Sumo: Japan Welcomes Another Mongolian Grand Champ

Japan welcomes sumo's first new grand champion in five years, in a tradition-steeped ceremony at a Shinto shrine in the country's heaving capital.

Published

8 months ago

Categories

Sports, World

Places

Japan, Mongolia, Tokyo

Transcript

SHOTLIST: TOKYO, SEPT 28, 2012, SOURCE: AFPTV - Harumafuji walks into the main courtyard of the shrine, surrounded by two priests and two other sumo wrestlers, and Aminishiki Takarafuji - VAR crowd attending the ceremony - VAR Harumafuji during a ceremony in which he accesses the rank of "Yokozuna", surrounded by Aminishiki (L) and Takarafuji (R) - VAR three sumos and priests leaving AFP TEXT: Sumo-JPN-MGL Sumo: Japan welcomes another Mongolian grand champ by Shigemi Sato TOKYO, Sept 28, 2012 (AFP) - Japan welcomed sumo's first new grand champion in five years on Friday, in a tradition-steeped ceremony at a Shinto shrine in the country's heaving capital. For the third straight time it was a Mongolian who reached the sport's top rank, or yokozuna: 28-year-old Harumafuji, whose real name is Davaanyam Byambadorj. He was promoted after winning a bi-monthly tournament 15-0 on Sunday for the second straight time. He threw down fellow Mongolian-born Hakuho, 27, who was the only yokozuna at the time, on the final day of the Autumn tournament in Tokyo. On Friday about 3,000 spectators thronged Tokyo's Meiji Shrine to watch Harumafuji receive his title, before he put on a display of the pre-fight gymnastics that serve as both a warm-up and a pre-battle warning to the opponent. For about two minutes, the wrestler swung his arms, clapping his plate-like hands together as he lifted his huge legs high into the air before bringing his feet crashing to the ground. Wearing a nine-kilogramme (20-pound) yokozuna belt made of hand-twisted linen, he was flanked by two junior wrestlers, one holding a fake samurai sword and acting as a guard, and the other serving as an escort. A senior referee in full traditional garb stood by. The clatter of hundreds of camera shutters competed with shouts of "Yoi-sho" (a sound made when extra effort is being put into a physical movement) as Harumafuji pounded the ground with his feet. The rite, known as dohyo-iri (ring-entering ceremony), took place in the main yard in front of the central sanctuary of the shrine dedicated to Emperor Meiji, the great grandfather of reigning Emperor Akihito. "I aimed to perform a beautiful dohyo-iri and did my best by focusing on each and every move I made," the wrestler told reporters in fluent Japanese. "I felt good." Sumo fan Satoko Asaka who attended the ceremony said she loved the ritual trappings of the sport, and was a particular admirer of the Mongolian. "I have followed him as he climbed up the ladder so I feel overwhelmed," she said. Harumafuji, a relative lightweight at only 133 kilogrammes, became the 70th grand champion since the first was declared in the 17th century, and only the fifth foreigner to be made yokozuna since Hawaiian Akebono broke the mold in 1993. After another Hawaiian, Musashimaru, became one in 1999, three Mongolians followed him to the top rank. Japanese fighters have struggled to come up to scratch in recent years, with many promising potential wrestlers shunning sumo's rigorous regimen or being lured away by other, more lucrative sports. "Honestly speaking, I want to see a Japanese yokozuna," said kabuki actor Tanosuke Sawamura, a member of the blue-riband council tasked with recommending sumo wrestlers for the top rank. But Sawamura, 80, added that "Harumafuji was admirable in the ceremony and he has really grown in stature." He said he hoped the two Mongolian grand champions would last long at the top of sumo and "lead the coming age of sumo." "This is the second time that I have watched this ceremony here," said Meiji Shrine public relations director Miki Fukutoku, who saw Hakuho sworn in as Yokozuna in 2007. "Mongolian wrestlers have worked hard. It would be great to see some Japanese doing the same." Sumo is gradually emerging from a series of scandals that have tainted its centuries-old image. Match-fixing, drug-use and bullying allegations have eaten into its popularity, although it is still held with a great deal of affection. ENDS