Foreign Rikishi

Mongolian Economy Tanking

Andy Foreign Rikishi ,

The Mongolian economy is facing crisis. Its currency, the tugrik, has fallen against the dollar for 18 days straight. Given such a high Mongolian presence in sumo, and the fact that former Yokozuna Asashoryu is an active businessman in Mongolia, this will have an effect on the sport. For one thing, there will likely be less kenshokin and sponsorship money coming from Mongolian firms – and that will likely hit the top Mongolian wrestlers hardest. It may turn more Mongolians to the sport, not immediately but down the road, as unemployment increases. Apparently, rather than default on debts, public salaries and investment are on the chopping block.

It’s not a good situation but may be a sign of broader economic issues. The slide comes from Mongolia’s dependence on the Chinese and Russian markets in particular for commodities, like copper. Falling Chinese demand has brought lower global prices, hitting Mongolia hard. Landlocked, there aren’t easy routes to other external markets. Anyway, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Mongolian sumo feed gets cut.

Homarenishiki Retirement

Andy Controversy, Foreign Rikishi, Retirement

Homarenishiki retired. In all, 10 wrestlers announced their retirement. Bullying and hazing are serious issues in athletics. I’m a little disappointed that there’s not been much confirmed reporting on what happened at the Nishikido heya seeing as how so many of their wrestlers were suddenly out-of-action. It’s difficult for an observer to understand what’s going on, who may have acted improperly. As fans, we want to know that rikishi are not abused and are in a safe environment (though we’d be silly not to expect inter-personal drama as tight-nit as these heya are). We’d also like to know that if wrestlers or heyas act improperly, they will be removed from sumo.

Bullying and hazing are not issues which are unique to sumo. In the US, it’s also been a big issue in education as well. I’m a board member for my kids’ PTA association and it is a serious concern, even in lower elementary grades. People are best served with an open treatment of the issues rather than sweeping individual instances under the rug. It’s important to be up front with what happened and reinforce that this behavior is not acceptable. Without a clear accounting, people don’t really get that message and the behavior continues under the surface until it blows up in a bigger, wider scandal.

On the other side of the coin, without better information, rumors can blow things way out of proportion for what really happened. It may be a more minor issue but without knowing, we’re left to speculate and either way it taints the sport.

元Kim Jong-un Sumo Debut in May

Andy Debut, Foreign Rikishi , ,

As the world is rightly aware, and has been widely reported, Kim Jong-un told his people to prepare to eat roots again. However, this is not due to famine as most media has speculated. In fact, Kim Jong-un has just eaten all of the food in North Korea; the country is known in Japanese as 北朝鮮 (kita cho sen). futotchoIt can now be disclosed why he has eaten all of the food. He’s been preparing to take the sumo world by storm. His debut will come in May. A source close to the dick-tater has revealed, exclusively to the Tachiai blog, a picture of his training (right). The now former Kim Jong-un has taken on the shikona 太っ朝 (ふとっちょ Eng: Futotcho).

The Tachiai blog wishes Futotcho the best in his new chosen career. Due to his stature, he will debut in the makuuchi division directly at the rank of Maegashira 7. He’s ballooned to such girth that odds makers are giving him a 25% chance of winning his debut tournament, only 15% less of a chance as being given to current champion, Hakuho. If he is able to win the May yusho, he will earn enough rice to feed 15% of the country…provided he hasn’t gorged himself on it before he leaves the Kokugikan.

*Update (4/1): We regret to inform that our anonymous source was discovered and has been executed. For the crime of this leak, he was dried and smoked to death and his corpse was shaved into katsuobushi-like flakes.

Kotoshogiku and Sports Psychology in Japan

Andy Foreign Rikishi, Japanese Society

This observation comes via Yohann over at Dosukoi.Fr. Please click through to read the full article over there (french). Kotoshogiku was interviewed about his recent victory and why it had taken so long for a Japanese wrestler to win a yusho.kotoshogiku-768x543

Personally, I think this is an issue for Japanese sports and its athletes as a whole. In the US and Europe, sports science and sports medicine are entrenched. Beyond using data to increase effectiveness the use of sports psychologists has been a regular practice at the professional and Olympic level for decades.

However, there are many cases of Japanese athletes under-performing expectations and blame (anecdotal, at least) is placed on the media for the pressure they put on the athletes and their expectations. From figure skating, like Mao-chan, to golf, baseball, and sumo, many Japanese I’ve spoken with believe the media are relentless.

It’s hard for me to square that with what I see in the US.  Athletes and all sorts of public figures are put under intense scrutiny – Japanese media can’t be worse. Before winning the Superbowl, Peyton Manning was having the worst season of his career. People thought he was washed up when he was benched, mid-season. Afterward, people mocked the way he shamelessly plugged his sponsors in his post-game interview. Now, mere weeks after the win, come allegations of sexual harassment – an allegation that dates back to his college days. His sterling career looks to be tarnished by impropriety like so many before him…Joe Namath (link to on-air, cringeworthy sexual harassment of Suzie Kolber), any Dallas Cowboy, and Brett “1990s golden boy” Favre. So many of our athletes have humiliating run-ins with the law, or TMZ, but are still able to perform. Athletes in Japan, even foreigners like Ichinojo, seem to crumble under the intense pressure of the spotlight.

All of this leaves me with a big question: What is the state of sports psychology in Japan? This may not be an indicator of anything but the field does not even appear to be in the Japanese Wikipedia (link to English page – note the Korean page…but no Japanese).

I’ve spoken with Yohann about this before. He noted that it’s easier to become a rikishi for native Japanese while standards are much higher for foreigners hoping to make it. Thus, it could be a case of selection bias. We see foreigners being successful because only the successful foreigners even get into a stable in the first place. There’s definitely something to that. But I also think there’s a need for more intense use of sports’ psychology. Maybe if someone out there agrees, you can create the Japanese wikipedia page?