[sumo] Fwd: [Sumo news] - More Isegahama

[Jeff A]

Moti

Gaijingai
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Moti Dichne <niramiai at gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Apr 9, 2026 at 5:05 PM
Subject: [Sumo news] - More Isegahama
To: Sumo Newsletter2 <sumo-newsletter2 at googlegroups.com>


I hope I'm not over-posting on this..

>From the media, press view:

The Kyokai  held an extraordinary board meeting in Tokyo today and decided
to demote former Yokozuna Terunofuji, now Isegahama Oyakata (34), by two
ranks  and reduce his salary by 10% for three months for assaulting his
deshi. He will remain as Shisho. The heya, which boasts the most sumo
rikishis (32) and 7 sekitori among all 45 heya, avoided severe penalties
such as closure. Maegashira Hakunofuji (22), who also displayed
inappropriate conduct, received a stern warning from the chairman, and both
parties apologized for the incident.
The outcome was one that lacked any apparent resolve. In December 2018, the
Kyokai established regulations prohibiting violence and standards for
punishment for violence. These regulations stipulated that if a Yokozuna
committed an act of violence, the punishment would be "more severe than a
recommendation for retirement," and the then-head of the Kyokai, Chairman
Hakkaku (former Yokozuna Hokutoumi), stated that the punishment for Oyakata
would "naturally be stricter than for active rikishi." However, this result
was a punishment that could be described as "very lenient" for Isegahama.
It was far removed from the slogan of "breaking away from violence," and
the seriousness of the intention was not evident.

In an era where compliance is paramount, it's virtually impossible to find
another company that its supervisor would resort to violence, such as
"punching," to settle a mistake made by another employee. The supervisor
who assigned the employee to the position also bears some responsibility.
In this case, it could be said that the Oyakata made a mistake in judgment
by having Hakunofuji, who had a history of getting drunk, attend a dinner
with important supporters. Even if he had no choice but to be present, he
could have simply said, "Don't drink." The Kyokai began advocating a break
from violence in October 2017, following the violence committed by former
Yokozuna Harumafuji against former Maegashira Takanoiwa. In December 2018,
when various regulations were established, Takanoiwa himself became the
perpetrator, committing violence against his tsukebito. Isegahama also
witnessed former Harumafuji's violence firsthand in 2017, but still,
history repeated itself.

Many sumo fans question the inconsistency in the punishments given to
former Yokozuna Hakuhou and Miyagino Oyakata, whose heya was effectively
closed due to violence from his disciples. While it's true that the
violence wasn't habitual and that Hakuhou confessed, the punishment still
lacks fairness. With Takanohana and Hakuhou, both Yokozunae with over 20
yushos each, having left the Kyokai after being part of the Kyokai after
retirement, there's likely a desire to avoid losing the another Kyokai
treasure—a "former Yokozuna"—by imposing overly harsh punishments. The
closure of a heya with the most members out of 45 heyas, 32 rikishi, would
have immeasurable consequences. However, the injustice of Isegahama Oyakata
continuing to instruct his disciples as a shisho without a single day's
change in status is unacceptable. If this continues unquestioned, the
current peak of sumo's popularity could waver. [Former Sumo Correspondent,
Bunta Takada]

-- 

---
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-newsletter2/25f18465-d2b6-4647-b196-e4f17492a9b5n%40googlegroups.com
<https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sumo-newsletter2/25f18465-d2b6-4647-b196-e4f17492a9b5n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer>
.


--
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://server.webtrek.com/pipermail/sumo/attachments/20260411/621194b2/attachment-0001.html>