Kyushu chews fat over sagging state of sumo

["Rowan Klein" <rowanchan@hotmail.com>]

http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/waiwai/0111/011118sumo.html

Kyushu chews fat over sagging state of sumo

By Ryann Connell Staff Writer

Sunday Nov. 18, 2001

Sumo wrestlers used to provide a much-needed shot in the arm for the Fukuoka 
economy every November with the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament. But with the 
economy in the doldrums, the weighty wrestlers are proving to be a fat lot 
of good nowadays, if Shukan Jitsuwa (11/29) is anything to go by.

Sumo's mid-'90s success bloated the books for the tourney, with the 
trickle-down effect reaping rewards for the sex spots and eateries in the 
steamy Nakasu district located near the Fukuoka Kokusai Center where the big 
boys strutted their stuff.

In fact, from 1989 to 1997, there were 666 conssecutive sellout days for 
sumo tournaments, but the devil's number seems to have come into play.

Since then, injuries to the popular Yokozuna Takanohana, the admired Terao 
and Ozeki Chiyotaikai, and the retirement of stars like Yokozuna Wakanohana, 
the Japan Sumo Association, even with all the space its members take up, is 
having trouble filling seats, especially for its Kyushu tournament - an 
ominous sign for an event that failed to sell out on even one of its 15 days 
running last year.

With the demise of sumo's superstars, retailers, especially in the thousands 
of Nakasu nightspots, have been left to chew the fat over how they can swell 
their customer numbers.

"Things were good when Wakanohana and Takanohana were at their peak (in the 
early '90s). It's been years since the sumo boys played around here 
regularly," a Nakasu hostess bar mama-san tells Shukan Jitsuwa. "The economy 
was good in those days. Now, things are bad and I'm struggling to even pay 
my girls their wages."

A Nakasu sex shop tout is also going through unwanted lean times.

"We get tourists during the day, but in my line of business that doesn't 
matter. We've got less people around than we would in most years," he says. 
"The Kyushu Sumo Tournament? Means nothing to us anymore. I didn't even know 
it was on."

Shukan Taishu notes that not everyone's tightening the belt, though. Free 
information booths are a famous part of Nakasu nightlife and six or seven of 
these information centers have popped up recently.

"Bars, restaurant and sex shops use the booths to advertise their services. 
They put of photos of their best girls to entice tourists," a local says.

Not everybody's happy with the proliferation of the booths, though, as 
Shukan Jitsuwa notices that as long as the advertiser pays their fees no 
questions are asked. It's not uncommon for a tourist to fall into a trap and 
inadvertently end up in an establishment worse than one that is merely of 
ill repute. Many blame the deflated fortunes of sumo for the downturn in 
Nakasu. And there's little on the horizon to offer a glimpse of hope from 
the grapplers, if Fukuoka residents are anything to go by.

"Expecting us to fork out 11,300 yen for a top seat is a bit steep," a 
company employee tells Shukan Jitsuwa. "Even 3,100 yen for a seat on the 
third floor is a bit much for my liking."

A housewife adds her piece.

"I'm sick of seeing sumo dominated by behemoths. Give us some more small 
grapplers who've got a bit more than guts and can fight a decent tactical 
battle. That makes for more interesting fights," she says.

Sumo association officials say they're doing all they can to pick up the 
flagging fortunes of the Kyushu tournament, but there're some limits they 
face.

"We are feeling the effects of the recession, but that's not the only 
problem," Stablemaster Hidenoyama, the association's chief operator for the 
Kyushu tournament, tells Shukan Jitsuwa. "I suppose all we can do is get all 
the stablemasters together and see what ideas we can come up with. But, in 
the end, it all comes down to how well the wrestlers fight as to whether 
sales will ever get back to what they were.

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