EDITORIAL: Takanohana elected

Stablemaster Takanohana, dubbed "The Great Yokozuna of the Heisei Era," overcame huge odds Monday and won a seat on the Japan Sumo Association's board of directors.

This was the former yokozuna's first bid for directorship, and pre-election predictions put him in a tough, uphill battle. But Takanohana's sense of crisis for the state of the sport, coupled with his reformist stance and determination to "make the younger generation appreciate sumo more," must have moved enough votes in his direction.

Stablemaster Oshima, an incumbent and the oldest among the 11 candidates at 62, lost the election. We might say the 37-year-old Takanohana blew a hole in the sumo world's rigid "seniority system."

In 1968, the sumo association began accepting candidates in biennial elections of the governing body members, except for outside directors. But it later became customary for the five ichimon, or factions--Dewanoumi, Nishonoseki and three others--to coordinate the selection of their respective candidates and strike a pre-election deal. As a result, no ballot was held for three biennial elections.

Takanohana challenged this practice by leaving the Nishonoseki faction.

Nishonoseki is an established powerhouse that has produced such legends as yokozuna Wakanohana I and yokozuna Taiho, who won a record 32 tournament championships.

For Takanohana to leave such a faction, his sense of urgency for reform must have been overpowering.

Since his election victory, Takanohana has not yet announced any specific reform plans. But from what he has said so far, we understand he is looking to establish and popularize sumo schools, enhance measures for raising attendance at tournaments, and improve working conditions for gyoji referees, yobidashi ring announcers and other supporting members of the sumo world.

Takanohana's underlying thinking appears to be that the sport must be promoted by underscoring its dignity.

Now that he has been elected a director, Takanohana should not hesitate to fire off bold ideas. And the association should definitely not write him off for his youth. Rather, the association ought to welcome his comments as a cue for serious debate.

The sumo world has been marred by recent scandals, including a spate of drug problems and the fatal beating of a novice wrestler by his stable seniors. Fans have stopped going to the tournaments, and the number of young men aspiring to become sumo wrestlers has dropped drastically. Among younger stablemasters, disaffection grew with the association's directors who could not effectively deal with the problems.

And suspicions have just surfaced that yokozuna Asashoryu became drunk during the January tournament and physically harmed an acquaintance. This is not Asashoryu's first "offense," although it is his responsibility as the highest ranked wrestler to be exemplary in his conduct. The latest Asashoryu scandal must have helped swing some votes Takanohana's way.

Of the nine other directors who won Monday's election, four are in their 60s and the rest are in their 50s. With nobody in their 40s, we might say the "old guard" is still firmly entrenched.

As made amply clear by the Asashoryu scandals, the association is slow to react and overindulgent toward "family." Two years ago, following the fatal beating of the novice wrestler, two outside directors and a supervisor were brought in to dispense stern advice to the association.

Some people may argue that sumo is nothing more than a "performing entertainment." However, often dubbed Japan's national sport, sumo is a national asset, which draws its origins from ancient hono-zumo--a ritual sumo dedicated to the gods. And most importantly, the Japan Sumo Association is a koeki hojin (public-interest corporation) that receives tax benefits.

It has been a while since the sumo world was said to be "at the ring's edge." We hope the entire association will truly appreciate the meaning of Takanohana's "revolt" and start whipping the sport back into shape.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Feb. 2