A Question on Kosho

[Chisaiyama]

Can someone tell me when Kosho was eliminated? I was under the impression that it was in either 2000 or 2001. I ask because in Kyushu 2002 Chiyotaikai went Kyujo on the 9th day ending the basho 6-3-6 then sat out the entire Hatsu '03 tournament. I have to believe that Kosho was still in effect then as he was listed as O2E for Haru '03 getting a technical promotion since he was listed at O2W in the Hatsu 03 banzuke. So if Kosho was eliminated in '00 or '01 then why wasn't Taikai a Sekiwake in Haru 03?

Thanks in advance for any/all assistance on this one.

[Randomitsuki]

Can someone tell me when Kosho was eliminated? I was under the impression that it was in either 2000 or 2001. I ask because in Kyushu 2002 Chiyotaikai went Kyujo on the 9th day ending the basho 6-3-6 then sat out the entire Hatsu '03 tournament. I have to believe that Kosho was still in effect then as he was listed as O2E for Haru '03 getting a technical promotion since he was listed at O2W in the Hatsu 03 banzuke. So if Kosho was eliminated in '00 or '01 then why wasn't Taikai a Sekiwake in Haru 03?

Thanks in advance for any/all assistance on this one.

Kosho was abolished from Hatsu 2004 onward, at the same time we've had the most recent divisional re-structuring (Makuuchi from 40 to 42; Juryo from 26 to 28).

[Sumo Menko Man]

Can someone tell me when Kosho was eliminated? I was under the impression that it was in either 2000 or 2001. I ask because in Kyushu 2002 Chiyotaikai went Kyujo on the 9th day ending the basho 6-3-6 then sat out the entire Hatsu '03 tournament. I have to believe that Kosho was still in effect then as he was listed as O2E for Haru '03 getting a technical promotion since he was listed at O2W in the Hatsu 03 banzuke. So if Kosho was eliminated in '00 or '01 then why wasn't Taikai a Sekiwake in Haru 03?

Thanks in advance for any/all assistance on this one.

Kosho was abolished from Hatsu 2004 onward, at the same time we've had the most recent divisional re-structuring (Makuuchi from 40 to 42; Juryo from 26 to 28).

Why was it elminated? Made sense for it to be in effect!?

[Shomishuu]

Kosho was abolished from Hatsu 2004 onward, at the same time we've had the most recent divisional re-structuring (Makuuchi from 40 to 42; Juryo from 26 to 28).

Why was it elminated? Made sense for it to be in effect!?

As I recall, NSK was concerned that top rankers were abusing the privilege, and that fan interest was declining because too many of them were absent too often. I'm sure there's more to the story but right now I don't have time to take a deeper look. Help??

[Asashosakari]

Why was it elminated? Made sense for it to be in effect!?

As I recall, NSK was concerned that top rankers were abusing the privilege, and that fan interest was declining because too many of them were absent too often. I'm sure there's more to the story but right now I don't have time to take a deeper look. Help??

That's pretty much it. While kosho was a relatively rare occurence early on after it was introduced (I forgot when exactly, late 70's early 80's), it became commonplace in the late 1990s, and several basho early in the current decade had 5+ makuuchi and juryo rikishi on kosho status, leading to severely reduced "action" for the fans as you'd sometimes get close to 10 absent rikishi at the end of a tournament after the inevitable mid-basho injuries.

Kosho status technically required that the injury wouldn't be expected to heal within two months (i.e. to the next tournament) and the growing perception was that at least some recipients were exaggerating lighter but otherwise legitimate injuries in order to sit out. When that perception spread to the ozeki rank in 2003, the whole thing was quickly eliminated, and because (of course...) you can't show up your top-rankers it was eliminated for all ranks, not just for the ozeki or just for makuuchi and juryo rikishi.

There was also the intriguing thought/ass-covering statement/back-in-my-day-old-fogeyism that rikishi had gotten too large (okay, that was at least arguable) and thus injury-prone, and that the existence of kosho was partially to blame for that as it acted as a safety net that had allowed them to get that big without suffering most of the negative consequences, compared to earlier generations of rikishi.

[Sumo Menko Man]

I thought I read somewhere that kosho required the rikishi to be injured during a bout in an actual tournament instead of during preperation or pratice outside of the tournament dohyo. Not sure if this is accurate though.

Thanks for the info! Interesting how something created to help the rikishi got abused by them, but in the end it makes more sense not to have it. I personally like the idea of moving injury prone rikishi down and out instead of keeping them around. Fair or not, it seems like the best thing for sumo.

Ryan

[ryafuji]

I thought I read somewhere that kosho required the rikishi to be injured during a bout in an actual tournament instead of during preperation or pratice outside of the tournament dohyo. Not sure if this is accurate though.

Yes, only during a bout in a honbasho, not training. I remember Fujinoshin had his ankle broken during the Aki basho of 1989 -- but that was when a rikishi fell on him while he was waiting for his bout, so even he wasn't eligible.

The kosho system is actually a little older than Asashosakari remembers -- it was introduced at the end of 1971. The impetus was a great deal of public sympathy over what happened to Ryuko, a popular former komusubi who severed his Achilles tendon in the Kyushu '71 tournament and fell all the way down to the makushita division. (It came too late to help him, though).

Source:Grand Sumo by Lora Sharnoff.

Edited April 12, 2009 by ryafuji

[Asojima]

I thought I read somewhere that kosho required the rikishi to be injured during a bout in an actual tournament instead of during preperation or pratice outside of the tournament dohyo. Not sure if this is accurate though.

Yes, only during a bout in a honbasho, not training. I remember Fujinoshin had his ankle broken during the Aki basho of 1989 -- but that was when a rikishi fell on him while he was waiting for his bout, so even he wasn't eligible.

The kosho system is actually a little older than Asashosakari remembers -- it was introduced at the end of 1971. The impetus was a great deal of public sympathy over what happened to Ryuko, a popular former komusubi who severed his Achilles tendon in the Kyushu '71 tournament and fell all the way down to the makushita division. (It came too late to help him, though).

Source:Grand Sumo by Lora Sharnoff.

According to Takamiyama's book, it came about as the result of public outcry following the death of Yokozuna Tamanoumi in October 1971. He died as the result of appendicitis, but there was a lot of coverage of the fact that he and many other rikishi were competing with major injuries and ailments. The outcry resulted in the creation of kosho in Hatsu 1972.

[Chisaiyama]

Thanks one and all for the information. I don't know why or where I got the idea it was eliminated so early. That explains everything. Thanks again.