The 'bad boys' of sumo: Why some foreign wrestlers have trouble adjusting to the sport's rigid world
Foreign wrestlers also comprised a historic high number of makuuchi division competitors (highest-ranked sumo wrestlers) at the Kyushu tournament. Twenty of the 42 makuuchi division wrestlers who competed in Kyushu were foreigners. A total of roughly 700 sumo wrestlers are currently registered with the Japan Sumo Association.
Fans often criticize Japanese sumo wrestlers for their lack of power. At the same time, many fans criticize the "bad manners" of foreign wrestlers. Both issues will be analyzed and addressed here.
At the Kyushu basho, the 20 foreign makuuchi wrestlers consisted of 12 Mongolians, three Georgians, as well as one wrestler each from Bulgaria, Estonia, Russia, South Korea and China. Mongolia has become a major producer of high-ranking sumo wrestlers, having produced two consecutive yokozuna--Asashoryu and Hakuho.
For foreign wrestlers--even for Japanese, for that matter--a tremendous amount of determination and will is needed to venture into the strict, traditional world of sumo.
To become a sumo wrestler, one must first join one of the 51 sumo stables in Japan. In these stables, newcomers train every day and go up the rankings, called "banzuke," by winning bouts. Once a wrestler reaches the rank called "juryo" they are known as "sekitori." Only once a wrestler becomes a sekitori will he earn a salary, usually exceeding 10 million yen a year, from the sumo association.
A wrestler is not treated as a full-fledged professional sumo wrestler until he becomes a sekitori. The original "Oicho" hairstyle--where a sumo wrestler's long straight hair is combed back and tied into a topknot with a special twist--is also a privilege only afforded sekitori, although this hairstyle may be the only impression foreigners have of a sumo wrestler.
Meanwhile, all the wrestlers who have yet to work their way up to sekitori live together in their respective sumo stables. They are not allowed to get married during their years before becoming sekitori. The stablemasters, who own each stable, provide young wrestlers with food, clothing and housing, but the wrestlers receive no salary. Their only income is the petty cash they receive from stablemasters and the sekitori from their respective stables, or the allowance provided by the JSA every two months.
Even the order of their meals is determined by their sumo rankings. Until a wrestler goes up the rankings on his own, he will continue to eat leftovers daily. Such wrestlers must also serve as assistants to sekitori. Unless a wrestler becomes a sekitori--in which case he will not even have to wipe the sweat off his own face--he will have no choice but to wipe sweat off the senior wrestlers, put the sekitori's shoes in place, or serve food to sekitori. Of the roughly 100 new sumo wrestlers who join stables every year, reportedly only 10 will reach sekitori. It's a tough world, to say the least.
How many youngsters do you know who would choose a profession in which a salary is not guaranteed, even at the age of 30, and where one major injury could set one back for life?
Due to these risks, fewer Japanese are opting for this profession. The number of foreign entrants is declining as well. There are major obstacles for foreigners who decide to come to Japan to enter the sumo world.
If one can make a living in his own country without wrestling half-naked on foreign soil, then he would probably not choose to become a sumo wrestler in Japan. Foreign wrestlers most likely came to Japan to escape poverty in their native countries with hopes that their lives could improve dramatically if they became sekitori.
As touched on earlier, sumo is a unique and strict world, even for native Japanese. For foreigners, who are accustomed to different languages and cultures, the decision to become a sumo wrestler in Japan involves unbelievable levels of commitment. These foreign wrestlers have a strong will to overcome cultural and linguistic differences in addition to confidence that they can become a strong wrestler. If these strong-willed foreign sumo wrestlers train hard at their stables, of course they are going to become good wrestlers. As such, it is no surprise that they rise up the rankings at amazing speed.
B ut perhaps this speed is causing a problem. Wrestlers usually learn the rules of sumo by having them ingrained over the long period from when they join a stable until they becomes sekitori. But if a sumo wrestler shoots up the rankings faster than usual, they become "full-fledged" wrestlers without sufficiently learning the cultural aspect of the sport. This is one reason foreign wrestlers are often labeled as having "bad manners."
One example is the former yokozuna Asashoryu. He was heavily criticized when he sat out a regional sumo tour in Japan after claiming to be injured and was later caught playing soccer in Mongolia with Hidetoshi Nakata. Asashoryu ended up being forced into retirement last February after allegedly assaulting a man in a drunken rage. But Asashoryu, whose real name is Dolgorsuren Dagvadorj, also lost a lot of respect due to the "soccer-gate" scandal.
Asashoryu has also been criticized for breaking taboos, such as receiving prize money with his left hand and pumping his fist in the air in the sumo ring after winning bouts. He ended up being criticized for lacking grace throughout his career.
Let's take a moment to think about why Asashoryu ignored repeated warnings from the sumo association. It's much easier to understand when we think of the opposite--why do Japanese wrestlers care so much what the sumo association says?
When you think of sumo as a professional sport, you realize that the salary of a wrestler is incredibly low. In Japan, there are as many professional sumo wrestlers as there are professional baseball players. Some 700 wrestlers are registered with the JSA, while Japan's 12 professional baseball teams employ a total of about the same number of players. Professional ballplayers can earn as much as 400 million yen in annual income. Each baseball team has numerous players whose salaries exceed 100 million yen. The sumo world, on the other hand, only pays its juryo (the lowest of the makuuchi wrestlers) about 1 million yen in monthly income. Even the grand champion yokozuna are paid just 2.82 million yen a month.
Of course, sumo wrestlers can earn more by winning prize money (30,000 yen per bout in take-home money) or for winning an entire tournament (10 million yen). But even with all these additional earnings, a yokozuna rarely makes more than 100 million yen annually. In addition, a sumo wrestler's competitive career is unbelievably short compared with other sports. Kaio is one of the oldest ozeki in sumo history at the age of 38. Many sumo wrestlers are forced into retirement before they hit 35.
Despite the unappealing pay, why do Japanese sumo wrestlers obey the strict rules set out by their stablemasters and the sumo association more than foreign-born wrestlers? That's because when you look at a sumo wrestler's entire life, there are more "incentives" for staying loyal to stablemasters and the sumo association. In fact, "the real incentives" for a sumo wrestler come after retirement. Japanese wrestlers listen carefully to their stablemasters in order to stay in the sumo association after retirement.
Once a sumo wrestler maintains his ranking as a sekitori for a set period of time, the wrestler can obtain "toshiyori-myoseki," a type of sumo stock which grants owners the rights to serve as an official in the JSA or own a stable in the future. There are 105 of these "stocks" (excluding one-generation-only approved stocks held by Kitanoumi and Takanohana), and records of who owned which toshiyori-myoseki are outlined like a family tree.
Once a sumo wrestler obtains one of these stocks, he can work for the sumo association as a stablemaster until the retirement age of 65, and be guaranteed an annual income of over 10 million yen. In order to obtain one of these limited stocks, sumo wrestlers have to be blessed with the right timing and cash (each stock is said to cost more than 100 million yen) when they retire, and they must be liked by all the stablemasters. A cocky wrestler who doesn't listen to his stablemaster will not be given any help in obtaining a stock. In addition, a wrestler must have Japanese citizenship at the time he obtains a stock.
When professional baseball players retire, only a limited few obtain jobs in the private sector as coaches or TV commentators. But if a sumo wrestler obtains a stock, he is guaranteed income until the age of 65. In the sumo world, the way for a wrestler to bear all the fruits of his training is to become a sekitori, obtain stock, and work until retirement as a stablemaster.
Let's use Asashoryu as an example again to illustrate how that life in Japan compares to a foreign sumo wrestler going back home. There is a 20-fold difference in nominal per-capita GDP between Japan and Mongolia. This means that if a Mongolian sumo wrestler saves 100 million yen in Japan, he can enjoy economic status in Mongolia equivalent to investing roughly 2 billion yen here. With the money he earned as a sumo wrestler, Asashoryu has become a prominent entrepreneur in his native country of Mongolia, currently operating a group firm with his relatives and buying up investment banks and a state-run circus. There is no incentive in Asashoryu giving up all this to obtain Japanese citizenship and continue working for the sumo association for just over 10 million yen in annual income for the rest of his life.
Another issue facing foreign wrestlers is the expectation of dignity and grace. Sumo wrestlers have historically been considered a special presence with powers entrusted by God. The traditional sumo move of stomping their feet in the raised ring is believed to have powers that will appease the God of Earth. This is why the Japanese demand a high level of dignity and grace from sumo wrestlers, especially from a yokozuna, who is the highest-ranked wrestler.
On the other hand, it may be difficult to expect this level of grace and respect from foreign wrestlers who may be thinking, "I can get away with breaking any taboo as long as I produce results in the ring," or "I've come here with just the shirt on my back and gone up the rankings. I'll just make a ton of money and start a business back in my home country." Of course I have no way of knowing whether there still are foreign wrestlers who feel this way.
And let's not assume that only foreign sumo wrestlers are failing to live up to expectations. Japanese sumo wrestlers have also disappointed fans in the area of dignity and grace. In the illegal baseball gambling scandal unveiled this summer, a Japanese ozeki and a Japanese stablemaster were fired. One could say that the decline in dignity and grace can be seen in many sumo wrestlers.
I would personally like to see all sumo wrestlers, regardless of nationality, polish their dignity and grace as well as muscular strength and sumo technique. For most Japanese, sumo wrestlers are god-like people. Please remember that and refrain from reckless behavior.
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