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Hakuho wins 33rd title, but it's lonely at the top

19 Comments

The Japanese word "hinkaku" -- defined variously as "grace," "dignity" and "quality of character" -- is one of professional sumo's essential criteria by which candidates are considered for promotion to the top rank of yokozuna (grand champion).

Long before Mongolian yokozuna Asashoryu was forced to resign in January 2010 for roughing up an unnamed victim in a late-night drunken brawl, accusations were already flying that his "hinkaku" was failing to meet those standards.

Most accusations against Asashoryu were probably true: He had a mean streak both inside and outside the sumo ring, and he reportedly directed his pent-up anger at members of both sexes, which ultimately led to his undoing.

Asashoryu's successor, 29-year-old Mongolian yokozuna Hakuho, has until now remained free of scandal. He has walked the right walk and talked the right talk, blunting the inevitable criticisms certain to arise for having beaten the Japanese at their own traditional sport.

But then in the January grand sumo tournament, he broke the late yokozuna Taiho's 44-year record of 32 tournament victories, and lo and behold, the grumbles have begun to percolate.

"Hakuho may have exceeded Taiho on a numerical basis, but spiritually, he has a way to go yet," a veteran sports writer remarked to Shukan Bunshun (Feb 5). "He said he's going to 'give all he's got,' but the next day it came to this."

The writer was referring to Hakuho's tardy appearance before the media on Jan 26, following his breaking of Taiho's record.

"He'd been out drinking until about 7 a.m., and turned up about an hour late for the press conference, which had been scheduled for 10:30 a.m.," the writer complained.

At the press conference, Hakuho was described as "reeking of alcohol" and "inarticulate."

Hakuho secured the championship on the 13th day of the 15-day tournament with a victory over his Japanese arch-rival ozeki (champion) Kisenosato. The outcome of the first bout had been too close to call, and Hakuho was clearly peeved when the referees ordered a rematch, which he won handily.

"The two went out of the ring simultaneously, and it was hard to tell if Kisenosato's left arm had touched down first, or the sole of Hakuho's right foot," a sumo insider explains. "It was an extremely close match that could have seen Hakuho ruled the loser, which then might even have affected the outcome of the tournament. So it was appropriate for the judges to request a rematch. Anyway, a yokozuna must not criticize something that in this case would serve to dispel the public's concerns over scandals and will help establish trust in sumo."

Hakuho also admitted that he's sometimes peeved at Japanese fans' partisanship.

"As a foreigner myself, I am aware of being discriminated against," he remarked. "Certainly the fans have strong expectations for the advent of a Japanese yokozuna, so they blatantly cheer for Kisenosato or Endo. Maybe I've let it bother me too much."

Hakuho's resentment had already boiled over in his bout on the tournament's sixth day. Clearly annoyed by the fans' partisan cheers for up-and-coming rival Endo, Hakuho lashed out with a karate-style elbow strike, a technique better suited to pro wrestling than sumo. It was something that revealed the childish side of the grand champion.

"He smacked Endo without concern over how it would look," the aforementioned veteran scribe remarked.

Complaints about Hakuho have not been confined solely to his bouts against Japanese grapplers. During the Kyushu tournament last November, the Japan Sumo Association called Hakuho's stablemaster Miyagino on the carpet to complain over the grand champion's committing of an unsportsmanlike "dame-oshi" -- by which an unnecessary shove is delivered outside the ring after victory is already ensured -- which propelled fellow Mongolian Terunofuji several rows back in the spectator seats. Hakuho did not appear to show remorse.

The aforementioned insider voiced concern that Hakuho, while often paying lip service to the late Taiho as the "father of sumo," is disdainful of his own stablemaster, Miyagino, to whom he owes a greater obligation.

When Hakuho paid a visit to Taiho's grave at the end of last year, Taiho's widow, Yoshiko Naya, is said to have advised him, "Whatever the situation, you must act like a yokozuna."

Ex-yokozuna Asashoryu has also been keeping an eye on developments. The Asahi Shimbun (Feb 3) reported that he voiced support for his compatriate on Twitter. "Don't pester Hakuho, you people in the mass media!!" he tweeted.

© Japan Today

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19 Comments
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Plueeeze. The champions are foreigners. Get over it.

0 ( +6 / -6 )

If Hakuho were a) Japanese or b) willing to take J-citizenship all such manufactured and racist charges would cease, full stop

0 ( +4 / -4 )

Hakuho rules!!! And...Japan, there is nothing you can change about it. Move on!!

1 ( +6 / -5 )

Asashoryu vs. Hakuho would've brought another golden age to sumo. They blew it when they got rid of Asa.

4 ( +9 / -5 )

Speed, exactly. Hakuho vs. the yokozuna in name only these past few years has been boring. And the semi-annual Japanese hopes have been pathetic. Those former Asa-Haku fights were absolutely electric. I see no one on the horizon who'll provide such a spark.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

The Japanese Sumo Association treats both non-Japanese and naturalised Japanese as foreigners. This is illegal, but nothing is done. Surely this is a bigger scandal than the supposed lack of "dignity" of Hakuho.

The moaners managed to get rid of Asashoryu, but in doing so they left the field open for Hakuho to win more tournaments. Taiho's record might still stand if Asashoryu were still around.

4 ( +8 / -4 )

That would be Taiho the half-Russian wouldn't it? We are talking about sumo aren't we and not something like baseball, you know that other Japanese national pastime whose greatest heroes are part-Chinese (Oh), ethnically Russian (Starffin), ethnically Korean (Kaneda, Harimoto), part-Iranian (Darvish), etc. Indeed, if I was to list the influence of "foreign" athletes in Japan, we'd be here all day.

Honestly, who cares? Performance is everything.

5 ( +8 / -3 )

Unquestionably without character you have nothing. Taiho was the legend of Showa era and left his mark as a true grand champion with character and integrity. Character endures and Hakuho has to work on it and try to make it better because he has a way to go yet. He will do just fine as long as he doesn't let his pride and ego go wrong and continue to be humble, meek and teachable. Congratulations for setting a new record. I wish him best of luck for a future full of achievements and success.

-4 ( +4 / -8 )

But then in the January grand sumo tournament, he broke the late yokozuna Taiho’s 44-year record of 32 tournament victories, and lo and behold, the grumbles have begun to percolate.

Excuse me? Those against Hakuho started well before this tournament, there was an article complaining about him from within his supporters (supposedly) here on JT as well.

Jealousy, plain and simple.

aiho was the legend of Showa era and left his mark as a true grand champion with character and integrity. Character endures and Hakuho has to work on it and try to make it better because he has a way to go yet. He will do just fine as long as he doesn't let his pride and ego go wrong and continue to be humble, meek and teachable.

Don't put these guys on a pedestal. Hakuho is in more ways "Japanese" than many of the so-called "Japanese" opponents he faces in the ring. Look at Kisenosato....hinkaku is the last thing he has, particularly when he fights a foreign wrestler.

Double standards for Hakuho, because people just don't want to accept that he has shown that he is better than any Japanese at what like to think is "their" sport. Time to grow up and quit with the stereotyping of Japanese people being different or of a higher quality and standard, that's BS. Taiho wasn't perfect either, people just like to this his image was, and they choose to let the other stuff go by the way side.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

Sumo fans knew long before Asashoryu (aka Bakashoryu) was given the choice of leaving or face less desirable options that he had zero hinkaku. Most Mongolian rikishi, recognizing they have a wrestling tradition in their country, feel they can do well at sumo in Japan. But, it isn't for love of the sport; it's for the money (Hakuho is the exception; He comes from a rather well to do family.). Yes, I know newcomers get no pay, but the Mongolians figure they'll rise high enough in rank to make some good money, exceeding what they could expect to make riding stunted horses across the plains at home. Since we're on the topic, Harumafuji doesn't have much, if any, hinkaku, either. His 'style' of sumo resembles that of Asa; I give neither one respect. Harumafuji had 2 henkas at the last tournament? Really?? A yokozuna? Puhleeeze...

-3 ( +4 / -7 )

Yes, if only the foreign rikishi (and ultimately isn't this the overall ideal for immigrants and guest workers writ large) who would blindly pursue ever out of reach concepts like hinkaku, all the while relentlessly shedding anything they knew before their arrival. It's like a freshman at a Japanese company--all that you've learned before this point, clikc-eject. Hinkaku is nothing but a manufactured nihonjinron concept always at the disposal of nativists longing to dismiss the other.

And it's such a handy defense mechanism. I mean we could talk about how foreigners have absolutely dominated this sport since Takanohana retired, we could respect and applaud the greater talent and drive of these new champions, or we can piss and moan about how essentially other they remain despite their success. In addition, now that Hakuho is the undoubted all-time great, we can start turning our attn. to whether he's willing to relinquish his native citizenship, as otherwise no dirty foreigner should possibly sully the purity of the sport or motherland by taking over a stable.

As with so many things, the telltale signs of horribly insecure jingoists.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

Hakuho has been in Japan long enough to know that the Japanese, however much they admire his fighting spirit, however much they are captivated by his cute-and-cuddly charm on TV, are similar to the ancient Greeks: they do not like impudence.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

kokoro7: "Most Mongolian rikishi, recognizing they have a wrestling tradition in their country, feel they can do well at sumo in Japan."

Sorry, kokoro, but they don't just FEEL they can do well at sumo in Japan. In case you've been on another planet, Mongolian rekishi have been mopping the floor with Japanese-born wrestlers for a decade or more now. Take all the Japanese wrestlers' so-called "class" and put it together...and you'll still have a bunch of second-rate wrestlers!

Think about it: the last Japanese-born Yokozuna retired fully TWELVE YEARS AGO (2003.) That's a lifetime in sports-even more so in the so-called "national sport" of sumo. And since you brought up class, remember that the last pair of Japanese to ever hold the spot, Takanohana and Wakanohana, were so "classy" that they openly fought over their father's inheritance money and then further hung out their dirty laundry for all to see by publicly criticizing their mother for having an extramarital affair!

In sum, if the Japanese actually think that this type of behavior is being "classy," then perhaps it's the Japanese who need lessons from Hakuho after all!!

5 ( +7 / -2 )

In sum, if the Japanese actually think that this type of behavior is being "classy," then perhaps it's the Japanese who need lessons from Hakuho after all!!

Like with so many other things in Japan there is a term for this "problem". It's called "selective memory", because a Japanese airs their dirty laundry it's all a part of doing business because it's "family", so hinkaku does not count.

Hakuho is a foreigner so different rules apply.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

My message to Hakuho:

With regards to the obvious bias from the crowd, use that anger and channel it toward your bouts in the ring. Don't give the racists an excuse to push you down.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Unquestionably without character you have nothing. LMFAO just a pathetic excuse for those that dont have the talent or can perfrom when needed. id rather be an ass**** that defeated all my enemies than somebody that died with character. nobody remembers a nobody with character, but history remembers conquerors and there legacy whether they have character or not.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Maybe we should move the Sumo tournaments to Mongolia. The reigning champion has the right to specify his homeland as the venue.

If the Olympics and many international sports can be hosted around the World, so should sumo.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Ditto Novenachama above. @wtfjapan: I'd agree with you, but then we'd both be wrong. Sumo is time-honored, and an honorable sport. Today, Hakuho is admired by virtually all, whereas Bakashoryu only had a mere handful of followers who didn't understand sumo anyway. Honor comes from 'how' you get there, as well as arriving there. Harumafuji, who followed Bakashoryu's footsteps, also is not well liked, because he and Baka only looked at getting a shiroboshi (((no matter how they got it))), such as henka, hair pulling, tripping, etc; virtually most of which didn't exist before the Mongolian invasion. Hakuho is appreciated for his humility and hinkaku. Is it perfect? Rhetorical question, as everybody can improve.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

In sumo once one rises to the top, performance is not everything. much more is expected from a yokozuna than just a good winning record. If you do not understand that fact, then you do not fully understand sumo.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

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