Yokozuna Hakuho went back into surgery during the March basho in an attempt to repair damage to his right knee. Prior to the tournament, he required fluid to be drained daily just to regain movement in that leg. His doctors have suggested knee replacement surgery – soon! He is already committed to being absent in May, with July his targeted “last stand”
Andy, Josh and Bruce talk about what could be the last stand for the most dominant rikishi ever in the world of sumo, and wonder if July is really going to be possible given the severity of his injuries. It’s another 15 minutes of video by Team Tachiai!
I was wondering if there is going to be any upcoming news on the sumo reform report and denial of Hakuho’s potential special elder stock. Chris’s Sumo videos lay it out pretty well. I would like to hear your thoughts on these matters.
I plan to go through the report a bit more this weekend. Ultimately, it may be much ado about nothing.
Without being able to ask Hakuho directly, it’s possible he would have denied the opportunity, anyway, as the report mentions Chiyonofuji did. Chiyonofuji recognized that 1) Chiyonofuji-beya would not be passed down to anyone, and 2) Kokonoe-beya was more important to him.
I think that something which would certainly not be in the report would be the committee’s view of the Takanohana drama and whether his actions swayed their position in anyway. I, personally, think it would have. You have the only living example of someone granted Ichidai Toshiyori status in open conflict with the Kyokai and wanting to mold the association, to a certain extent, toward his position — which got completely undone as the scandal unfolded. I think that power grab may have freaked some people out.
So I can understand they wouldn’t not want a former Yokozuna to think he was “bigger than” the Kyokai…but Hakuho may place real value in either continuing the Miyagino name or in being able to pass down his own name (which would not be possible for an Ichidai Toshiyori heya named “Hakuho”).