pricklypomegranate

Understood there is a thread speculating if Terunofuji will be made Yokozuna. But Nikkan Sports has stated that the YDC has unanimously voted for Terunofuji to be made the 73rd Yokozuna: https://www.nikkansports.com/battle/sumo/news/202107190000663.html and I think it deserves a thread all on its own. Congratulations, Yokozuna Terunofuji!

I always love Hatsu bashos, they are by far the most unpredictable. But no one could possibly see this coming. ... An Abi yusho? Pigs are flying.

(From Ryuo's Instagram) Hakuho will make you an offer you can't refuse...

Look who's been practicing...

Enough said.

Moti-san we need you! I don't think the sumo community can take another devastating loss...

As far as the article by Sports Hochi and Mainichi, they did not specify further conditions or probation. I think we might be looking at a press conference either tonight or tomorrow and maybe find out for certain.

That was quite shocking to me when I read it. I thought that Yokozuna can decide to leave at any time they liked - and that Hakuho should have left after Nagoya. Turns out that it wasn't possible. Always wondered why Yokozunas don't often retire at the top, and well, I got my answer.

Here is a photo I found of Hakuho a couple of weeks back. I think it is very appropriate for his intai as I felt it not only encapsulated his essence, but also what he meant for many of his fans. Perhaps you all will remember him as such. What should sumo look like, especially for a Yokozuna? How should a Yokozuna behave and what are the limits? To what extent should they be invested in the next generation? What does it mean to be a hugely successful foreigner in a traditionally conservative society and sport? While he might not have provided us the answers, I think Hakuho has provided us very good hints. His very presence is a living critique of the system itself - its good and bad. He tested the limits of yotsu and strategic sumo, the standards of Yokozuna behaviour and occasionally my temper as well. I made no secret that I disliked what would be his final performance against Terunofuji. Many focus on his more reprehensible aspects, but I would instead like to encourage you all to consider his character and legacy more comprehensively. He was a rikishi and Yokozuna, for sure. But most importantly, at least to me, he was a supremely dedicated son, a loving father and a capable mentor for the next generation, whether they are 8 in the Hakuho Cup, or 18, about to make their shindeshi appearance, fighting alongside him. I am not his #1 fan, but he made the sport a meaningful part of my life. Thank you, Hakuho.

That was a Shodai-level tachiai from Terunofuji today. Perhaps his knees are hurting really bad at this stage of the basho, but he was caught extremely upright by Meisei, who then took advantage of an off-kilter Yokozuna to clinch the prize today. Well done Meisei! Speaking of Shodai, his upright tachiai enabled Ichinojo to get a belt hold immediately, and with poor balance, was slapped down with little resistance. Despite a shaky start and a lot of people writing him off earlier, Takakeisho regained his composure for the KK. Takarafuji had little momentum after being disoriented and was promptly sent out of the ring. ... ... Myogiryu yusho? Oh my god...

Yeah, I meant it was Terunofuji's first. Today was close for Terunofuji as well, but Takayasu really got the chair this time. In other news, happy birthday @Eikokurai!!!

Daieisho looking like his yusho self again. That was really a fantastic performance. When Terunofuji locked him up, I thought he was done for - but he managed to turn the situation into an advantage. Teru's arms got locked up, and Daieisho established enough distance to push him just over the edge. Well done! First kinboshi!!! Hoshoryu looking fantastic today with that super rare ipponzeoi. Hope he gets KK!

You think the inside looks nice... the outside looks positively grand. Look at that nobori fly!

Judging by that dancing ghost man, Hakuho wasn’t around to stomp out the evil spirits.

Is Princess Posture a cardboard cutout or and actual person? Hard to tell with that posture and stillness. I suppose we will never know.

The alleged mistress was Mongolian - a friend of his sister’s. Princess Posture, on the other hand, is the daughter of Takakeisho’s tanimachi.

Whatever it is, the result is clear. His career is up in smoke. Sorry, I will see myself out.

Upon hearing the news, Don Hakuhone exclaimed, "Damn! Why didn't I think of that!"

I mean, that’s not my opinion - that’s what Sports Hochi reported. Seemed a little odd if there was no break between the quotes. You mean the rumours of the mistress?

Apart from Hakuho, the missus also spoke to Sports Hochi briefly, something that rarely happens anymore. Here is the translated article below. At the venue, Hakuho's family members prayed for him as he entered the ring. At the moment of victory, Sayoko and her four children huddled together and wept. "I didn't feel happy or anything like that. I just couldn't stop crying." They got married in February of 2007. They have overcome many hardships together in the past, but this time was particularly trying. "It was the most exciting and harrowing 15 days I've ever had. My three older children were told that this was an important basho, and that Dad had to work hard. After his knee surgery, he couldn't do much in his daily life. He only practice for about a month before the Nagoya basho. I think he was able to build and maintain his body and mind. He has been able to come this far with the support of everyone around him. I have nothing but gratitude." "We called each other everyday because we were in different parts of the country. But we didn't talk about our difficulties, thinking it would be concerning if we did. So we always tried to talk about positive things. My older children also used their cellphones to send him text messages before going to bed." While there was much to be said about his conduct in the ring, at home, he has a face of a kind father. During the restrictions during the pandemic, Hakuho's activites were in the kitchen as well. He began to cook, something he had always enjoyed, and began to serve his family. "He would make Mongolian food and stuff. One interesting happened - on Father's Day, the children wrote letters to each other, and the younger one wrote, "Dad, thank you for all the delicious food." The yokozuna himself was infected with the virus and had a difficult time, but it was a precious time nonetheless as the family got to spend more time together." Sayoko recounted. It's been 14 years since he became yokozuna, but Sayoko remained determined to do everything in her power to support his journey, saying, "Even if its a tough road ahead, I want to support everything the yokozuna has decided to do."

Sumo is much more than a sport. It's a culture, an art, a reflection of Japanese society. The rules and traditions can and often are intangible becuase they are passed down orally or through practice. Just because they are not "black and white" does not mean that they are any more trangressable. That's such a superficial way to look at it. To think otherwise, in my opinion, would be to resemble the sumo commission that recommended the ichidai toshiyori abolished because "it was not in the charter". Not that this would come into play either any more in my opinion. Hakuho did not make a good case for himself. Yes, exactly. In my opinion, if you look at what he has done off-dohyo, he's actually about 70-80% a good person. He has a great capacity for empathy, generosity and compassion. What a shame if these positive aspects of his personality were to be corrupted, or never to be discerned again by a public less invested in sumo, and if such a generally good person were to be written off from any meaningful future in sumo. In my opinion, if he doesn't retire now or fundamentally change his philosophy about sumo and express this paradigm shift, he's really setting himself up for tragedy and catastrophe. I have not been as active here as I have been spending my time in another Forum. But SumoForum is becoming some sort of an oasis for me. At least we are cognisant and pay the potential, catastrophic, real-world effects of Hakuho's actions the due consideration and caution it deserves. This sort of opinion and self-realisation is very very rare, or in the extremely small minority of other well-known areas for sumo discussion (e.g. Reddit, YouTube). It's deeply troubling. Sort of like knowing that there will be car crash, and the people in the car are still enjoying the joyride.

Why retire after this 900 win target, when you can retire after a zensho yusho? I suppose I am thankful to Hakuho for showing me how superficial a yusho can really be. It gives me great confidence that my favourite rikishi don't have to be the greatest winners of all time. But at the rate he's eroding his reputation and the goodwill of the public, his peers and others in the sumo community, I am just really really concerned for him.

My feelings exactly. I saw Terunofuji hit the clay first; I heard the gyoji announce the match was over and pointed the gumbai; but the yusho didn't feel like a victory to me. In fact, it felt like a loss - a complete destruction of the positive reception that he had cultivated over the past 13 days, which I think he wrestled well, a loss of his reputation, rather than gain, and an erosion of public goodwill. I hope Hakuho retires soon after he does whatever he does during the Olympics and basically abandon the 900 win target, but not primarily because I am finding his sumo increasingly difficult to watch, but out of great concern for his future. Hakuho showed up how superficial a yusho could really be and I guess the old Confucian adage is really true - the more you take, the less you have.

Is Isegahama going to give Hakuho the trophy? Will he "accidentally" bonk him with the yusho or the flag?

His calm was what won Terunofuji those 14 victories. But today, he really lost his composure and that's what cost him the yusho. Whatever the case, it wasn't aesthetically pleasing sumo. Everyone's happy. Hak gets his 45th with a zensho and gets to retire, but the need for a new yokozuna is apparent, and that's Terunofuji.