Kuchikomi Jan. 09, 2010 - 06:27AM JST ( 11 )

Bullying by senior sumo wrestlers has always been something of a custom in the sumo world, at least until the death of a 17-year-old apprentice in 2007 at Tokitsukaze stable. Subsequently, Kitanoumi submitted his resignation as chair of the Japan Sumo Association to take responsibility over the affair and was succeeded by Musashigawa. Now another bullying issue has arisen at his stable, which may affect the upcoming election for directorship of the Association.

The teenager, identified as A, entered Musashigawa stable in April last year to begin his sumo training, but was forced to quit before the end of the year. The 16-year-old says, “It was so hard every day, I didn’t know how to cope with it, and I was so scared I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t eat and lost 40 kilograms. It was all because of bullying by the senior apprentices.”

The manner by which seniors bully their juniors is well known, including excessive violence during training. According to the 16-year-old, “Every chance they get, they pointed the kitchen knife at me. Without any reason either. They’ll swing the knife shouting at me that I am slow when preparing the ‘chanko’ meal, and brandish a lighter in front of my face. Our top-knotted hair is oiled heavily, and they would threaten me that they’d set fire to my hair, which really was frightening. This went on and on every day. I can’t describe how horrible it was…”

The mother of the teenage apprentice went to the stable as soon as she found out what her son was going through, and took him back home. Stablemaster Musashigawa apparently apologized to the mother for his poor supervision as oyakata, saying that he was unaware of such incidents.

However, the stablemaster’s response to Shukan Post’s interview took a completely different tone. Musashigawa claimed that he had reprimanded the senior apprentices, but insisted they were only joking around. “I think ‘A’ wanted to quit the stable, so he exaggerated to his mother. There is no fault on our part.”

In the meanwhile, the election for directorship of the Japan Sumo Association is to be held shortly after the first tournament of the year. While Musashigawa has already announced his intention to continue as head director, the bullying incident, along with the candidacy by stablemaster Takanohana may prove to be a problem. From the perspective of the elders in the association, Takanohana is considered too young to serve as head of the prestigious organization.

One of the younger stablemasters comments that Takanohana’s aim is to reform the sumo world itself and resolve the various and rampant problems, including bullying and the inappropriate behavior of sumo wrestlers such as Asashoryu. If Takanohana gets elected as director, feathers will be ruffled within the association and complicate Musashigawa’s plan to continue presiding over the group of stablemasters.

Indeed, a member of the Tokyo Sumo Reporters’ Club states, “If the bullying is a fact, it raises questions about the association’s efforts after the Tokitsukaze stable incident. It may be true that children nowadays aren’t as emotionally tough, but this particular case demonstrates a change from direct physical violence to a psychologically insidious kind of bullying. Further reform in the sumo world is called for.”