Muhomatsu

Would you say the same thing if Takaseido were replaced with a drunk woman? This is sexual violence and I hope you do not consider sexual violence to be "normal behaviour".

In this case, it is pretty damned clear that there is an assault and a coerced victim. We have a situation where the higher rankers are committing "power harassment" on a junior colleague. The relative power differential is very high - and the ability to "just say no" is very reduced - likely to zero. Couple this with drinking being involved - which impairs judgement of the victim ("she was drunk" will not get anyone off of a rape charge!). In fact, I would think that there is enough evidence just in those photos and storyline to pursue criminal charges (at least civilly in the US) for sexual violence. The math above clearly points to abuse - abuse that has been covered up for two years (which is another scandal on its own). We will likely see the powers that be - the same ones who have been claiming "health and safety" are paramount for the past few years - sweep this under the rug as fast as possible. The victim is likely gone, paid off with some small sum to stay quiet. The perpetrators should be finished. The boss may get a relatively small slap on the wrist (IMO) and the scandal clock reset for a few more weeks. Unfortunately, we shall all see each other again soon - under a different forum topic - with a new scandal.

The same sort of "extend and pretend" for stables with violence scandals. They all try the "cover it up and pretend nothing happened" method - until the evidence comes out. We know there was an investigation into Ōnosato and drinking with not-yet-of age disciples - let's see if during this investigation they lied about other drinking events at the stable. Takaseidō would have been 20 by Kyushu 2022 - so above the legal limit in Japan at the time of the incident. The Kyokai has come down hard on those that lied about incidents - harder than those that merely covered them up. Nishonoseki could be in big, big trouble if they denied other incidents during the Ōnosato discussions with the Kyokai. Now we can add sexually violent hazing to the underage drinking at the heya. Will there be voices saying that Nishonoseki Oyakata needs additional training on how to be a good stable master? Will his stable be taken away for an indeterminant time? He is on the shinpan duties - will he be demoted in the hierarchy and lose those responsibilities? Where was Nakamura Oyakata during this - It is his current man - Tomokaze - that was the senior person present during these events. Will he get punished too? Tomokaze? Kirinryū? Gone? There is almost a natural experiment here - two recently retired Yokozuna who have their own "new" stables and now have violence within. Will punishments be similar? Or will we see some clear favoritism emerge? While there was theft and violence at Miyagino, it was not sexual violence. Let's see... will the judges/juries be fair. The cover up at Miyagino did not last as long. This is over 2-years of a cover-up at Nishonoseki...

I am not a fan of the gaslighting here, and only trying to compare it to the Hokuseihō case does not excuse the fact that Tobizaru may not just be an a$$hole. if true, the underlying problem is that the perpetrators do not see their stablemates as fellow human beings. When that happens, it’s only a matter of time before much worse things happen. If Tobizaru does not recognize some basic human attributes and dignity in his fellow stablemates, it’s only a matter of time before things can get much worse for them. It’s not a case of apples and oranges. It’s a case of being able to tell right from wrong and to treat fellow humans decently.

Here is another article: https://www.nikkansports.com/battle/sumo/news/202501160000520.html

Here is what I see as the real problem: The NSK and various official media have good recaps of the top division (the wrestlers people PAY to see). We can find these clips for free on NHK or on official digests. Access to the top division is not the problem. The problem is access to the lower divisions - you know, the non-salaried wrestlers that fight in front of a mostly empty stadium. There are a lot of fans that want to support these wrestlers and watch them develop into talent - or to just admire how they keep up with this difficult life style for years without much hope of ever making sekitori. This is what is lost whenever sites like Natto are struck down. These matches are not available elsewhere - and when the NSK did set up a paywalled stream - the price for this additional coverage was too crazy - we could still see the top guys for free on NHK - so the only added content for the price was lower rankers. It made no sense. I do not have hours to watch sumo either - job, family, puppy, etc. The digests of Makushita and Juryo supplemented the existing top division digest and made it watchable on days I had the time. Added to that are stats (Natto) and excellent commentary (Kinta), and you end up with something that provides value to viewers. I imagine that Natto and Kinta (and others) make good bank - and if you take their hourly earnings times the volunteer hours(days/weeks) they put into their production - you can see how much it really costs to make these labors of love. While expensive to Natto or Kinta individually, its pretty cheap compared to overall budget of the NSK - and I guarantee that a subscription cost less than that of Twitch would put any official effort in the black quickly and eliminate the need for non-official streams. I know that Natto and Kinta love what they are doing - but if there were a sufficiently good official product that rivaled theirs, I bet they would consider intai and to devote those hours to job, family, puppy, etc. I understand official media wanting to keep ownership of their production (but they should also acknowledge ownership of the value add provided by Natto, Kinta, and others... That just seems a waste to throw away each strikedown). There is intellectual property these streamers produce that is not properly safeguarded. The NSK is cleraly leaving money on the table by not working to monetize their full slate of matches. This has been going on for years, and I have written them letters (no response). To me, it is quite clear the organization is not motivated by profit - meaning they have other reasons behind their efforts to keep sumo out of the eyes of foreigners. Maybe a new Rijicho will think differently. It will be many years before someone with a more open attitude takes control. In the meantime, we will see the numbers of rikishi continue to fall and the future of the organization will look difficult.

Saying the silent part out loud! I think you can easily see a decline in power/speed/energy in quite a few wrestlers since their COVID infections. And these are guys who "build their body" to be at a peak performance. Imagine what is happening to the "average Joe" with multiple infections each year. This will be a long-term crisis with implications on potential economic growth (less labor productivity and more illness/outages) and on country fiscal positions (more health care costs). Large price to pay coming up.

Thanks. Sort of stuck stateside.... To all those reading who want to make a buck, there is a customer if you stock up on those magnets!

Where is the best place to get more of the Kototsurugi-style fridge magnets for current sekitori? Bigsunofan shop has not had new inventory for some time. Anyone else got any sources?

I have a question about Sadogatake-beya after these four uchi-deshi moved to join Hidenoyama-beya. I recall a few years' back (pre-Covid) that Sadogatake was one of the heya with the most rikishi in it and I have the impression that it has massively shrunk in size. It has 18 wrestlers now, making it still a large stable - but it has lost many wrestlers since the start of the pandemic. I count 6 retirements in 2020 (including Kotoshogiku who stayed as oyakata), 10 retirements in 2021 (a large wave in May 2021 and also Kotoyuki, who stayed as oyakata), and 12 retirements from 2022-24 (including Kotoeko and Kotoyusho, who stayed as oyakata and wakamonogashira, respectively). This means 28 wrestlers retired during that period.There have been only eight recruitments since that time, four of whom were uchi-deshi of Hidenoyama - so only four "Sadogatake" recruits over the same period. That means the stable has shrunk by 24 rikishi over the period 2021-2024 - or by more than 50%. I wonder if the stories of serving rotten meat and poor treatment of wrestlers are true and taking their toll over time.

Yes - there are a few transfers like that where the "legacy" lives on under a new name: Think: Irumagawa to Ikazuchi The old Naruto to Tagonoura, on the death of the former Naruto and the weird succession crisis with the stock certificate. Hanaregoma was Nishonoseki was Matsugane. Tokiwayama was Chiganoura. Nishonoseki was Araiso briefly. Oshima did close - was merged to Tomozuna - and then re-emerged independent after being shuttered for years. Even Taiho to Otake is like this - with an ichidai toshiyori twist.

Sakaigawa is 62 - so less than three years away from mandatory retirement age. The new Furiwake could be a successor to the heya, if he does not think Sekinoto (moto-Iwakiyama) or Yamashina (moto-Toyohibiki) are worthy to inherit the stable. Of course, he could let Furiwake branch out, since he has enough top division basho to do it - and that would ensure Sekinoto or Yamashina could have their own stable. And maybe moto-Hochiyama could get his own kabu.

What are the odds for a trade between Keisho and Tochinohana of kabu at some point in the future - so that he obtains Hatachiyama and can re-open that stable in the old premises? There could be some money exchanging hands in such a deal, but that would all be done under the table.

https://t.co/oWqnew0IZg Here is the list: 1: Chiyonoumi- Kokonoe ‘s former Jūryō former NSSU did damage in lower divisions not so successful in a few sekitori basho 2: Arauma- Isenoumi Mongolian slot open former Dōshisha University 3: Tokisōma- Tokitsukaze Mongolian slot open 4: Ōki - Shikoroyama former Jūryō Was winless in his only sekitori appearance 5: Teraoumi- Shikoroyama never even made Makushita during his long career 6: Daishōmune- Oitekaze also never made makushita despite a long career - but came close 7: Kototora- Sadogatake another lower division lifer 8: Kenyū- Isegahama another lower division lifer - former Miyagino 9: Takabahō - Isegahama and another ex-Miyagino rikishi is gone 10: Asabenkei - Takasago Former Jūryō a big man who spent many tournaments in the paid ranks 11: Oyamazakura- Shikihide A young recruit , oft injured 千代の海（九重）荒馬（伊勢ノ海）時蒼馬（時津風）王輝、寺尾海（以上、錣山）大翔宗（追手風）琴虎（佐渡ケ嶽）絢雄、高馬鵬（以上、伊勢ケ浜）朝弁慶（高砂）小山桜（式秀)

Seems Isegahama-Miyagino’s Takabahō has also retired post bashō. https://x.com/chanco_mattun/status/1804123164970016939?s=46&t=HBPauvM-UWrZDJhlhbhfWg