is being investigated for gambling
--Otake (former sekiwake Takatoriki, one of my favorite rikishi), the stablemaster who was ousted by the JSA for his involvement in gambling, has been forced to divorce his wife, who is the daughter of dai yokozuna Taiho whose heya Otake inherited
--more connections between sumo and the yakuza are being investigated

Has sumo finally hit rock-bottom? Only time will tell. But what is certain is that the lack of competition that Hakuho faces is appalling, embarrassing, and damaging to the sport, and, unfortunately, shows no sign of changing anytime soon.

[Saburo]

The folks I feel sorry the most for are the ozumo fans of Nagoya. Once a year you get a basho and this one was stripped of just about everything positive-- easily the most joyless tournament ever.

I also feel kinda bad for falling WAY out of the sumo scene (my sumo fandom was peerles from 1987 to around 2002) but, jeez, you expect me to support THIS?!

[katsu]

The folks I feel sorry the most for are the ozumo fans of Nagoya. Once a year you get a basho and this one was stripped of just about everything positive-- easily the most joyless tournament ever.

Well, if it's any consolation, at least sumo fans were spared from watching it live on NHK. Hmm, I wonder if attendance at Chunichi Dragons games went up during the tournament?

I also feel kinda bad for falling WAY out of the sumo scene (my sumo fandom was peerles from 1987 to around 2002) but, jeez, you expect me to support THIS?!

Many sumo fans are asking themselves the same question. The scandals which are rocking the sport, the incompetence of the JSA, the abhorrent lack of competitiveness at the top of the makuuchi division . . . it all sucks.

1987 to 2002: a great era for sumo. The Hawaiian invasion; the Hanada brothers; outstanding smaller rikishi like Mainoumi, Terao, Takatoriki, and Kyokudozan--it was a wonderful time to be a sumo fan.