(From the “I-really-didn’t-want-to-write-one-of-these-posts-again-so-soon” department)
The highest ranking yobidashi, Tate-yobidashi Takuro, has acted in violence towards two lower-ranking yobidashi during the Jungyo event which took place at Itoigawa, Niigata, on October 8th.
Early in the morning before the event started, he spotted a Jonidan yobidashi who was having his breakfast sitting in the customer seating area. He reprimanded him for that, and accompanied the reprimant with a punch to the head. He then turned to a Makushita yobidashi who was sitting nearby and reprimanded him, too: “You see your ototo-deshi doing this and you’re not disciplining him?”. This was accompanied by a slap to the Makushita yobidashi’s back.
Neither of the victims is injured. The Makushita yobidashi decided to discuss this with another employee, who then passed on the report, until it reached Kasugano oyakata, the Jungyo master (and Takuro’s heya master, as it happens). He called the men involved and verified the basic facts, and then reported to the Compliance Committee. At the same time (October 10th), he sent Takro back back to Tokyo, for a temporary home confinement.
Takuro has already apologized to the victims. On October 15th, he decided to hand in his resignation. The NSK at the moment is not accepting it, and awaits the investigation and conclusions of the Compliance Committee, before it decides whether to accept it or take some other disciplinary measures.
Tate-yobidashi Takuro is 63 years old, and was due to retire in February 2021 when he reached the mandatory retirement age.
