Swami

Plus the fate of Takasago Oyakata will no doubt be discussed. At the very least he is certain to face some kind of demotion from his present rank in the Kyokai. Hard one to call though in terms of Asanoyama - if they use Abi's case as a precedent (and also Osunaarashi in terms of not coming clean), given his rank and the expectations of his conduct, I think he'll be asked to retire. But will that be retire 100% - ie can't become an oyakata, presumably he hasn't kabu at this stage anyway - or just retire immediately from active competition? If they give him the same ban as Abi, he may consider himself to have gotten off lightly. Swami

Terunofuji did very well today, especially considering his head-to-head against Onosho. The loss yesterday was especially unfortunate since he has now beaten his major nemeses (Takayasu and Onosho) this time. I suspect the Asanoyama aftermath may overshadow the last few days of action. Swami

I hope Terunofuji can regroup from this, it looked to me as though he momentarily went off-balance and was trying to correct his balance, and had ample opportunity to execute the throw by leaning down on Myogiryu's shoulder/back. But I agree that all hair-pulls, accidental or otherwise, have to be treated consistently. You can't allow it one day and forbid it the next. Swami

With competition so fluid at the moment, if that situation does indeed materialize, he could potentially be back in sanyaku inside a year if all goes well. If anything good can come of this, it may perhaps spur him to greater levels since his ozeki promotion, where he does seem to have plateaued somewhat. But as others have said, potential punishment could be much worse, depending on further confirmation over the next day, I guess. Had he admitted to the breach straightaway, he might have been afforded a bit of slack. Surely his oyakata will also be in trouble, perhaps facing some kind of demotion etc? Swami

How about Roho and Chiyotaikai all those years ago? Swami

For some reason I hit a button by mistake which has brought that up! I haven't a clue what I did! Swami

Konishiki in his early Makunouchi career was keen on the eyeballing, there's a great example in January 1985 of him and Hokutenyu facing off, topped off by Hokutenyu unleashing an awesome shitatenage. Swami

Truly awful news. This will surely cast a shadow over the upcoming Natsu Basho. May he rest in peace. Swami

Happy birthday and hearty salutations from the Swami! Swami

Ichinojo remained at M6W despite 7-8 last time, that must be the first time in a long while that a maegashira has retained the same rank despite make-koshi. Swami

True, the whole Futagoyama thing goes back to the Fujishima/Futagoyama merger - at that time, surely it would have been a better option to, as evenly as possible, distribute the rikishi around the ichimon's heya. As was said around the time of the Futahaguro debacle, it was suggested that future generations would be less likely to meekly acquiesce to their elders, so perhaps it was inevitable that some of the issues, that sumo has had to face in the last 20 years or so, have cropped up. Although Kitanoumi was the first one with several absences in his decline before his retirement, it was not until 1990 when Onokuni had a long lay-off following a broken ankle in the Hatsu Basho that we saw such a long kyujo. Then, as you say, came Takanohana. I agree he probably should have retired perhaps six months before he did, in his case I think it was, similar to Kitanoumi, he arrived at the top at a very early age, burning out early as a result. Re Kisenosato, yes he clearly was given a bit of leeway given the unluckiness of being hit by injury just after promotion, but I think after the fourth withdrawal, they should have said "either win or retire". It went on too long. Swami

I disagree completely, and especially because arguably the main reason in training standards dropping is that the average weight of the rikishi has risen so much in the last 25 years or so. Look at the decline in what were once fairly common techniques, tsuridashi is now virtually a rarity in the sekitori ranks. And were it not for the likes of Enho and Tobizaru, leg/tripping techniques have almost disappeared. Certainly Kisenosato was extremely unlucky, having finally got promoted after so many attempts, to then suffer an injury which ultimately proved career-ending. But you could argue, just like Hakuho now, that the likes of Kaio and Chiyotaikai went on far too long, simply because there wasn't enough competition keeping them on their toes. A lot of the rot set in with Asashoryu, though more so with his character and frequent lack of respect. In relation this I would agree that coaches are undoubtedly having more and more difficulty recruiting, for sure incidents like the Tokitsukaze hazing scandal deter parents from having their children enter sumo, in the same way that head injuries from repeated concussions are putting children off playing rugby at the moment. I disagree on this one, if Hakuho had any shame, he would have retired at least 18 months or 2 years ago. So what if he recruited Hokuseiho? Most yokozuna at the end of their careers have probably scouted rikishi. If Hakuho can't make it through the first week of July and doesn't quit, he should be ordered to quit. Unfortunately he has set a precedent with his non-stop withdrawals and has been allowed to get away with it. As I said before, I simply wouldn't mention him in the same breath as Taiho, Chiyonofuji, Kitanoumi, Futabayama. I think judgement needs to be reserved on Hokuseiho, time will tell to see how far he goes, quite a few have breezed through the lower divisions only to stall. I'm not entirely convinced that he is the big hope. Even before Hakuho's really bare-faced process of withdrawing from tournaments in the last couple of years, I always thought him grossly over-rated. And while much more respectful than Asashoryu ever was, I'd never consider him amongst the greatest yokozuna. I do agree though that the Kyokai needs to look at standards of coaching and while I wouldn't advocate weight limits, I think much consideration needs to be given to the fact that rikishi are much larger on the whole, less mobile and consequently training suffers. Swami

Only from the point of view that in the majority of cases they enter sumo at least two or three years older than traditional recruits. Despite the cultural difficulties, that is quite a head-start. If they can overcome language barriers, size and strength in theory can speed up the rise through the ranks. I should also say I don't think Takanohana should have been granted ichidai toshiyori, primarily because for the bulk of his career they were having to drop down to maegashira 8/9 for opponents due to the vast numbers of Makunouchi rikishi in Futagoyama Beya (after it merged with Fujishima). Contrast his tournament draws with Akebono, there was some difference. Swami

Certainly not Wajima and Futahaguro. I'm possibly in a minority, but I think a lot of the criticism of Hakuho has been justified. He has rattled up records in an era where the level of competition has been woefully poor, probably its worst ever, with a preponderance of Mongolians, but also the quality of training/coaching is very poor. Also take into consideration the way he has treated the rank of yokozuna like a public convenience these past years - in and out of tournaments like a revolving door - , and it is nothing short of a joke for him to be constantly described as the greatest. He isn't fit to be mentioned in the same breath as Taiho and Chiyonofuji. If I was in the Kyokai's position I wouldn't award him ichidai toshiyori. At the same time, the Kyokai needs to look at their difficulties in recruiting - why for instance is there so few rikishi from Hokkaido, for so long the hotbed of so many great rikishi? The sight of so many foreigners being fast-tracked to the top, intentionally or otherwise, is bound to be deterring youngsters who are less likely to acquiesce to authority than previous generations. Swami

You could also include Nankairyu who left before he most likely would have been pushed. Swami

Of the now four ozeki, despite still-troublesome knees, Terunofuji is probably the strongest yokozuna candidate right now. But he needs to show that he raise his level from 12-3 yusho to 14-1/zensho. I'm not sure that consecutive 12-3 yusho would carry much value. Plus he has to start dealing with a couple of his nemeses - Onosho and Takayasu, a potential yokozuna can't allow lower rankers to have a jinx on him, much in the same way that was one of the major factors (along with the fact that his yusho in 1991 and 1992 were non-consecutive) that counted against Konishiki being promoted, with Akinoshima being the bane of his life at that time. Swami

I remember that well, ex-Kirishima got measured up for suits at Savile Row, as I recall. Swami

Chiyonofuji only became a makunouchi regular after Kitanofuji became Kokonoe Oyakata, Chiyonoyana did recruit Chiyonofuji but Kitanofuji arguably had more contribution to Chiyonofuji’s rise. Isegahama as a coach - surely the whole Harumafuji debacle hasn’t been forgotten? In the debate about great coaches he falls along way short of Kitanofuji or Wakanohana I. Swami

Before that Hokutenyu, 11 wins (3rd place), 12 wins (jun-yusho) and 14 wins (yusho). Terunofuji's achievement is truly remarkable but I would be quite cautious in predicting the next couple of years for him, he is still fighting quite recklessly on occasion and another bad injury will probably spell the end. Plus of his three yusho, his best record is 13-2. He can't keep on expecting to win yusho with 12-3 indefinitely. Swami

A surprise only in terms of timing, but long overdue, at least a year overdue in my view.

Hearty salutations from the Swami! Swami

The whole thing reminds me of an article Mark Schilling wrote in Sumo World back in November 1985, topical at the time as it was not long after Kitanoumi's retirement. The article was generally a history of the yokozuna rank: "Yokozuna can, and do, drop out of tournaments for no better reason than to delay the inevitable, but face, though no longer the be-all and end-all it once was, still counts. A yokozuna's poor performance reflects on his oyakata, his heya, his fans and the whole sumo world. Some, like Sadanoyama and Tochinishiki, retire at the first sign of weakness. Others, Kitanoumi being the latest example, hang on long after everyone else has stopped hoping for a miracle, but no-one, as yet, has tried to turn the job into a lifetime sinecure". Fast forward 35 1/2 years and the last point could be argued of both Hakuho and Kakuryu. Swami

Hearty salutations from the Swami! Swami

Hearty congratulations from the Swami! Swami

I suppose one thing that is helping Hakuho and Kakuryu indirectly is that nobody is making a real move for yokozuna, I did think Asanoyama might have got there by now, but he hasn't really kicked on in the way I thought he might. I can't really see Takakeisho as a yokozuna, and I'm not convinced by Shodai either. If you look back to 1992, after four yokozuna retired in the space of a year, there were a few tournaments where different guys were taking turns winning yusho, but eventually Akebono and Takahanada stepped forward to take their place at the top. I'm not sure who is going to do it this time, Terunofuji may well return to ozeki but he's 29 now and maybe won't have the same stamina he had when he was younger. Swami