[sumo] Article on Asa by Mark Schreiber

[Patrick Bal]

 FWIW, Asa is the topic on many TV talk shows here in Japan.
The biggest stumbling block seems to be his reluctance to apologize. 
They are also blaming his oyakata for failing to educate Asa properly about
the
Japanese's way of conduct in the Sumo environment.

Chiyonotora


The following article is from the Japan Time:


Sunday, Aug. 19, 2007


Sumo's lord of the ring tumbles into abyss


By MARK SCHREIBER
"To use a phony medical excuse to get out of taking part in the road trip
and then play soccer is outrageous. It's a failure to carry out his
obligation as a yokozuna (grand champion) — an act of betrayal!"

Philosophy professor Takeshi Umehara minces no words to Shukan Bunshun (Aug.
9) over Mongolian sumo-star Asashoryu's recent run-in with the Japan Sumo
Association.

On the surface, the whole brouhaha looks fairly simple. 

Asashoryu, who on July 22 won the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament with a 14-1
victory, begged off on the summer road tour, called chiho jungyo, showing a
doctor's diagnosis that he'd suffered serious injuries to his elbow and
back.

But later the same week Asashoryu (real name: Dolgorsuren Dagvadorj) took
part in a charity event in Mongolia with soccer star Hidetoshi Nakata.
Images on Fuji TV showed the 26-year-old yokozuna gamboling on the soccer
pitch in a manner that suggested his injuries were not as severe as claimed.

Was slipping away from the chiho jungyo such a big deal? Apparently so. In
addition to pleasing the fans, such road trips enable sumo stable masters to
scout out and recruit strapping country lads to the sport. Already
increasingly dependent on foreign imports for new blood, the Sumo
Association was no doubt alarmed when not a single new apprentice
materialized for the preinduction physical exams just prior to the Nagoya
tournament.

So on Aug. 1, the association's bigwigs laid down the law, slapping
Asashoryu with suspension from the next two tournaments and a 30 percent
salary cut for four months. He was also placed under virtual house arrest.
Aside from the blow to his ego, the measures may cost him as much as ¥50
million in wages, prizes and endorsements.

Former NHK announcer Kunihiro Sugiyama agrees that things are looking bad
for Asashoryu. "During the suspension period, I wonder if someone as
emotional as he is can sit there and take it. . . . It looks like he's
teetering on the verge of retirement," he tells Sunday Mainichi (Aug.
19-26).

Digging further, Shukan Bunshun (Aug. 16-23) also echoed stories of
Asashoryu's antagonistic relationship with Takasago, his stable master, as
well as hushed allegations of a propensity toward domestic violence that
sent his wife, Tamir, fleeing back to Mongolia with their two children (She
is now reported to be living alone in New York.) The article also alluded to
political and business dealings in Mongolia that have already made him one
of the country's wealthiest men.

But there's plenty of blame to go around. Flash (Aug. 21-28) points an
accusing finger at the Fuji TV network, which broadcast scenes from the
charity soccer match not once, but three times on its "Super News" program
in a manner that could not but infuriate the Sumo Association.

Asashoryu also has his defenders. Author Yutaka Tsukimoto feels that
yokozuna need not always project a squeaky-clean image.

"Let him play the role of bad guy," he tells Spa! (Aug. 14-21). "The
impression I'm getting is, 'Is this what they really want — to drive away
the kind of excellence that only appears once in 100 years?' "

But an inside source in the Sumo Association says JSA head Kitanoumi was
really left with no choice but to penalize him as he did.

"If the yokozuna quits right after posting his 21st tournament victory,
there's no way Kitanoumi can emerge without damage," he confides to Shukan
Jitsuwa (Aug. 23-30). "But if the punishment had been any lighter, the fans
would have felt let down. The two-tournament suspension was a compromise
aimed at satisfying all sides."

The Sumo Association may delegate the ultimate decision on Asahoryu's fate
to the powerful Yokozuna Deliberation Council, an advisory body of
individuals from outside the sumo world.

Yoshio Ishibashi, a council member and, until last January, its chairman,
tells Shukan Bunshun he feels responsible for recommending Asashoryu's
original promotion to yokozuna. "The members have been discussing this. As
you know, we have the authority to advise the yokozuna to retire . . .

"Our next meeting will take place at the end of August, and I suppose this
topic will come up," Ishibashi remarks ominously.