[sumo] Fwd: [Sumo news] - More on the Isegahama scandal

[Jeff A]

Moti

Best regards,
Gaijingai

For of all sad words of tongue or pen,
The saddest are these:
It might have been.
- John Greenleaf Whittier


---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Moti Dichne <niramiai at gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Apr 9, 2026 at 3:12 AM
Subject: [Sumo news] - More on the Isegahama scandal
To: Sumo Newsletter2 <sumo-newsletter2 at googlegroups.com>


The Kyokai severely criticized the assault by Isegahama Oyakata, stating
that "an Oyakata, who is a leader, directly inflicted violence on a
disciple." However, considering that the assault was not extremely
malicious, that it was a one-off incident and not habitual, and that he
promptly reported it himself, the Kyokai decided on a punishment. On the
other hand, while the Kyokai recognized Hakunofuji's inappropriate behavior
as "a highly undignified act" and "an act that damages the Kyokai's
credibility," it imposed a stern warning on him, taking into account that
he had no prior disciplinary record and that the victim did not seek
punishment. The incident occurred around 3:00 a.m. on February 21st of this
year while rikishi and supporters of  Isegahama beya were having a meal in
the members' lounge. Hakunofuji engaged in inappropriate behavior, such as
touching the thigh of a female acquaintance of a supporter who was also
present. At the instruction of his sponsors, Hakunofuji left the
restaurant. Isegahama Oyakata, fearing that Hakunofuji was heavily
intoxicated and likely to cause further trouble, and also believing that he
needed to properly apologize to his sponsors, had him brought back inside.
Realizing that further verbal warnings were ineffective and that Hakunofuji
would only repeat the same mistake, he punched him once in the left cheek
and once in the face with his open hand. Afterwards, Hakunofuji apologized
to Isegahama Oyakata. Isegahama Oyakata himself reported the incident to
the Kyokai's compliance director on the 23rd. The Kyokai confirmed the
facts and conducted an investigation and deliberation by its compliance
committee. The Kyokai plans to strengthen the guidance system for Isegahama
beya. Isegahama beya will be placed under the guidance and supervision of
the Kyokai and the Ichimon with regular checks on the situation. In
addition, a collective guidance system will be implemented for the guidance
and supervision of the deshi, comprised of four Oyakatas and Isegahama
Oyakata, a total of five people.

When the disciplinary action was announced, Isegahama Oyakata commented, "I
sincerely apologize for causing trouble and worry to many people with my
actions. Violence is never acceptable under any circumstances, and I deeply
regret my actions. In the future, I will strictly discipline myself to
ensure that such an incident never happens again, and I will sincerely
accept the disciplinary action I have received from the Kyokai and strive
to regain everyone's trust." The Kyokai reiterated that "it is absolutely
unacceptable for an Oyakata to use violence" and indicated its intention to
thoroughly prevent recurrence.

-- 

---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"Sumo Newsletter2" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an
email to sumo-newsletter2+unsubscribe at googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion visit
https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sumo-newsletter2/84149551-9f87-4030-98d5-12de1d4162d2n%40googlegroups.com
<https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sumo-newsletter2/84149551-9f87-4030-98d5-12de1d4162d2n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer>
.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://server.webtrek.com/pipermail/sumo/attachments/20260409/3e22347e/attachment.html>