Japan ends wait for local-born
JAPAN’S excruciating wait for a homegrown yokozuna, or sumo grand champion, ended yesterday when 30-year-old Kisenosato was promoted to the ancient sport’s highest rank.
A first Emperor’s Cup triumph at the weekend was deemed good enough for him to become the first Japan-born wrestler to reach the lofty perch since Wakanohana inn 1998, although it took Kisenosatoo 73 tournaments to get there – longer nger than anyone since 1926.
“I accept with h all humility,” the 178-kilogramm (392 pound) Kisenosato told reporters at a formal ceremonyny after being approvedd by the Japan Sumoumo Association ( JSA). A).
“I will devote te myself to the rolee and try not too disgrace the title of yokozuna. I feel a sense of relief,” a d d e d t h e native of Ibaraki prefecture, northeast of Tokyo, before posing for photos holding up a giant sea bream (pictured, AFP) – a traditional symbol of celebration in Japan. “I’m overwhelmed with gratitude for all the people who have helped me reach this point.” Historians claim sumo dates back more than two millennia but the rolypoly sport has been plagued by a series of damaging scand scandals in recent years. I t h a d b been without a Japan e s e y o k o z u n a si since Wakanohana’s bro brother Takanohana reti retired in 2003 as local wrestlersw have been unable to repel a flood of foreigners who have domin nated since.
MMongolian rise
“I would like to ce celebrate the first yo yokozuna promotion in 17 years from the b bottom of my heart,” J Japan’s deputy chief cabinet secretary Koichi Hagiuda said. “Kisenosato indeed has the necessary dignity and skill to carve his name in history.”
The overseas invasion began in earnest with Hawaiian behemoth Konishiki, nicknamed “Dump Truck” and tipped the scales at a whopping 285 kilograms (628 pounds), and other hulking Pacific islanders in the 1990s.
But the subsequent rise of the Mongolians, led by the brilliant but temperamental Asashoryu and latterly Hakuho, who has racked up a record 37 Emperor’s Cup victories since 2006, has tormented sumo traditionalists in the absence of a Japanese challenge.
Mongolia, which boasts its own ancient style of traditional wrestling, currently boasts three yokozuna, with Harumafuji having won eight titles and Kakuryu three.
F o r m e r o z e k i ( c h a m p i o n ) Kotoshogiku last year ended a 10-year wait for a Japanese Emperor’s Cup winner, briefly raising local hopes, but failed to build on that momentum, much to the JSA’s chagrin.
Mongolia’s stranglehold over the sport, which retains many Shinto religious overtones, has prompted handwringing in sumo’s corridors of power, none more so than when Hakuho surpassed the legendary Taiho to win a record 33rd title two years ago.
Japanese sumo officials have been accused of being overly harsh on Mongolian wrestlers, with critics insisting they lack “dignity”, but even defenders acknowledge that Asashoryu broke protocol with alarming regularity.
The firebrand grappler won 25 Emperor’s Cups before retiring in 2010 after being accused of breaking a man’s nose in a drunken brawl outside a Tokyo nightclub.
Previously he had notoriously provoked a soapy bathtub brawl with a rival and was banned for forging a doctor’s note for a back injury, only to be caught on camera playing football wearing a Wayne Rooney shirt.
Meanwhile, allegations of illegal betting and links with crime syndicates, drugs busts and the bullying death of a young wrestler have shaken the closeted world of sumo to its foundations in recent years.