Yokozuna Asashoryu Scandal - The Final Chapter

[madorosumaru 7]

A sample of headlines from the Japanese media:

1. Asashoryu: "Will Suspension Suffice?" YDC Chairman (Mainichi Shimbun)

2. YDC Chairman: "If True, There Must be Punishment." - Asashoryu Drunken Assault Case (Jiji Press)

3. Takanohana: If Elected, First Job would be Dealing with Asashoryu. Reform for "lenient" Kyokai? (Yukan Fuji)

4. Asashoryu: Possible First "Intai Advisory", Victim says "I'll never forgive." (Yukan Fuji)

5. Asashoryu: Lies Laid Bare. Request Immediate YDC Meeting. (Sankei Shimbun)

6. Asashoryu: Banishment. Violence, Lies, Cover-up. (Daily Sports)

7. Takanohana: Willing to Face Honorable Defeat. Election to go to ballot for the first time in 8 years. (Daily Sports)

8. Shisho and Deshi - All Lies. Possible Dismissal. Musashigawa Rijicho Furious. (Sports Hochi)

9. Takanohana: Alliance Fails. No Asst. Riji Candidate from Tatsunami. (Sports Hochi)

10. Asashoryu Affair: Mr. Yaku also suggests "Intai Advisory" (Sankei Sports)

11. Asashoryu Assault Case: Local Residents Speak Up. (Sankei Sports)

12. Asashoryu: Settlement Talks also a lie. Victim Insists on Apology. (Sankei Sports)

I think you get the drift. The only somewhat positive headline was

Sachi Supports Asashoryu: "We don't know what is the truth." (Sports Nippon)

Sachiyo Nomura is the wife of noted baseball manager Katsuya Nomura, who was a guest commentator of NHK during the basho. They are both ardent Ryu supporters of long standing. In fact, Sachiyo gets along so well with Ryu that the yokozuna half-jokingly suggested to the press that she replace Miss Uchidate as the female voice on the YDC.

Ryu was scheduled to attend a gala party in Mr. Nomura's honor but canceled at the last moment, disappointing the couple.

Edited January 29, 2010 by madorosumaru

[Kintamayama 45,503]

Tomorrow is Outsukasa's danpatsushiki. Asashouryuu should be there doing the dohyo-iri and a bout. He hasn't sent a kyujo notice, but nobody is sure whether he will turn up. His oyakata is also not really present. Last night Takasago was seen at a restaurant, then in a bar, where he was again spotted 4 hours later looking drunk and teetering off towards the heya. Musashigawa said he has not been in contact since he was ordered to prepare a full report on the incident and to prove that there is an agreement between the victim and Asa. Asa has vanished into thin air since the story broke.

Edited January 29, 2010 by Kintamayama

[Asashosakari 19,648]

Last night Takasago was seen at a restaurant, then in a bar, where he was again spotted 4 hours later looking drunk and teetering off towards the heya.

I'll exercise some uncharacteristic restraint and not post the photographic evidence here directly, but if you're just dying to know, Sports Hochi is your hookup.

[Kozaru 0]

Asashoryu failed to follow the rules of the game he signed up to. Those rules don't apply to you or I. They do to him. That is all.

So if I'm playing football (soccer) and make a handball, I should be tarnished for life and possibly expelled? It couldn't have been an accident? If I'm playing hockey and cross-check, I shouldn't just go to the penalty box, but should be forced to sit out for the season?

Sports have rules. Sometimes they're broken intentionally, sometimes they're broken by accident. I asked for video of this hair-pull as I have not seen it. Was it an accident? And if he did it, even intentionally, he was disqualified and lost the match. He has never done it again. One could have said, "Oh, he did it in his second tournament as a Yokozuna, that means he'll be doing it frequently!" But that would be wrong, as it was a statistic based on one, and he has not done it in more than 30 tournaments since then. He could go another million basho without doing it, if such a thing were possible.

You break the rules of sport and you get a penalty, you don't get all the shit Asa got over it. Nobody was hurt, except possibly in the aftermath, which is another story. To compare it to murder as you did, is just silly. Murder is a permanent injury to a person and the people around them.

I know you do amateur sumo, but those guys don't have a nice mage to pull, so you never know if you could ever do it accidentally.

Edited January 30, 2010 by Kozaru

[Peterao 3]

Some people just don't seem to get it. The media and the public sentiment in Japan are overwhelmingly against Asashoryu.

The closer in radius to the epicenter, the stronger the reaction. Same as Michael Jackson...after the initial child abuse allegations he was a virtual pariah in his home country of America, yet he remained hugely popular throughout most of the rest of the world (including Japan). So, not being in the middle of all of this coverage, it's not surprising that Asashoryu fans outside of Japan remain fans and find ways to defend him.

Those who defend the "honor and tradition" of Ozumo would do just as well to defend the honor and tradition of the Yakuza. They are both pretty much the same thing, and they always have been. The only difference between Asashoryu and the yokozuna of old are that 21st century technology does a better job of making his exploits public.

Still, I am weary of Asashoryu, and at this point I wish he would just go home.

Edited January 30, 2010 by Peterao

[Kozaru 0]

And of course, using (paraphrased, emphasis mine) "but many of the things people hold against Asashoryu happened just once!" as a defense with a straight face is a pretty good feat in itself. If one needs to downplay many incidents that way (especially when "many" is an ever-increasing number), it's probably time for a different approach.

Why are people acting like they could never commit a foul in a sport, even a serious one, just once? It's a sport and it's a foul. It happened once. Nobody was injured. It's been 7 years. Move on.

My complaint is that the "ever-increasing" list that people are making is full of petty grievances that should have been left alone. I see 2 serious incidents on the list, one of which is the current incident, and the other which is the aftermath of the foul, which strangely people are less concerned with than the foul itself. The rest of the list is people over-reacting. That's my opinion, and you're entitled to your opinion of what qualifies as a serious incident.

Edited January 30, 2010 by Kozaru

[Otokonoyama 2,735]

Takanohana: You threaten our Way with guts poses and scandals!

Asashoryu: This is madness!!

Takanohana: THIS IS SUMO!!!

[madorosumaru 7]

Here are some quotes from Mr. Tsuruta, chairman of the YDC. Because the council will not meet until Feb. 4 to discuss the matter officially, these statements are his personal feelings.

"Asashoryu is a wonderful rikishi," he said. "[if he is dismissed] the negative effect financially to sumo would be 30 per cent." Sumo is having a hard enough time already. It really doesn't need another hit like that. Mr. Tsuruta has always defended Ryu. He was one of the few who said he didn't mind the guts pose. Even for some of the other transgressions, he made allowances for them because he felt "as long as it didn't really harm anyone else."

"But no matter how forgiving or broad-minded I am, this time it is different," he said sadly. "I really don't know if a suspension would be sufficient," he continued. "When you hit someone, it is of another dimension. Soccer was just an individual matter. [Violence] has societal ramifications."

The penalties more severe than suspension are demotion, dismissal and expulsion. Since a yokozuna cannot be demoted, that doesn't leave much alternative.

Asked if the YDC intends to summon Ryu to their meeting, Mr. Tsuruta said simply, "There is no need for that."

[Kintamayama 45,503]

Takasago has declared he has a signed document from the victim agreeing to settle. Yesterday he went on a drinking binge from 5:30 PM till 10 PM and had to be assisted back to the heya, threatening the photographers and reporters that he would call a "policeman" on them if they don't leave him alone. At one point he said "I'm not a bad guy!", dumbfounding the reporters,while doing a little dance. In the meantime, the headlines are getting increasingly ominous, with "Asashouryuu, it's the end!!", being the central theme.

[Kintamayama 45,503]

Asashouryuu attended Ootsukasa's danpatsushiki, giving him the snip with 300 other people.

Edited January 30, 2010 by Kintamayama

[sekihiryu 51]

Oh boy. I have stuck up for and stuck by Asashoryu many times, but this time all I have to say is: Asa you complete muppet. You get what you deserve on this one.

I think perhaps the greatest shame about his rollercoaster career is that is has been poorly played out under the tutelage of a, how can how pen this politely - "hopeless" oyakata. It would be fitting that the captain of the S.S Shoryu-tanic goes down with his ship.

I wonder how differently things would have been if someone with a spine like Shikoroyama Oyakatahad gotten Asa back in the day..

[Kintamayama 45,503]

Takasago has declared he has a signed document from the victim agreeing to settle.

"Yes, he told me it exists but I haven't seen anything in writing yet. All I have to go by right now is that Takasago came and said he had an out of court settlement and that's about it", said Musashigawa rijicho, so we wait.

[Asashosakari 19,648]

Normal punishment for handball: Yellow card.

Normal punishment for mage pulling: Loss of bout. (which is what Asashoryu received)

And let's just ask Thierry Henry about how specific handball instances may still "tarnish you for life"... Fact is, everything depends on context. It would appear the only way to still defend Asashoryu at this point is to de-contextualize from their sumo environment all of his incidents and scandals and then grasp for straws and re-contextualize them with irrelevant facts from sundry other walks of life. I guess Kozaru's essentially arguing (even if he doesn't realize it) that Asashoryu would be a perfectly fine person to have around in everything but sumo. I can agree with that, so perhaps it's just time for Asashoryu to start finding one such other thing. I look forward to Kozaru keeping us up to date on Asashoryu's colourful post-sumo life in the Off-Topic section of the forum. (Mainly because I don't actually think he'll stay out of scandals; they'll just be of different types outside of sumo. I don't buy the "Asashoryu, scandal-free and successful in business" future some are already painting. He's the type of person who will always be in danger of wrecking the good thing he has going.)

I think perhaps the greatest shame about his rollercoaster career is that is has been poorly played out under the tutelage of a, how can how pen this politely - "hopeless" oyakata. It would be fitting that the captain of the S.S Shoryu-tanic goes down with his ship.

I wonder how differently things would have been if someone with a spine like Shikoroyama Oyakatahad gotten Asa back in the day..

Yeah, Takasago is the real tragic figure in all of that. He likely hasn't lived too badly off Asashoryu's success, but he's probably also aged 20 years since 2003, not to mention that his own reputation inside the Kyokai probably is "tarnished for life". Some rikishi and shisho just aren't made for each other. Pacts with the devil, and all that.

Edited January 30, 2010 by Asashosakari

[paolo 0]

....

The penalties more severe than suspension are demotion, dismissal and expulsion. Since a yokozuna cannot be demoted, that doesn't leave much alternative.

....

I find it ironic that the best or perhaps only solution that would fix almost everything (Asashoryu, Kyokai, earnings, fans and so on) is the only one that is considered impossible... After all Asashoryu is the only Yokozuna that was disqualified in a bout and the only one that was suspended. If he is not considered worth of the title of Yokozuna now, he could well be the only one demoted to Ozeki, maybe with the chance of regaining the title of Yokozuna in the usual way (winning two consecutive bashos). Is the rule of "no demotion for a Yokozuna" so strictly official ? Couldn't there be an exception due to the exceptional case ?

[Asashosakari 19,648]

I find it ironic that the best or perhaps only solution that would fix almost everything (Asashoryu, Kyokai, earnings, fans and so on) is the only one that is considered impossible... After all Asashoryu is the only Yokozuna that was disqualified in a bout and the only one that was suspended. If he is not considered worth of the title of Yokozuna now, he could well be the only one demoted to Ozeki, maybe with the chance of regaining the title of Yokozuna in the usual way (winning two consecutive bashos). Is the rule of "no demotion for a Yokozuna" so strictly official ? Couldn't there be an exception due to the exceptional case ?

My understanding is that, in "Kyokai think", yokozuna isn't merely another rank, it's a different thing altogether. And as such you're not actually "promoted" to yokozuna, you're awarded an honorary title, and that simply can't be taken away again.

Of course they could always change their mindset, but I doubt they're interested, and especially not because of somebody like Asashoryu. You don't let rotten apples spoil your policies, as it were. For one thing, what do you do if a demoted yokozuna decides he'd like to keep fighting on below the ozeki rank, too? And for another, once yokozuna is "just another rank", it's probably only a matter of time until somebody pulls a Nishinoumi and asks for "dai-yokozuna" or whatever to be inscribed on the banzuke to have a special acknowledgement of true superiority again.

[Peterao 3]

And let's just ask Thierry Henry about how specific handball instances may still "tarnish you for life"

Aaaah. Just when the pain was subsiding. No, you are right though. Henry should be tarred and feathered, kneecapped and then thrown into a volcano.

That was your point right?

No, of course not. That's ridiculous. You need to sever his hand before you throw him into the volcano, so you have a lasting reminder to dissuade those who would attempt to use "The Hand of God" in an international soccer match.

[Jonosuke 28]

I think perhaps the greatest shame about his rollercoaster career is that is has been poorly played out under the tutelage of a, how can how pen this politely - "hopeless" oyakata. It would be fitting that the captain of the S.S Shoryu-tanic goes down with his ship.

I wonder how differently things would have been if someone with a spine like Shikoroyama Oyakatahad gotten Asa back in the day..

Yeah, Takasago is the real tragic figure in all of that. He likely hasn't lived too badly off Asashoryu's success, but he's probably also aged 20 years since 2003, not to mention that his own reputation inside the Kyokai probably is "tarnished for life". Some rikishi and shisho just aren't made for each other. Pacts with the devil, and all that.

I agree with Sekihiryu here. The man can be an amiable drinking partner (unlike one of his deshi), he simply hasn't shown any distinction as an oyakata or shisho. Most people who have been to his heya to see keiko has seen him, coming down to the training dohyo and to simply read newspapers. He has been hardly "coaching" or "developing" his recruits for years.

More than a few occasions he made things worse as he often appears to have no idea how others are taking matters seriously like this case. Japanese has a word for it, "KY" (meaning, "incapable of reading the air"). He epitomizes "KY". When your deshi is in trouble as a result of drinking behavior, the last thing you want to do is to go out drinking yourself in front of gathering reporters and get drunk yourself. He is telling the whole world, he simply doesn't care at all. When asked by reporters then, he just responded, "It's not me at fault".

An irreparable communication breakdown that exists between Asashoryu and him aside, he could at least try to defuse the situation. But of course even if he tried to show it, it somehow misfires. Remember after the soccer incident, he went to Mongolia to visit Asashoryu announcing that he would make sure Asashoryu would be following the orders of doctor and proper yokozuna like conduct. He came back to Japan only after a couple of days complaining about Mongolian weather or food but telling the reporters their hot spring spa was great and his skin "shines ever so brightly" after the treatment, without reporting back on Asashoryu's conditions.

Today the oyakata went to see Musashigawa oyakata for five minutes to tell him the settlement was finalized between the parties representing Asashoryu and the man variously reported as an owner of Roppongi club. So at least Asashoryu avoided any charge stemming from this incident but Takasago and Asashoryu still have to wait for any decision by the board of directors after the election. It's possible that the oyakata would receive another temporary cut in his salary and demotion in rank while Asashoryu's fate is still in doubt. Ministry of Science and Education Kawabata made it clear that the Kyokai deals severely with Asashoryu if they find the reporting is correct.

When leaving her last Yokozuna Deliberation Committee meeting this week, Makiko Uchidate, left her last advice to the Kyokai. She said the Kyokai executives must prepare to state if Asashoryu caused another incident, they would act decisively and proceed with his dismissal promptly. Asashoryu may have thought a good riddance at the time but now it is Makiko who may be having the last word.

[Treblemaker 254]

Given the facts, and the dichotomy of what Asashoryu gives to (and detracts from) sumo, the best way out of this for the Kyokai is to suspend him like last time - a couple of basho. To cut him loose would not be unlike cutting one's nose off to spite one's face. Yes, the circumstances are real, (and I apologise for my over-reactive hissy-fit at the start of this thread - it was uncalled for) and there's no denying that Asa is totally responsible for his own actions. To simply give him his walking papers would significantly alter the sumo landscape. I honestly don't think the Kyokai can afford to sever ties with their most loved/hated cash cow.

If - and this is the key "if" - there was someone to step in who has the charisma (not just the on-dohyo skills) to make people forget the BadBoy, then it might not be such an issue. The action would be expected and life would move on. If Asa was sonewhere down the banzuke, nobody would care (as Roho et al discovered). I don't think this is the case. Demotion isn't an option. Severence would be justified, but the rebound effect would be a financial and (to some degree) Public Relations blow. The press he receives is an ongoing issue, but it keeps sumo in the public eye, both good and bad. If he goes, the press will simply follow him, and frankly, there'll be nothing significant to write about when he's gone. Let's be honest. No one else on the banzuke (at present) inspires or instills a passionate feeling, either way, good or bad, about sumo.

He just won a tournament, fair and square, according to the rules of the game. True, he went drinking and made an a$$ of himself - right in the middle of the basho - and for that, he should be penalized, and heavily. I think a 2-3 basho suspension (say, half a year in limbo) should send the message home, if temporarily. And a edict to get drinking and anger-management counselling. But to simply cut him loose permanently? It would take the Kyokai quite a while to recover - financially and from a publicity standpoint. After a couple of bad years of internal bad press, I don't think the Sumo Elders want this on their ticket, even if it's heavily justified. This sort of thing can prompt (if not already) the top people in the Ministry to finally decide to come down and clean house altogether, wiping out the Kyokai and putting a whole new superstructure of directors in place. Ok, maybe that's a good thing. Maybe the House needs to be put in order. Maybe putting some people with real decision-making experience in place will finally make a difference. Maybe it'll destroy sumo altogether. Who knows?

[madorosumaru 7]

The Kyokai fully realizes what Asashoryu has to offer and how much he is needed. Why do you think they haven't kicked him out a long time ago? As reported earlier, Musashigawa is trying to find a way to salvage the situation, just as Kitanoumi did in the Soccer Incident. He is hoping against hope that a suspension would be sufficient. Mr. Tsuruta of the YDC is sad because it might come to dismissal--with the concomitant consequences to ozumo. But, there may be no alternative.

Some talk about the bad publicity. The bad publicity is caused by Asashoryu and the media and public are mad as hell. Cleaning house? Cleaning house means getting rid of the troublemaker and the elders who have been "too lenient" in allowing him and the likes of Roho, Hakurozan and Wakanoho to tarnish the image of sumo for too long.

Takanohana is presented by the press as a force for change. The first thing they want him to do, if elected, is to facilitate the dismissal of Asashoryu. Then, he would be touted by the media and cheered by the populace for bringing back some order and decency to sumo.

[Asashosakari 19,648]

But to simply cut him loose permanently? It would take the Kyokai quite a while to recover - financially and from a publicity standpoint. After a couple of bad years of internal bad press, I don't think the Sumo Elders want this on their ticket, even if it's heavily justified. This sort of thing can prompt (if not already) the top people in the Ministry to finally decide to come down and clean house altogether, wiping out the Kyokai and putting a whole new superstructure of directors in place. Ok, maybe that's a good thing. Maybe the House needs to be put in order. Maybe putting some people with real decision-making experience in place will finally make a difference. Maybe it'll destroy sumo altogether. Who knows?

I don't think the ministry is overly concerned with the financial performance of the Kyokai, current or future. This is a matter of the NSK's status as a public foundation and, more importantly, as a national icon and (supposed) role model. Much like during the pot scandals the ministry wants some tough punishment here (see near the end of Jonosuke's post right above), quite possibly more than the Kyokai leadership who's probably thinking more along the lines you've described.

The soccer thing mostly embarrassed the Kyokai in front of its fans - drugs, hazing and this violence incident do so in front of the public at large; at least that's likely the ministry's attitude, if only because they're going to be implicated as the Kyokai's nominal supervisors. And that's Asashoryu's big problem this time around - his shenanigans have now moved into a whole other category (that's what Tsuruta is getting at), and even though his issue here is obviously not anywhere near as bad as the hazing death, it's now perceived as a difference in degree, not in kind.

Edited January 30, 2010 by Asashosakari

[Chiyozakura 148]

I think some people on this forum take Asashoryu too important. Of course he is the guy with the most yusho and thus has been in the spotlight for the last 7 years, but so were Chiyonofuji and Takanohana. After Chiyo's retirement sumo even gained public attention because with the Hanada brothers new stars arrived. In the last years of Takanohana's career sumo lost the interest of parts of the public and looking at the often half empty arenas in the last years I have my doubts that Asashoryu was really drawing the crowds. I have the impression that most fans that attended came there for the sport itself but not for the dominating yokozuna. When I see signs by fans in the kokugikan it is often of local rikishi or guys that have been especially popular like Takamisakari or Dejima, but I rarely see Asashoryu signs. Once he retires there will be new yusho winners, and there already is one with Hakuho. I fear they will not draw people's attention the way the Hanada brothers have done, but people will still catch on like they have always done. Tochinishiki and Wakanohana are gone? There come Taiho and Kashiwado. Then come Kitanofuji and Tamanoumi. Then there are Wajima and Takanohana, then there is Kitanoumi, then there is Chiyonofuji and so on. Asashoryu will be no different.

The argument that Asashoryu cannot be dismissed because it would throw a bad light at the NSK is not fitting in my opinion. There was already loud criticism about the weak punishment after the soccer incident. Letting him get away easily again this time might show that the powers that be cannot come up with the right decisions, and that despite the fact that we already have a new Rijicho, so the opposite of Treblemaker's thought might come into play. Personally, I have no idea what will happen, as there was no precedent to this. If they really dismiss him this would be huge. It is one thing for an Oyakata to fire a weak Yokozuna, but for the NSK to release a guy who, despite of his poor hinkaku, has dominated the sport for more than half a decade, is a completely different story. Just imagine the Natsu Basho in the Kokugikan, the walls filled with yusho portraits of a guy who just got thrown out...

[Asashosakari 19,648]

Just imagine the Natsu Basho in the Kokugikan, the walls filled with yusho portraits of a guy who just got thrown out...

And a new one going up in absentia for his Hatsu basho victory.

[Treblemaker 254]

A lot of good analysis here. Good reading, good opinions.

Ok, so let's say that the Kyokai has no option but to release him. I know there's a first time for everything. In this case, if all facts as presented are true, and a suspension is too lenient, then so they turf him.

Is it possible for him to turn around and sue the Kyokai on grounds of unfair dismissal? Even if a settlement took place? (I can envision some interesting legal arguments there, since nothing AFAIK is ever put in writing regarding the punishments for bad bahaviour of this kind.) Well, of course he can.

And regarding Chiyozakura's comment:

"...... Tochinishiki and Wakanohana are gone? There come Taiho and Kashiwado. Then come Kitanofuji and Tamanoumi. Then there are Wajima and Takanohana, then there is Kitanoumi, then there is Chiyonofuji and so on. Asashoryu will be no different....."

You're correct, there will be replacements, but this time it's different. That was then, this is now. There's not much out there that's going to make a splash anytime in the forseeable future. Even looking into Juryo, and hoping for the best over the next 3-4 years, what you see is what you get. There's no Takanohana, Chiyonofuji, Kitanoumi or Taiho look-alikes even recognizable in the distance. You have Hakuho. You have Baruto, Hf, Oshu. Then you have a bunch of promising but inconsistent guys who can't put together consecutive KK, much less yushos.

So, if Asa has to go, he goes.

What follows is akin to the Bible's Seven Years of Drought. Moses ain't been born yet.

[Chiyozakura 148]

Just imagine the Natsu Basho in the Kokugikan, the walls filled with yusho portraits of a guy who just got thrown out...

And a new one going up in absentia for his Hatsu basho victory.

That brings up the possibility of an all-time great moment. On each shonichi the defending champion returns the tennoshihai. When Akebono once could not do it due to injury his shisho substituted for him. I'll definitely be looking forward to Takasago coming to the dohyo in his shorts, with the emperor's cup in one hand and a newspaper in the other apologizing that Wakatenro could not attend himself (Sign of approval...)

By the way, what did they do when Asashoryu got his two basho suspension? He won the yusho before that, too.

[ryafuji 815]

looking at the often half empty arenas in the last years I have my doubts that Asashoryu was really drawing the crowds.

When Asashoryu made his comeback in January 2009, audiences both at the Kokugikan and on television increased significantly. I don't think you can really argue that he isn't a crowd puller.