[sumo] Recruitment nightmare

[Barbara]

 From Daily Yomiuri Online

Recruitment crisis leaves sumo at death's door
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/sports/20070809TDY20004.htm

Nobuaki Omi/ Ozumo

Is sumo's existence doomed by a hatred of cabbage and a fear of hard work?

The budding recruits who every year sign up with aspirations of becoming 
the next yokozuna are the golden eggs of the national sport. Without 
them, sumo will wither and die.

So when July's recruitment test was scrapped for the first time because 
of a lack of applicants, sumo officials and fans who had been ticking 
off the days until Hakuho's yokozuna debut at the Nagoya Grand Sumo 
Tournament might have felt a collective shiver go down their spines.

The decision to cancel the test came days after 17-year-old wrestler 
Tokitaizan died of heart failure after strenuous training. Tokitaizan 
had made his debut only two months earlier.

"He had broad shoulders and was a good kid, I was excited about his 
prospects for the future," stablemaster Tokitsukaze said. "I've been 
wondering what I could have done to prevent this. Since he died, I've 
hardly slept and I've lost my appetite."

A visibly shaken Tokitsukaze withdrew from his role as a ringside judge 
at the Nagoya basho.

A few days later came the news that the recruitment exam had been 
canceled--the basket of golden eggs was empty. Perhaps the man most 
caught by surprise was Hidenoyama oyakata, who had prepared for the test 
after reports that several budding candidates were readying to try out.

"This is the third basho after the schools graduate in spring, so it is 
unfortunate in terms of timing--we always have very few applicants," 
Hidenoyama said. "In fact, last year we only had one. But to have none 
at all, well, that's very unfortunate. I can't say how sad it makes me.

"But as the birthrate continues to decline, I suspect it won't be the 
last time this happens."

While none tested in July, some youngsters have visited stables in the 
hope of joining the sport.

Stablemaster Kumagatani said his Miyagino stable had taken in a hopeful 
who had been inspired by Hakuho's promotion to yokozuna.

"Kids today just can't hack it," said Kumagatani, who mentored the new 
yokozuna from his arrival in Japan. "One kid said he hated vegetables, 
so when a senior stablemate told him he had to eat his greens and 
scooped some cabbage onto his rice, the new kid flew into a rage and bolted.

"Even if somebody brings a kid like that back to the stable, he won't 
amount to anything. We didn't even try to chase him."

Recently, Shikoroyama stable hosted a hulking lad standing 1.91 meters 
and tipping the scales at 141 kilograms, who said he wanted to observe 
training. Stable officials sniffed raw potential.

"He watched a regular training session, and then ate chanko nabe with 
everyone else," Shikoroyama oyakata said. "He seemed quite cheerful when 
he went home. But when I rang a few days later and asked if he had 
decided to join the stable, he replied, 'There's no way I could handle 
that.'"

===

Cosseted kids too self-centered

Surviving the world of sumo depends on determination and desire. But in 
today's Japan, where most youngsters grow up in a comfortable 
environment, trying to inspire the hunger and workethic needed is tough. 
This is epitomized by the string of recruits who joined a stable but 
soon took to their heels over trifling matters.

"A stable is a group life. Youngsters today take time to fit in to such 
a place," said Michinoku oyakata, who has already seen two prospects who 
joined his stable before the Spring basho drop out. "Both of them were 
rather withdrawn, so it was especially hard for them. But I was shocked 
they left as quickly as they did."

It's clear stables are struggling to find recruits--and then hold on to 
them. But some observers say more needs to be done to attract prospects.

At the Nagoya tourney, five of the nine sanyaku ranked wrestlers and 
above were not Japanese, the first time the majority of the top ranks 
were foreign. Nineteen foreigners were competing in the top two salaried 
divisions, a figure that speaks volumes of the growing tendency of 
stablemasters to scout overseas for young men willing to enter sumo. 
Tapping these resources has been far less strenuous than trying to 
convert reluctant Japanese.

If the number of schoolchildren practising sumo really has declined--as 
it seems--then the association needs to persuade children taking up 
other sports to try sumo. This will ensure the top ranks do not become a 
playground for foreign rikishi. If the situation continues as it is, 
with oyakata sitting on their hands, we might as well write sumo's obituary.

Last month's recruiting no-show was a wakeup call for the sumo world. It 
must roll up its sleeves and take action.

(From the August 2007 issue)
(Aug. 9, 2007)