The Hachi #4: Back to the basho
It's a sumo world after all
(Apologies for this one being a little late — I’m dealing with a cold this week, but the content must flow!)
Prior to last weekend, my wife and I had gone to about five professional sporting events in the course of our 13-plus years together, the entirety of which I have spent making a living (in full, even!) as a sportswriter.
The first two — relatively soon into our relationship — were FC Tokyo games, an early but earnest attempt to bring her into my world. I’m pretty sure one was a 1-0 defeat and the other was a scoreless draw in the rain; in any case we agreed that she was Bad Luck and freed from future FCT-related obligations.
The next, during a rainy season trip to Bangkok in the summer of 2011, was a muay thai event that we checked out because… that’s what you’re supposed to do in Thailand, right?
After that came July 2, 2017 — the day after our wedding, for which we organized a group trip for our guests visiting from overseas to watch the Yomiuri Giants face the Hiroshima Carp at Tokyo Dome. In retrospect, it was all a bit frazzling and maybe we should have baked a quiet day into our schedule.
Finally, in the winter of 2019, we joined some colleagues of mine for an Asia League Ice Hockey game that I believe was between the Tohoku FreeBlades and Oji Eagles. This one was much easier, as we live a five-minute walk from the arena.
Suffice to say, the last thing I expected to hear as we prepared to head home on Sunday, following an afternoon spent watching the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament at Ryogoku Kokugikan, was “can we come back?”
But such is the pull of Japan’s national sport, which is celebrating a sold-out basho and yet another wild tournament, that anyone can find something — whether it’s the pageantry, the atmosphere, or the sheer force of one pair of giants after each other just colliding into each other — that draws them further in.
I can’t say I wouldn’t mind another trip, either — this was my first time attending a normal sumo day1 at Kokugikan since January 2007 (I could swear I also went with my language school class a year later, but have yet to turn up any evidence), and my career path since then allowed me to appreciate so much more of everything happening between bouts and behind the scenes.
With that in mind, this week’s Hachi will be half dedicated to sumo, and half… everything else! So without further ado, let’s get to the good stuff.
1. The information gap
The biggest pain point faced by tourists hoping to attend sumo is simply getting tickets, although the Japan Sumo Association should be commended for having robust English-language ticketing in place.
But once they’re through the doors at the Kokugikan, are they getting the information they need to fully enjoy the experience?
The English-language version of the banzuke rankings comes with three QR codes: one for the Grand Sumo app, which provides video highlights and basic wrestler bios, and two more to the Sumo Prime Time YouTube channel, including one link to a specific video that walks viewers through the meaning of the various actions and gestures performed by wrestlers.
That’s all a good start — and Sumo Prime Time in particular has come out with some amazing content since its 2023 launch — but as we watched the mother of a family in front of us fervently Google “what are the sticks on sumo pants2,” it definitely felt like more could be done to get this sort of cultural knowledge to attendees.
Beyond that, there’s a lack of information on the competitive side of the sport once you’re in the arena. Unless you’re a fervent follower of experts like John Gunning or blogs like Tachiai, you’re probably not keeping track of who these wrestlers are — or why certain bouts are getting much more attention from the crowd.
The JSA used to offer English-language radio rentals for spectators, a service that unfortunately ended with the pandemic. Given that foreigners represent around 20-30% of the daily basho crowd, it feels like bringing this service back should be a no-brainer, even if it’s through a smartphone app.
2. Frozen in time
In an era of gigantic jumbotrons, ribbon displays and ad boards everywhere, it’s almost refreshing to walk the Kokugikan hallways and see only posters on the walls, and enter the arena to see almost no digital signage at all — save for one LCD screen that displays the winning technique after each bout.
Even the pre-bout sponsor ads — kensho — are old-school banners paraded around the ring by attendants. More prominent bouts, such as those involving yokozuna, will feature three or four separate laps, each with different banners.
To get an understanding of how little the sport has changed, check out these kensho from the 2007 January Basho, featuring marine transport company Nippon Yusen, Hello Kitty, and Meiji’s Bulgaria Yogurt.
While the Kokugikan definitely shows its age in some areas — the crushed velvet red seats, the lack of video screens, and unsophisticated concourses among them — it’s a surprisingly flexible venue. The dohyo itself retracts into the depths of the venue via a lift system, and the lower rows of box seats can be retracted to allow for floor seating at boxing and pro wrestling events.
The Kokugikan poses an interesting thought experiment in the modern sports era: How could you remake it without destroying its identity? Can seating be expanded without making the venue too big for sumo? Are there other ways that information about each bout — whether that’s rikishi details or instant replays — could be shared, whether that’s through monitors or even an intranet site for mobile devices?
Sumo as a sport holds a position of strength, in that demand for tickets far outsizes supply. But its reliance on tradition means that there’s a limit to the amount of innovation that can happen. Other sports change their rules or tweak their formats to attract fans and stay with the times; sumo’s Plan A is for sumo to be popular, and Plan B is to make Plan A work again.
3. Gold-star grub
My recollection of the food on offer at a sumo tournament was very faint but actually… it all kind of slapped?
One way in which the Kokugikan is very limited is in the food facilities, but actually they seem to have expanded their menu options quite a bit in the last few years. And I’ve still not been to the chanko nabe restaurant that allegedly exists in the basement!
Anyway, here’s what we ate:
4. Sumo’s injury problem
One of the more upsetting scenes of Sunday’s bouts came in the third-to-last bout, when maegashira Hokutofuji took a bad tumble out of the ring in his loss to ozeki Hoshoryu and appeared to badly injure his knee, requiring the use of the giant wheelchair they keep on standby.
Hokutofuji wasn’t the only rikishi to withdraw from the tournament after Sunday; fellow maegashira Asanoyama, undefeated before his dramatic defeat to Tamawashi, also pulled out after hurting his right ankle.
With Ozeki Takakeisho, komusubi Takayasu and rank-and-filers Hokuseiho and Aoiyama also out, there’s a lot of discussion over whether the old kosho seido system, which allowed injured wrestlers to skip a tournament without a drop in rank, should be reconsidered.
According to this News PostSeven story, JFA Chairman Hakkaku has expressed doubt:
Right now the sense is that you might drop in the banzuke (rankings) because of an injury, but once you recover you can work hard and climb back up. That’s part of the discipline. There have been a lot of ozeki who have dropped due to injuries, but even if you drop to jonidan like Terunofuji, if you’re strong enough to you rise all the way up to yokozuna. It’s easy for me to say but it takes a lot of effort.
Sumo is hardly alone in the realm of brutal contact sports that produce a lot of injuries. But the sheer size of the wrestlers makes it much harder to treat their injuries, and the pressure to stay in the paid sekitori ranks — combined with the sport’s inherently old-school attitude toward just about everything — means that these injuries are only going to increase, not the other way around.
5. Not this shit again
Samurai Blue goalkeeper Zion Suzuki has had a rough time in his major tournament debut, surrendering a total of five goals in a group stage that saw Japan escape Group D as runner-up.
But the 21-year-old Sint-Truiden starter, whose father is Ghanian and mother is Japanese, copped exactly the amount and flavor of online abuse you would expect following Japan’s 2-1 loss to Iraq on Friday, prompting Japan Football Association President Kozo Tashima to issue a statement backing the keeper ahead of Japan’s group finale against Indonesia on Wednesday night.
The Samurai Blue are aiming to win the Asian Cup, and the manager, players, staff and everyone at the JFA are fighting together. Of course sports are about wins and losses, and being prepared to accept the result is part of the spirit of fair play.
Many have offered their support and encouragement, and those voices will rally and motivate the team to play a fantastic game.
On the other hand, there have been abusive and racists posts on social media that go against our idea of respect. We cannot accept this conduct and firmly oppose it as the JFA.
(Abusive social media posts) can threaten someone’s civil liberties, honor or privacy, force them into dangerous situations and develop into illegal acts. They go against the idea of a society that respects diversity and are disgraceful conduct.
The JFA … is ready to take legal steps in order to eradicate such behavior.
Insofar as a country’s soccer reflects its society, I think the Japanese game is actually fairly progressive, as we’re seeing a lot of players with mixed heritage make it to the J.League and even the national team. Recently that group has included Suzuki, Japan’s third-string GK Taishi Brandon Nozawa, and FC Tokyo left back and 2023 NT call-up Kashif Bangnagande, as well as Japan U-23 defender Anrie Chase, who will likely represent Japan at the Paris Olympics if they qualify.
But with racial diversity comes the usual assortment of internet bullies — a problem the J.League has broadly faced over the last few years, and especially during the Pandemic Era when everyone had nothing better to do than light up players’ Instagram accounts with vitriol.
It’s exhausting, it’s inexcusable and it needs to stop. That’s all that should need to be said. But with Japan potentially lining up a last-16 clash against archrival South Korea, the odds of civility prevailing ahead of that particular tie seem slim at best.3
6. Sakura Japan bloom to Paris berth
Japan’s women’s field hockey team clinched a sixth straight Summer Games appearance last Saturday, beating India 1-0 in the eastern Indian city of Ranchi.
The Indian Express’ Mihir Vasavda has a great recap of the game, focusing on there will still be Indian representation at the tournament in Paris — only it will be Japan’s coach, former men’s goalkeeper and Sydney Olympian Jude Menezes.
Silence is what had gripped the stadium for large parts of the winner-takes-all third-place match at Ranchi’s Jaipal Singh stadium. It’s what Menezes demanded from his players, too – start energetically, score an early goal and quieten the stands, which may be modest in size but can make the opposition quiver in their shoes with the noise they emanate.
7. Natural(ized) born killer
Ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics, Akatsuki Japan have a possible new weapon in Ryukyu Golden Kings center Alex Kirk, who received permission to become a naturalized Japanese citizen on Thursday morning:
This is one of the happiest days of my families and my live. Basketball has taken me all around the world and has brought me to my home here in Japan. I’m humbled and beyond excited to be a Japanese citizen. I want to say thank you to all those who have supported me in this journey and I hope I continue to make you proud. Without my family and friends none of this would have been possible. Can’t wait to watch my family grow here in Japan.
Kirk, a New Mexico native who played for the Cleveland Cavaliers early in his career, joined the Alvark Tokyo in 2017, winning two B.League championships and a FIBA Asia Champions Cup there before joining Ryukyu last summer.
FIBA’s current rules allow for national team squads to field one naturalized player; center/power forward Josh Hawkinson filled that role for Japan at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, but he’ll have some competition in the lead-in to Paris.
Kirk’s naturalization will be a big boost for Ryukyu, who can now field him in addition to the two foreign players they’re allowed to have on the court in each quarter.
8. They’re called what now?
Potty-mouthed F1 star Yuki Tsunoda has raced for three seasons at AlphaTauri, the sister team to Red Bull Racing formally known as Toro Rosso.
But after four years of racing as AlphaTauri to promote Red Bull’s fashion label, the team has been rebranded once again to… this.
How fans and media will refer to the company's second team under its new guise remains to be seen -- Red Bull insists the full name is Visa Cash App RB, but within the company it is being referred to as V-CARB.
Tsunoda’s fans are taking the news well.
If there’s a reason to cheer for Tsunoda to get promoted to the A-team at Red Bull Racing, no longer having to say “Yuki Tsunoda in the V-CARB” may be it.
Corrections and omissions: Friend-of-the-newsletter John Gunning notes that while last week’s issue named Yosuke Sugano as the only collegiate member of the Japan All-Star squad that beat the Ivy League All-Stars 10-5 in last weekend’s Dream Bowl, six Japanese college players were listed either as candidates or as members of the 60-man roster, depending on which version of the squad list you were looking at, though it’s not clear if any of them actually got any snaps.
As opposed to a very not normal sumo day, which I experienced in Sept. 2020 during Pandy Year 1.
Just don’t ask anyone at CBS Sports Golazo to explain that one for you
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