Posts Tagged ‘sumo’

Asashoryu back in Japan

After vacationing in Hawaii and New York, former Yokozuna Asashoryu has returned to Japan:

As you can see form the video clip, he is still keeping quiet about his future plans. His consistent avoidance of answering reporters’ questions does not seem to have discouraged the media from chasing him around wherever he goes.

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Head of Bulgarian Sumo Federation gloats about Asashoryu’s retirement

An article from Sofia News Agency notes how Bulgarian sumo wrestler Kotooshu has a better chance of winning championships now that Asashoryu is gone:

Kotooshu is reported as behaving totally differently, abiding by all social and professional rules. His wedding, on February 14, will be conducted entirely according to Japanese protocol and tradition.

The entire sumo community will attend the wedding of Kotooshu and his bride Asako and some 250 wrestlers are expected to attend the celebration.

His future best man and head of the Bulgarian Sumo Federation Petar Stoyanov, commented on Kotooshu’s professional prospects, following Asashoryu’s retirement.

“We are not gloating over this, but for Bulgaria it is good. The retirement of Asashoryu gives him a very big chance to attack the top position from second place . Kotooshu needs to be the winner in the next two tournaments, in one to acquire a credit of 14:1 or 15: 0 and, I think, he will immediately be selected for yokozuna,” Stoyanov said.

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While we’re on the topic of Asashoryu, just thought I’d like to share this interesting account of Asashoryu’s retirement, from a Mongolian blog I found today via Google:

Asashoryu has “volunteered” to quit the Sumo arena to avoid being “kicked out” officially by Japan Sumo Association because of his constant “bad behavour” violating Sumo rules and ethics.

That way he saved his name and stepped down with honor. The last incident happened during recent January Tournament when he punched the face of a Chinese-born “Japanese” who owned the restaurant where the Grand champion was dining. The owner of this restaurant must have said something offensive to Asashoryu , like “What is Mongolia anyway?” and “Mongolia is part of Great China”, etc., which would easily anger any Mongol.

Some say, it was a planned plot to get him into a trouble which would be enough to justify the banning him from Sumo.

The Japanese TV news programs I’ve watched in the last week have not gone into such detail. Perhaps it is based on some Japanese media report, or maybe the Mongolian press interviewed some people involved. It could also be a rumor being spread around in Mongolia by Asashoryu fans who want to put a positive spin on the fact that their hero assaulted someone. It sure would seem grand if the whole incident took place because he was trying to defend Mongolian honor from an arrogant Chinese-Japanese…

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The End of Asashoryu?

Mongolian-born sumo grand champion Asashoryu is in deep trouble after drunkenly assaulting a man in Tokyo:

The latest indiscretion by sumo’s perennial “bad boy” purportedly took place outside a nightclub in Tokyo’s Nishiazabu district in the early hours of Jan. 16 during the recent New Year Grand Sumo Tournament.

Asashoryu is alleged to have punched an unidentified man, who reportedly works at the nightclub where the wrestler was drinking, causing the man injuries that included a broken nose, lacerations of the lip and bruises to the back of the head, as reported in the Feb. 4 edition of the weekly magazine Shukan Shincho.

The JSA is set to determine what punishment, if any, Asashoryu will face after its board of directors election Feb. 1.

A few more details from ABC:

….the wrestler punched the man while leaving the club, then offered to talk things over in his car.

It then quoted the victim as telling Asashoryu that the incident was “water under the bridge”.

Asashoryu then reportedly told his driver to take them to a river, saying he would kill the man there.

The man only escaped after screaming out to police who were attending a nearby accident. He was left with a broken nose, a busted lip and bruises to the head.

Unlike the soccer-playing scandal of 2007, this is very serious business. It’s fine for sumo wrestlers to occasionally act like arrogant jerks, but assaulting and threatening to kill people is too much.

Polls, such as the one in the video below, show that the public expects Asashoryu to be banned from the sport:

The last known incident like this took place in 1987, when yokozuna Futahaguro allegedly assaulted the wife of his stablemaster. The JSA voted to accept his “resignation.” Many believe the JSA will follow this precedent and force an end to Asashoryu’s career.

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Australian girl gets sumo training in Japan

A news video about Samantha-Jane Stacey, a teenager from Australia who is receiving sumo training at a high school in Tottori Prefecture:

Since arriving in Tottori, the bubbly teenager has battled the language barrier, a tough new training regime and a quest to find Australian-esque cooked chicken sushi.

Now able to communicate in basic Japanese, Stacey is a hit with her peers, who are helping her learn the language by explaining in English but insisting she respond in Japanese.

Being Australian, Stacey struggled at first with the concept of not being able to talk freely with her seniors at the school’s sumo club, given the fact that where Stacey comes from you can talk to anyone.

The teenager has learned to reign in her Australian tendencies and adopt a Japanese sense of respect toward those older than her, including her training partner, 17-year-old Yuka Ueda.

Back on the Gold Coast where Stacey grew up, she trained for five to six days a week for 2-3 hours a day.

Now she completes a grueling seven-day-a-week training regime which sees her doing 4 to 5 hours a day after school.

“It’s just a different behavior, it’s very strict, a lot more disciplined,” Stacey told Kyodo News during her recent trip to Australia.

Three coaches train the group of two girls and 20-25 boys, however, the girls are not allowed to wrestle the boys.

Stacey said the ramped up training has left her feeling much fitter.

“In Australia we’d do 30-50 shiko during a training session and now I’m doing 500-600 during a training session,” she said.

The shiko exercise sees a sumo crouch, raise a leg and stamp it down and is thought to pacify evil spirits and cleanse the ground.

Stacey said she is enjoying living in a country so starkly different to the laid-back Aussie culture, adding that she does not miss the closed-minded intolerance of some Australians.

According to Gold Coast, Samatha-Jane dreams of the day when sumo wrestling becomes an Olympic sport and she can compete on behalf of her country. Past attempts to obtain Olympic status have not achieved much because professional sumo does not allow female wrestlers and considers bans all women from entering the sacred wrestling ring.

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Japanese babies enter the sumo ring

Tamana District in Kumamoto prefecture held a sumo event for babies over the weekend:

The event takes place every year when Futeno Izumi, a professional sumo wrestler from the region, returns home. Unlike the naki zumo events mentioned before on this blog, the object of the event was not to make the babies cry. Futeno merely held each baby as he did some ritual movements within the sumo ring. Some cried, some didn’t.
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Rhinoceros Beetle Sumo Championship

The National Rhinoceros Beetle Sumo Championship was held the other day in Yamagata Prefecture:

Mainichi’s article about the competition states that the final sumo match ended when one of the beetles flew out a window and disappeared, a moment that is unfortunately not found in this video clip.

Around 430 elementary school students took part with their beetles. The winner of each match is determined by which beetle makes it highest up the 70-centimeter pole forming the arena after 60 seconds.

During the final “King Kabuto,” owned by Takuma Kobayashi, 7, started out very strongly; but finally chose freedom over honor at the last moment, leaving “King Joe,” along with owner Shoichiro Ito, 6, to scoop the prize.

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