Daiyuubu sues the Kyokai-new scandal?

[Kintamayama]

Mongolian ex-Daiyuubu who left sumo recently is suing Shibatayama Oyakata and the Kyokai for 70,000,000 yen. Daiyuubu alleged that he was hit by Shibatayama and had his mage removed forcibly and was forced to retire. "I'm leaving everything in the hands of my lawyer, so I have nothing to say," said the Oyakata. Hanaregoma rijicho:"It really doesn't make any sense for anyone to quit sumo and then go out and sue his own shisho after he was taken care of by him all these years.. He came around to our heya (they both belong to Nishonoseki Ichimon and the shishos are apparently very close) after Haru to announce his retirement and nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. He still sported his mage. I learned a few days later that he had cut it and dyed his hair. What will it come to if every rikishi that retires would suddenly start suing their shishos for this and that?" He also pointed out that there were problems with Daiyuubu's attitude in the past. Asked about the Oyakata's alleged violent behavior, he said it seemed in the "boundaries of discipline".

Edited September 24, 2010 by Kintamayama

[Fay]

Daiyubu is not the only one to sue the Kyokai. Daitensho said he didn't want to retire but his Oyakata kicked him out for nothing. Now he also has retained an lawyer. Hope I will hear some more details next.

[Kintamayama]

Daiyuubu is accusing Shibatayama Oyakata of hitting him with his bare hands and with a slipper causing him minor head and face injuries. This allegedly happened on June 4th.

[Asafan]

Daiyubu is not the only one to sue the Kyokai. Daitensho said he didn't want to retire but his Oyakata kicked him out for nothing. Now he also has retained an lawyer. Hope I will hear some more details next.

I was wondering how a makushita rikishi can afford a lawyer ?

[Kintamayama]

I was wondering how a makushita rikishi can afford a lawyer ?

It looks like he's not the last one to need them. Could be a public lawyer doing pro-bono, could be a Mongolian group paying, could be Asashouryuu paying..He could be from a rich family. Who knows?

[Yubinhaad]

I think this is all a load of old toss. These two are a couple of chancers trying to make some money while the pressure is already on the Kyokai.

[Fay]

I think this is all a load of old toss. These two are a couple of chancers trying to make some money while the pressure is already on the Kyokai.

You sure know both well to make such an accusation. (Showing respect...)

[Toonoryu]

I think this is all a load of old toss. These two are a couple of chancers trying to make some money while the pressure is already on the Kyokai.

You sure know both well to make such an accusation. (Showing respect...)

I surely do not know them at all, but the fact is that they are not suing the Kyokai for the sake of their tarnished honor but for a quite good buck of fivers...

[Fay]

I think this is all a load of old toss. These two are a couple of chancers trying to make some money while the pressure is already on the Kyokai.

You sure know both well to make such an accusation. (Showing respect...)

I surely do not know them at all, but the fact is that they are not suing the Kyokai for the sake of their tarnished honor but for a quite good buck of fivers...

I know one of them quite well. He didn't want to retire at all and still had the hope to make it to Juryo. All he can do is to sue the Kyokai to get at least some money from them.

[_the_mind_]

I think this is all a load of old toss. These two are a couple of chancers trying to make some money while the pressure is already on the Kyokai.

You sure know both well to make such an accusation. (Showing respect...)

I surely do not know them at all, but the fact is that they are not suing the Kyokai for the sake of their tarnished honor but for a quite good buck of fivers...

and how and where exactly would someone sue to regain their honor?

[Orion]

Daiyubu is not the only one to sue the Kyokai. Daitensho said he didn't want to retire but his Oyakata kicked him out for nothing. Now he also has retained an lawyer. Hope I will hear some more details next.

I was wondering how a makushita rikishi can afford a lawyer ?

ambulance chaser, sumo-style?

[ryafuji]

I think this is all a load of old toss. These two are a couple of chancers trying to make some money while the pressure is already on the Kyokai.

Well let's not leap to conclusions. We really don't know the facts yet. It may be that Shibatayama has a case to answer. The circumstances of the "retirement" certainly seem rather unusual to say the least, what with him allegedly grabbing scissors and cutting off Daiyubu's mage.

Here's a link to the original report from madorosumaru:

http://www.sumoforum.net/forums/index.php?...mp;#entry192499

Edited September 10, 2010 by ryafuji

[madorosumaru]

The attorney representing Daiyubu is Kazuya Maruyama, who is currently a member of the Diet. He is also a media "tarento" who appears on various TV shows. The guy likes to present himself as a "defender of justice" and a "champion of the disenfranchised". What group is more "disenfranchised" in Japan than the gaijin rikishi, especially the ones from Mongolia?

This is a dispute between two rather unsympathetic guys. Although the media tend to picture Shibatayama Oyakata as a gentle old guy, who, as an expert on "sweets", has published books on the subject, his reputation within sumo community is not that great. Suffice it to say he is more concerned about himself than his deshi. This can be seen from a photo in a "Gaijin Guide" post about Daiyubu's promotion to juryo. On that occasion, the oyakata "personally" baked a cake to celebrate. How did he decorate the cake? Well, it had an large image of the oyakata himself, not the deshi "on his happiest day".

Daiyubu, on the other hand, had a reputation of a "slackard". Few dispute that he had the ability but he was an underachiever throughout his career. After seven long years, he finally made it to juryo but that lasted for only one basho. Instead of being motivated to work harder to make a comeback, he drifted further and further down the banzuke until he was at the point of being demoted to sandanme for Nagoya 2010. According to those close to the heya, Daiyubu would find every excuse to skip keiko. He was also known to owe money to other deshi to finance his "outside activities". The oyakata just got sick and tired of the shenanigans of a guy who was supposed to lead by example as the heya-gashira.

So, here we have a dispute between a self-absorbed shisho and his ne'er-do-well deshi. Add to that a publicity hound with an agenda of his own. One would normally say, "Who gives a $%&t," but no matter what the outcome, the loser in this case is Ozumo.

Edited September 10, 2010 by madorosumaru

[Kintamayama]

Daiyubu is not the only one to sue the Kyokai. Daitensho said he didn't want to retire but his Oyakata kicked him out for nothing. Now he also has retained an lawyer. Hope I will hear some more details next.

And it hits the papers today-Daitenshou is suing Takashima Oyakata and accusing him of sending in his retirement notice without asking him. He alleges tht Takashima kept him on only because he was waiting for a new deshi, and as Daitenshou was the only deshi, firing him before recruiting someone else would have caused the heya to close.

Daitenshou has Japanese citizenship since November 2009.

[ryafuji]

Daiyubu is not the only one to sue the Kyokai. Daitensho said he didn't want to retire but his Oyakata kicked him out for nothing. Now he also has retained an lawyer. Hope I will hear some more details next.

And it hits the papers today-Daitenshou is suing Takashima Oyakata and accusing him of sending in his retirement notice without asking him. He alleges tht Takashima kept him on only because he was waiting for a new deshi, and as Daitenshou was the only deshi, firing him before recruiting someone else would have caused the heya to close.

Daitenshou has Japanese citizenship since November 2009.

Doesn't an oyakata have the right to get rid of a rikishi if he doesn't want him anymore? I don't believe he has to ask anyone's permission to hand in retirement papers. Daitensho's career certainly wasn't going anywhere. Not sure if he really has any case here.

Edited September 24, 2010 by ryafuji

[Flohru]

Daitensho's career certainly wasn't going anywhere.

Not sure about that, he was near his highest rank and still only 25 when he retired. I would say he at least still had a fair chance to make it to Juryo some day as Nakanokuni did recently.

And then Shironoryu's career definitely was going nowhere either until one year ago and now he suddenly looks more like a Makuuchi rikishi than someone who was stuck in Makushita for 30+-basho...

Edited September 24, 2010 by Flohru

[ryafuji]

Daitensho's career certainly wasn't going anywhere.

Not sure about that, he was near his highest rank and still only 25 when he retired. I would say he at least still had a fair chance to make it to Juryo some day as Nakanokuni did recently.

And then Shironoryu's career definitely was going nowhere either until one year ago and now he suddenly looks more like a Makuuchi rikishi than someone who was stuck in Makushita for 30+-basho...

Well, 25 years 11 months... I would call it 26. That's not that young. Maybe I was being a bit too harsh, after nine years without making it to juryo the odds are he would not have got much further.

Edited September 24, 2010 by ryafuji

[Flohru]

Daitensho's career certainly wasn't going anywhere.

Not sure about that, he was near his highest rank and still only 25 when he retired. I would say he at least still had a fair chance to make it to Juryo some day as Nakanokuni did recently.

And then Shironoryu's career definitely was going nowhere either until one year ago and now he suddenly looks more like a Makuuchi rikishi than someone who was stuck in Makushita for 30+-basho...

Well, 25 years 11 months... I would call it 26. That's not that young. Maybe I was being a bit too harsh, after nine years without making it to juryo the odds are he would not have got much further.

Well it's difficult to argue about something like that of course, but I think you are a bit too harsh. The average age of the 20 Juryo rookies in 2009/10 was 25 and 12 of those were actually older than 25. In any way Daitensho was earning some money already in Makushita, so suing for money is a possibility anyway (though I highly doubt that he or Daiyubu will be successful in the end).

[Asashosakari]

Daitensho's career certainly wasn't going anywhere.

Not sure about that, he was near his highest rank and still only 25 when he retired. I would say he at least still had a fair chance to make it to Juryo some day as Nakanokuni did recently.

And then Shironoryu's career definitely was going nowhere either until one year ago and now he suddenly looks more like a Makuuchi rikishi than someone who was stuck in Makushita for 30+-basho...

Well, 25 years 11 months... I would call it 26. That's not that young. Maybe I was being a bit too harsh, after nine years without making it to juryo the odds are he would not have got much further.

I really have to agree with Flohru here. There's really not that much separation between the career of Daitensho and those of Nakanokuni/Shironoryu/Shotenro/Hoshikaze/... He would have had as good a shot at juryo as anyone in the next two years while going through the usual rikishi prime at 27-29 years of age.

Incidentally, his apparent replacement as Takashima-beya door-open-keeper finished the basho 1-6 today, after struggling to a 4-3 in lowest jonokuchi last time.

Edited September 24, 2010 by Asashosakari

[Asashosakari]

No, nothing new, but I've been meaning to add: With the current atmosphere surrounding the Kyokai, I actually wouldn't be too surprised if Daitensho gets back in. He'll probably have trouble proving it, but if the publicized claim about Takashima-oyakata only keeping him around to keep cashing the Kyokai's heya subsidy is true (strongly implying that Takashima has no intention to actually train anybody, whether Daitensho before or the new kid Otokoyama now), the guys in charge may well want to clear this situation quietly, before it blows up in the papers via court hearings. The whole toshiyori system is already on potentially shaky ground, I don't think the Kyokai wants to appear as though they won't take action against a member's attempts to (pretty much) defraud them with innocent rikishi as collateral damage.

And hey, we've recently seen dismissals of both rikishi and oyakata, empty banzuke spots, etc. A rikishi being re-introduced to the banzuke hardly constitutes a bridge too far any longer.

Edit: Since it wasn't mentioned in the thread yet - other than reinstatement Daitensho is suing for a mere 160,000 yen per month (for however much time would pass between 'retirement' and reinstatement, I assume), apparently equal to the approximate amount he was receiving via base pay as makushita rikishi plus the various bells and whistles. Doesn't sound to me like somebody suing just as a money-grab, he really does seem to want his job back.

Edited September 29, 2010 by Asashosakari

[Kintamayama]

Epic very short video Edited September 30, 2010 by Kintamayama

[ilovesumo]

Daiyuubu is accusing Shibatayama Oyakata of hitting him with his bare hands and with a slipper causing him minor head and face injuries. This allegedly happened on June 4th.

This was all normal until Tokitaizan and I guess the line is still not clearly drawn.

[Asashosakari]

From what I can tell via this Sankei article (and I'd really like somebody to double-check me here), Shibatayama-oyakata has all but admitted to hitting ex-Daiyubu on June 4th, as part of regular discipline due to the deshi's "bad attitude". At issue is just how extensive their altercation was; the oyakata admits to a handful of hits, while the rikishi claims to have been hit dozens of times. (40? 70? The article confuses me on that point.) At any rate, the matter was passed on to the prosecutor's office on Tuesday, so we'll surely be hearing more of this.

[ilovesumo]

Daiyubu is not the only one to sue the Kyokai. Daitensho said he didn't want to retire but his Oyakata kicked him out for nothing. Now he also has retained an lawyer. Hope I will hear some more details next.

And it hits the papers today-Daitenshou is suing Takashima Oyakata and accusing him of sending in his retirement notice without asking him. He alleges tht Takashima kept him on only because he was waiting for a new deshi, and as Daitenshou was the only deshi, firing him before recruiting someone else would have caused the heya to close.

Daitenshou has Japanese citizenship since November 2009.

Possible. There was already a line of at least 3 foreign prospects after Daitenshou became a Japanese (at the time it became public).

But why kicking him out after this step was done (before the loophole-closing 1-foreigner by birth-rule was established, or was the new rule too fast?)?

Think about the waiting line of foreign prospects. There is a lot of quality while not too successful ones are "blocking the spots" (I don't think the way I sound here) For heya with more than one foreigner, there is no need to get rid of any of them cause the spot won't become vacant. Have a foreign Sekitori - he brings in the money, "owns" the spot and other foreigners of the heya - no matter of what division, can count as "heads" the Kyokai pays for.

If the foreign sekitori retires and there are real big prospects - possible that the whole bunch of foreigners got to retire....

There are great Oyakata who really think of their foreign deshi as of sons who need extra-protection and attention, they would never ever kick them out, no matter what, but if a Shisho sees his deshi as nothing but an economic factor.... :-P (Clapping wildly...)

Kick him out and get in the future Yokozuna... :-)

I know of "kick outs" of Japanese youngsters. They had been told "you can stay but not as a Rikishi" - so they became yobidashi, Tokoyama or gyoji, so this policy doesn't only happen to foreigners.

At least he has the passport and can start a new life in Japan. There are a few former Rikishi studying at Japanese Universities now. Don't think such a law case could be won by the former Rikishi...

[ilovesumo]

From what I can tell via this Sankei article (and I'd really like somebody to double-check me here), Shibatayama-oyakata has all but admitted to hitting ex-Daiyubu on June 4th, as part of regular discipline due to the deshi's "bad attitude". At issue is just how extensive their altercation was; the oyakata admits to a handful of hits, while the rikishi claims to have been hit dozens of times. (40? 70? The article confuses me on that point.) At any rate, the matter was passed on to the prosecutor's office on Tuesday, so we'll surely be hearing more of this.

about 40 times hit in the face by fist and slipper.

Edited September 30, 2010 by ilovesumo