The conehead judge

[Zuikakuyama]

Maybe I am seeing things, but there seems to be a conehead judge who is bald during the mono-ii today.

What happened to his head???

[Kashunowaka]

Maybe I am seeing things, but there seems to be a conehead judge who is bald during the mono-ii today.

What happened to his head???

This should go in a FAQ somewhere ... :-)

The oyakata in question is Asahiyama oyakata, former ozeki Daiju. The cone on his head is a silicone implant made in order to meet the minimum height requirements.

[Zuikakuyama]

Geez, I hope you are serious. Why doesn't he take that thing off now?

Seems kinda of stupid. If he turned out to be an ozeki, then he is obviously very talented, so the height "disability" was obviously not a problem for him.

But then again, maybe when he did tachi-ai, the implant serves as that extra spring to knock the opponent off-balance. But that could also be dangerous. The thing could penetrate his skull.

[Kashunowaka]

Geez, I hope you are serious.  Why doesn't he take that thing off now? 

Seems kinda of stupid.  If he turned out to be an ozeki, then he is obviously very talented, so the height "disability" was obviously not a problem for him. 

Talent has nothing to do with it - he needed to be a certain height in order to be accepted. Mainoumi did the same thing in 1990, but he had his implant removed after passing the entry test. Apparently Daiju was unable to have his implant removed at the time.

[Yubiquitoyama]

This was quite a flaw in the entry requirements since these silicone implants were definitely a health risk. Besides, Asahiyama (ex-Daiju) is not that short so likely he hadn't even stopped growing when making the implant, just to be able to enter Ozumo, which might explain why (as far as I have understood) it has not been a medical possibility to remove it later. The "secondary requirements" of the last few years were finally a smart move to prevent this kind of health hazards.

Edited July 15, 2004 by Yubiquitoyama

[Guest omus]

The oyakata in question is Asahiyama oyakata, former ozeki Daiju. The cone on his head is a silicone implant made in order to meet the minimum height requirements.

This is interesting.

Any photos of how the conehead looks like?

[Asashosakari]

Any photos of how the conehead looks like?

A small picture is available in the Oyakata Gallery, FWIW.

[Kashunowaka]

Any photos of how the conehead looks like?

A small picture is available in the Oyakata Gallery, FWIW.

But he doesn't look very cony on that picture. :-)

I found this picture on the heya homepage:

Another picture:

Edited July 15, 2004 by Kashunowaka

[Kintamayama]

There was an island once that wanted to join Sumo, and the whole island had an implant .

And then, there was that family that decided to..well..

[aderechelsea]

(Cheers...) :-O :-O

i have heard about it in the frum but i haven't seen a pic before !!!!!

this is horrible !!!

i say we gather money and send this poor man to a plastic surgeon ....

to a more serious note i have to mention how stupid the sumo kyokai looks by accepting a guy with a silicon implant on his head ( :-O ) and not bending the rule a bit to make him eligible.

(like there were people that didn't understand that he "fooled" them)... (Enjoying a beer...)

It would be better to have shorter rikishis rather than having "coneheads"....

[Stephanoshima]

Somehow he reminds me of Yoda. (Enjoying a beer...) OK, except for the ears. (Cheers...)

[hoshidango]

He did not look 'CONY' at all with mage on though eh? What a conspicuous protrusion that is...

[Yubiquitoyama]

He did not look 'CONY' at all with mage on though eh?  What a conspicuous protrusion that is...

He didn't, but I think I read somewhere that the silicone had moved somewhat later on which made it hard to remove and more obvious. That could be my imagination though so don

Edited July 16, 2004 by Yubiquitoyama

[hoshidango]

Well, that is quite believable!