TOKYO (AP) - Foreign wrestlers hoping to enter Japan’s ancient sport of sumo will have to wait in line. Because of a rule that permits only one foreign wrestler per stable, there are currently no openings for foreigners in sumo, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported Thursday.
A rule that allowed two foreigners per stable was abolished in 2002 and replaced with the current rule. Of the 54 stables in sumo, 50 already have one foreign wrestler. Stable masters at the other four said they have no intention of bringing in foreigners, opting instead to develop Japanese wrestlers.
Foreign wrestlers wanting to enter sumo will now have to wait for a foreigner at one of the 50 stables to retire or for one of the remaining four stables to change its policy.
Sumo’s elite ranks have seen an increasing number of foreign wrestlers in recent years and the sport is dominated by Mongolian Asashoryu, the only grand champion competing in sumo.
Asashoryu won his 13th Emperor’s Cup in July and became the first wrestler in almost 20 years to win five titles in a row.
Wrestlers from Russia, Bulgaria and Georgia have also moved up the ranks recently. Sumo hasn’t had a Japanese grand champion since Takanohana retired in January of 2003.
There are 735 wrestlers currently competing in sumo, including 59 foreign wrestlers from 12 countries. When the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament opens on Sept. 11 in Tokyo, 13 of the 42 wrestlers competing in the elite makuuchi division will be foreigners. [/i]
I don’t mind that.
Sumo is a traditional Japanese sport, really only practised in Japan.
Its ratings have dropped massively in the last few years, and one of the things being blamed is the growing dominance by foreigners.
I don’t really think that much of modern-day sumo wrestling. But the history of sumai is pretty neat.Back a few hundred years ago, a victorious sumo would present the emperor with a rib, or even his opponents’s heart in some cases.
I have always wanted to be at a buffet and watch the look on a manager’s face if a group of sumo’s were to waltz in.
That happened here once, when we had some huge Sumo event. They literally cleaned the kitchen OUT OF FOOD. It was a Japanese steak house and the place had to close for the rest of the weekend.
Takanhana fvkoing rocked. he used judo throws (uchimata most notably) on his opponents all the time. At 325 p0unds he was awesome to watch. he threw Musashimaru into the seconfdrow once. Awesome shit!
You may want to point this out to your friend Yrkoon, over on our eating challenge thread. He thinks his puny 175lbs can out eat my pork-fed 250lbs on the grounds that he’s skinnier and has better cardio than me.
It is just racist. This would be like the NBA banning European players because of their recent surge in skill and ability.
If this happened in the US to an American sport, the international sporting couumity would be up in arms, ACLU would be filing lawsuits, and ESPN would be blasting the sport on Sportscenter.
Sounds about right. The reason this probably isnt getting much press is cuz not many people outside japan DO care about Sumo…although…I think it’s also got some popularity in Hawaii.
Truthfully, I don’t see what the big deal is. I’m not seeing the racism in this, and I work in the Asian American civil rights field. It’s their cultural art, and truthfully, any alluisions to baseball limiting Japanese players just rings hollow. If they want to place limits on an art that has such a deep tie to their Imperial history…then let them.
