On February 5, the Japan Sumo Association (JSA) announced it was canceling the March 2011 competition (March 13-27). This is the first time in 65 years a tournament has been canceled... and this time it's due to allegations of match-fixing.
Sumo, is of course, Japan's national sport - and is as much of Japan's lifesblood as rice. Let's just say that it is very important to the Japanese, and leave it at that.
Sumo, is of course, Japan's national sport - and is as much of Japan's lifesblood as rice. Let's just say that it is very important to the Japanese, and leave it at that.
While the investigation into sumo-wrestling match fixing has been the subject of rampant speculation for the past several years, last week's acknowledgment that two wrestlers and a coach admitted to fixing fights... of course, this was after police found text messages on many confiscated cell phones that essentially implicated some 13 wrestlers in the fix.
Nothing like coming clean after everybody already knows the truth.
The match fixing and subsequent cancellation of the March tournament comes on the heels of illegal gambling and drug use amongst the wrestlers.
"We have decided to cancel the spring tournament due to the bout-rigging scandal," said Nobuyuki Kubota, a spokesperson for the JSA.Nothing like coming clean after everybody already knows the truth.
The match fixing and subsequent cancellation of the March tournament comes on the heels of illegal gambling and drug use amongst the wrestlers.
The last cancellation of a sumo tournament happened in 1946. But it was due to a delay in fixing Japan's main sumo arena, the Ryogoku Kokugikan, that was badly damaged during World War II.
Part of the allure of sumo - aside from the fact that several hundred pound fat guys in diapers are smacking the crap out of each other - is that it also represents purity. Sumo wrestlers, as part of sumo's religious ceremony, purify the ring several times prior to each match. As such, discovering that the purveyors of such purity are not pure themselves, has shaken Japan's belief system to the core.
Or so they would have you believe.
The average Japanese person loves sumo because it's an exciting sport. I do not believe for one instant that the average Japanese person is offended because they couldn't uphold some ancient tradition. They are pissed off because they won't get to see their favourite sport on tv (or in person), and upset that the real winners and losers of matches may not have been legitimate. That's what sucks.
Media, politicians , cultural anthropologists and sumo's elite guard would have the world believe that sumo wrestlers are some sort of divine keepers of the religion of some time longs since past, and are thus held up to some higher standard of public behaviour.
They are held up to a higher standard of public behaviour - but that's only because they are in the public eye. Societal decency dictates you don't go against the current society's morality. In this society, that means no murder, rape, theft, and probably no screwing around with sumo matches.
Or so they would have you believe.
The average Japanese person loves sumo because it's an exciting sport. I do not believe for one instant that the average Japanese person is offended because they couldn't uphold some ancient tradition. They are pissed off because they won't get to see their favourite sport on tv (or in person), and upset that the real winners and losers of matches may not have been legitimate. That's what sucks.
Media, politicians , cultural anthropologists and sumo's elite guard would have the world believe that sumo wrestlers are some sort of divine keepers of the religion of some time longs since past, and are thus held up to some higher standard of public behaviour.
They are held up to a higher standard of public behaviour - but that's only because they are in the public eye. Societal decency dictates you don't go against the current society's morality. In this society, that means no murder, rape, theft, and probably no screwing around with sumo matches.
Despite the fact the average sumo wrestler is hardly the brainiest individual (they know sumo better than anything else, and that's both good and kind of sad), these charged wrestlers apparently had fixed numerous matches and earned themselves hundreds of thousands of yen, which equals to thousands of Canadian/Yankee dollars - hmm, I was going to make another point, but the key thing is, these big dumb oxes didn't exactly get rich now, did they??!!)
Apparently a JSA-sponsored probe into the sumo scandal indicates it is investigating 12 wrestlers and two coaches - which is different from the police report of 13 wrestlers and one coach. Who is correct?
Remember me mentioning how there was some illegal gambling and sumo... actually, back in 2010, several (how many does that mean... more than some, less than a few?) wrestlers were gambling (allegedly with the Yakuza , also known as the legitimate Japanese business men's association) on baseball games. Gambling is illegal in Japan, but I bet you everybody does it. Okay... these poor dumb cattle weren't even betting on sumo! It was baseball! Who cares? Were they fixing games? No. That is something no one has accused baseball of. Hopefully that will remain 'clean'.
In 2009, there were rampant allegations of marijuana usage amongst the rank and file of sumo wrestlers. However, the JSA and Japan exhaled a long cloudy breath when three Russian fighters were expelled from sumo. Stupid gaijin (foreigners) . No one does drugs in Japan!
Despite sumo wrestler and Yakuza involvement in baseball gambling, no one has been able to prove a link exists between sumo and the Yakuza with regards to sumo match fixing... something that has been suspected for decades.
Whatever is going on, let's hope the JSA gets its act together and continues to provide the sumo fan with some good quality battles. At the end of the day, that's all we really want.
Somewhere throwing salt into an open wound,
Andrew Joseph
Today's blog title is by Salt-N-Pepa... multiple reasons for choosing it... sumo wrestlers try to push each other out of the ring, and the wrestlers are accused of wearing diapers - ooh, baby, baby. GETIT? Plus I always liked this ong. Strange thing for a rock and roller to say, but it's true.
PS: I loved watching sumo on television. It was fascinating, slow-moving, yet exciting... kind of like watching hippos doing ballet. You know you shouldn't be enjoying it, but you just can't look away.
Remember me mentioning how there was some illegal gambling and sumo... actually, back in 2010, several (how many does that mean... more than some, less than a few?) wrestlers were gambling (allegedly with the Yakuza , also known as the legitimate Japanese business men's association) on baseball games. Gambling is illegal in Japan, but I bet you everybody does it. Okay... these poor dumb cattle weren't even betting on sumo! It was baseball! Who cares? Were they fixing games? No. That is something no one has accused baseball of. Hopefully that will remain 'clean'.
In 2009, there were rampant allegations of marijuana usage amongst the rank and file of sumo wrestlers. However, the JSA and Japan exhaled a long cloudy breath when three Russian fighters were expelled from sumo. Stupid gaijin (foreigners) . No one does drugs in Japan!
Despite sumo wrestler and Yakuza involvement in baseball gambling, no one has been able to prove a link exists between sumo and the Yakuza with regards to sumo match fixing... something that has been suspected for decades.
Whatever is going on, let's hope the JSA gets its act together and continues to provide the sumo fan with some good quality battles. At the end of the day, that's all we really want.
Somewhere throwing salt into an open wound,
Andrew Joseph
Today's blog title is by Salt-N-Pepa... multiple reasons for choosing it... sumo wrestlers try to push each other out of the ring, and the wrestlers are accused of wearing diapers - ooh, baby, baby. GETIT? Plus I always liked this ong. Strange thing for a rock and roller to say, but it's true.
PS: I loved watching sumo on television. It was fascinating, slow-moving, yet exciting... kind of like watching hippos doing ballet. You know you shouldn't be enjoying it, but you just can't look away.
