[sumo] Will 'good guy-bad guy' faceoff revive sumo? from JTOL

[Doreen Simmons]

On 2008/03/08, at 13:28, Patrick Bal forwarded:

>
> Will 'good guy-bad guy' faceoff revive sumo?
>
> By REIJI YOSHIDA
> Staff writer

In other words, not a sports specialist but a regular trying to make a 
new article of already-published stuff, some of it boilerplate.

> The sacred sport of sumo boasts a history of 1,300 years, but recent
> scandals and undignified exploits of some of its champions are 
> threatening
> to reduce its status to heresy.

The sumo we see today took more-or-less recognisable form in the 19th 
century, and was organised into  its current shape in the early  20th. 
But whenever anybody wants to whinge about the poor shape it's in 
today, they trot out the ancient bits -- usually citing around 2,000 
years if not going right back to the myths. And they never, never 
mention the bad reputation it had in previous ages....    :-)


> "I think it's best for (Asashoryu) to retire by making the decision by
> himself," writer Makiko Uchidate, a member of the yokozuna council, 
> wrote in
> a book published in January.
>
> The council is the authority that assigns wrestlers their rank. It 
> promoted
> Asashoryu in 2003 on condition that his stable master improved his 
> behavior.
> But his behavior only worsened, Uchidate said.

Ouch! "authority that assigns wrestlers their rank"? that could have 
been better put!


Doreen Simmons (still struggling with software, and wishing it wasn't 
the last week to file tax returns)
  jz8d-smmn at asahi-net.or.jp