Asashoryu, the Happy Sumo Wrestler
Sumo wrestling is the national sport of Japan, enjoying a special legal status and support from the government. Every two months, a 15-day tournament is held, three in Tokyo and one each in Nagoya, Osaka and Kyushu. Wrestlers fight one bout each day, and the one with the best record of wins-to-losses at the end of the tournament is declared the winner. There are six ranks for the wrestlers to climb up through, with the top being yokozuna, or Grand Champion, and for a wrestler to attain this rank, he's supposed to not only be the strongest but have the proper kokoro (heart, soul) that embodies the spirit of sumo wrestling. (I can hear Yoda's voice: "...The deepest commitment, the most serious mind.") When top-ranked Mongolian wrestler Asashoryu sealed his victory at the sumo championship last week, he pumped his arms in the air in exultation, but this breech of proper sumo etiquette has landed the wrestler and his stablemaster in hot water, earning them both a stern warning from the Japan Sumo Association.
What do you think? Is it fair to ask a non-Japanese wrestler to hide his happiness and emotions that much in the name of being a good sportsman?
Japan's top-ranked sumo wrestler takes a victory lap
posted by Peter in Japan at 8:20 PM
9 Comments:
I read somewhere that Asashoryu was the "Mike Tyson" of the sumo world? He does have some rough spots, for example he pulled the hair of an opponent once. Shame on his ancestors...
1:41 AM
It's been a while since I've followed sumo (on TV) but I recall seeing others who have exhibited degrees of elation. Albeit we're not talking about the same kind of gestures seen in wrestling or mma!
2:11 AM
Ugh, I just imagined Sumo joining with MMA, that would be bizarre. And in fact, Akebono had a (brief) career in K-1 (anyone outside Japan or Eastern Europe follow that?) after he retired.
11:59 AM
Probably it wasn't a really smart thing for him to be doing. But the Japanese are a little peeved right now because it's been a long time since there was a yokozuna who was native Japanese. There are two now and they're both Mongolian. The leading candidate to become another yokozuna is Bulgarian.
There hasn't been a Japanese yokozuna since Takanohana retired. The furriners are taking over the Japanese national sport.
12:15 PM
I guess you should always follow what the sport's etiquette says. If it's a Japanese sport and since forever it's etiquette not to "brag" about victories, than he should have known better. It'd be almost like not bowing in the beginning of a match just because you're not used to it...
12:48 PM
a sumo fight is less than a minute in most cases and there is one match a day as peter said. much of the sport is tradition and ceremonial so to me its part of the job. i understand its hard to not show emotions if you win an important match but has to work on ist since he got a lot of money for this job.
6:42 AM
I totally agree Vy. I believe it is fair and respectful to ask a non-Japanese wrestler to hide his emotions if it is customary to do so. If you break the rules just because someone is a "non Japanese" then it sets a precedent that anyone who is "non Japanese" is free to do what ever they like.
1:13 PM
Denbeste, yes, it's got to be a bit of a downer for them. They can't have gentlemen's agreements to limit the number of foreigners like they do in Baseball.
Zenton and Vy, yes, it's best to follow the traditions, and if you do fans will like you even more. No one is really a fan of an athlete who shows himself to be pompous, and consider the other things Asa has done recently (pulling one guy's hair, getting in trouble playing soccer in Mongolia while "injured") have put the media against him, and you don't want that in Japan.
I love how Ichiro and Matsui, for example, bring the non-bragging style to Baseball, saying they will "do their best" without a lot of "We're #1, yaay!"
5:36 PM
Asashoryu gets picked on by the media and the Sumo Council a lot because he exemplifies the biggest problem with sumo: the sport is declining in popularity, even in Japan. It has to either modernize, and possibly lose a lot of its "Japanese-ness" or continue exactly as the old timers think it should, with all the pomp and tradition and continue to die slowly.
I think a lot of the old timers are struggling to have it all both ways - they want a completely traditional (read Japanese) sumo, but they also want the money and popularity that international wrestlers bring to the sport. Culture clashes are inevitable, but the sumo leadership should be more willing to compromise.
7:17 PM
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