YOSHIKI, sumo association feuding after singer keeps boots on in Hakuho's dressing room

Wednesday 01st October, 12:38 PM JST

TOKYO —

Rock group X-Japan front man YOSHIKI remained defiant toward the Japan Sumo Association (JSA) Tuesday after a sumo official, at a photo session marking the rise to yokozuna status of wrestler Hakuho, publicly castigated the musician for not removing his boots on a tatami surface in the wrestler’s dressing room.

In a fax to media organizations, YOSHIKI wrote, “If there is to be any apologizing, the JSA should apologize to the other guests who were there, and to Hakuho. They should make every effort not to disappoint the sumo fans who came to lend their wholehearted support to the occasion. I pray that the tradition-bound world of sumo starts moving forward.”

YOSHIKI’s office said it received a letter of apology from the JSA late on Monday night, but added, “It said that the fault was on both sides. The content is such that we can’t show it to YOSHIKI. We’ve asked them to reword their apology.”　

JSA officials for the present are maintaining a wait-and-see attitude. “The photo session was not a JSA function,” said a spokesperson. “Invitations were sent out on a personal basis by the stable and the wrestler. Any complaints should be addressed not to the JSA but to the stable.”

YOSHIKI, for his part, has published his comment on his website. Meanwhile, the website of the Kiriyama stable, to which the sumo official who initially reprimanded YOSHIKI is attached, has been so inundated with mail from fans of both YOSHIKI and sumo that the site has had to temporarily shut down.

Wire reports

Latest 15 of 23 Total Comments Show All

romulus3 at 03:59 PM JST - 1st October

here are the pics. scroll down. Yoshiki is on the left.

http://rinkya.blogspot.com/20070401_archive.html
Quirinus3 at 04:02 PM JST - 1st October

romulus3- Thnks for the pics bro!
northlondon at 04:18 PM JST - 1st October

romulus3, official photographer to the Japan Sumo Association's tatami boot-removing disciplinary committee..
soldave at 04:30 PM JST - 1st October

Shouldn't this be in the "Entertainment" section, rather than pushing down members of the armed forces firing into their own Defence Ministy?
romulus3 at 04:56 PM JST - 1st October

northlondon,

romulus hates tatami. Its hard on the knees. He has burn scars everywhere.
Quirinus3 at 05:12 PM JST - 1st October

Romulus3-Quirinus hates tatami too. It gets smelly after a while, i prefer wooden flooring.
Sarge at 07:51 PM JST - 1st October

Anyone with any common sense whatsoever knows to take his/her shoes/boots off before walking on a tatami mat.

romulus ( 6:45 PM ) - Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Best snappy comeback EVER!
romulus3 at 07:54 PM JST - 1st October

Sarge,

and romulus was not talking about walking on Tatami.
GG2141 at 09:59 PM JST - 1st October

Boo tatami, down with the cursed floor weed.
butterfly1 at 10:40 PM JST - 1st October

maybe he has smelly socks...
neverknow2 at 11:40 PM JST - 1st October

I pray that the tradition-bound world of sumo starts moving forward.- Why not start with leaving your shoes on?
ora at 01:07 AM JST - 2nd October

I don't see how "leaving your shoes on" equates to "moving forward."
DickTaterTots at 03:11 AM JST - 2nd October

Why does this site always refer to YOSHIKI as a singer?

He's a drummer/pianist.

Anyway...IMO it's pretty common-sense stuff to take off your shoes on tatami and he should have known better but it's also stupid to me that these sumo officials are throwing such a hissy fit over something like this. Seems like attention-whorism to me...but had they just let it slide, wouldn't the photo session have brought them more positive attention? I mean, sumo needs as much of that as itcan get these days...
smithinjapan at 09:46 AM JST - 2nd October

While I'm no fan of Yoshiki or Japan X, he's absolutely right... the whole sumo world (which is to say, the JSA, since the rest of the world has actually progressed already) needs to move forward. This week there's been revelations that matches were set up, more than just the two Russians are/were into drugs, etc, etc. No wonder sumo is dying.
soldave at 10:28 AM JST - 2nd October

DickTaterTots - you come on here expecting facts and accurate reporting?!