Good grief! That is about as scandalous as Tyson making a business lunch out of Holyfield’s ears! And a grand champion, no less. It is sickening to see this sort of “win-at-all-costs” mentality find its way into a most honorable sport. Thank goodness As(s)ashoryu was forced to forfeit instantly.
And the reason that “there is a brick wall under there,” is because they ate that brick wall as a between meal snack!
A thought on the Japanese reactions to the hair pulling. I posted in this thread that I lived in Japan for three years. IMO - the biggest difference between the American and Japanese culture - that I noticed during that short three year period – were the general social attitudes to the ideas called “civility” and “sense of honor.” Here, in “The States,” both these items can be, and often are, fodder for Comedy Central jokes. In Japan these concepts still have deep meaning. It’s all sort of cool really — Actually – looking at the big picture – they have it right --------- “right” in the sense of — “If we really want to think we’re better than the monkeys” sort of way -
My longer response yesterday got trashed when my wife turned on two air conditioners and tripped the circuit breaker, but here goes:
I think one basic reason is that, unless you know you’re going nowhere in football, the requirements to get in the sumo world just aren’t worth it. Unlike baseball players who come to play in Japan, they’d have to start at the absolute bottom level (down with the fifteen-year-olds), and get by exactly as a Japanese wrestler would.
There’s no citizenship requirement (to get in, anyway), but there is a strict langauge requirement. Recently the Sumo Assiciation added a rule that foreign wrestlers had to pass the level 1 Japanese Proficiency test (near-native fluency. I’ve been here eight years and am just barely at level 2). None of the American stars (Konishiki, Akebono, Musashimaru) reached that level until several years of wresting, prompting some to accuse the SA of reacting to foreign successes by trying to shut them out. With both yokozuna positions now held by foreigners and more scattered throughout the divisions, that criticism has faded, but it’s still a a big obstacle to breaking into the sport.
Also, the pay is shit until they hit the big time. They would have to start at the Jonokuchi level, then fight their way up through the Jonidan, Sandanme and Makushita divisions (which would take at least a year, probably two) and reach the Juryo division before they’d even start earning a salary. Until that point they get just training, room, board, and an allowance of a few hundred dollars a month, in return for which they have to cook, clean, and wait on the higher ranked wrestlers hand and foot. Not exactly glamorous.
About Asashoryu and the hair-pulling, it happened so fast (Kyokushuzan was already on the way down), it looked to me like it was an accidental grab rather than a deliberate cheat. Still, it’s the first time in all the years I’ve been watching that I’ve seen anyone called for an illegal move. The coaches and elder wrestlers are usually so strict about punishing anyone who sets a toe out of line, either in a match or in practice, that it just doesn’t happen.
Actually, my comment about rising through the ranks in two years would assume that they had the physique and technique to consistenly win overwhelmingly. If they’re closer to the average young wrestler, it would take more like four to six years, even if they had the talent to be a star someday.
There have been many strong high school athletes, many of them football players, who tried to make it in sumo…and found the cultural gap, language barrier, strict discipline, complete subservience to a stablemaster, grueling work ethic, and tough competition just too much to handle. It’s never, ever a decision to be made lightly.
Sublight - For the vast majority of professional sumotori (that the word for a “sumo wrestler”, which I use because sumo’s a lot more than wrestling), the truth is even bleaker…they NEVER crack the sekitori ranks (the top two, the ones that pay the real money). It’s no uncommon for a promising, talented sumotori to make it all the way to Makushita, the last step before sekitori, and get stuck their for the remainder of their careers. Some for over a decade.
Zenster - This has nothing to do with a “win at all costs attitude”. A yokozuna is supposed to fight hard in every match and find a way to win…Takanohana became famous for exactly that. An outright rule violation, however, is unbecoming, especially for a yokozuna (and it’s pretty rare on any level). Since the gyoji (the main in the ring with the fan) made the right call, I’m not complaining. There have been concerns about Asashoryu’s temperament, but they existed well before he made yokozuna. Akebono was also known for inappropriate displays of emotion early in his yokozuna tenure, and he eventually became a great champion, so there is hope for Asa yet.