The foreign presence in professional Sumo

 

Cultural News, April 2008

 

 

Hakuho, the yokozuna (Grand Champion) of the East slot from Mongolia

 

Ashashoryu, the yokozuna (Grand Champion) of the West slot from Mongolia

 

 “Yukikaze” Lowerre

 

     At this writing, there are 59 non-Japanese wrestlers on the professional sumo banzuke or ranking list.

 

     To many die-hard Japanese sumo fans, this is 59 too many.  However, despite “official” restrictions on the number of gaijin (foreigners) a sumo stable may have, they have landed and are fully entrenched for the long haul.

 

      From the late 1960’s to the early years of the millennium, there was an American presence in sumo.  It took the form of men from Hawaii and other Pacific nations whose huge size and power caused them to be referred to as kurofune (black ships), a reference to the steam-powered vessels of Commodore Perry’s fleet in the 19th century. 

 

      Takamiyama became the first foreign sumotori (wrestlers) to win the title in the Makunouchi Division, professional sumo’s “major league,” in 1972.   

 

      Konishiki, a veritable tsunami of muscle and bone, arrived in the late ‘80s.  He became the first gaijin to be promoted to the rank of ozeki (champion) while winning three championships. 

 

     Meanwhile, the retired Takamiyama (who had become Azumazeki Oyakata) developed the 6’8”, 500-pound Akebono into a mighty machine who, in 1993, became the first non-Japanese to be promoted to yokozuna (grand champion). 

 

     Samoa-born, Hawaii-raised Musashimaru received promotion in 1999.  Akebono retired in 2001 with 11 championships: Musashimaru left in 2003 with 12 championships.  Sentoryu, a half-Japanese football player from St. Louis, Missouri, was the first mainland American to be ranked in the Makunouchi. 

 

    South America was represented in the early ‘90s by Argentinians Hoshitango and Hoshiandesu.  As of this writing, there are no Americans in professional sumo.

 

     In 1492, a mighty storm henceforth referred to as the kamikaze (divine wind) had wrecked an invasion fleet coming from Mongolia.  The second Mongol invasion, consisting of young men steeped in strong wrestling traditions and toughened by life in a harsh land, hit the Japanese shores in the early ‘90s. 

 

     Asked what had surprised him most when he first arrived in Japan, sumo pioneer Kyokushuzan said, “You can buy water with money!”  As the first wave moved up the banzuke more came in their footsteps, hungry and determined to use sumo to make better lives for themselves and their families back on the bleak steppes.

 

     There are 32 Mongolian rikishi (wrestlers) currently on the banzuke.  This contingent is led by yokozuna Asashoryu and Hakuho.

 

     Asashoryu entered the sport in 1999, won his first championship in 2002 and has until very recently been the sport’s dominant force.  He won three tournaments in 2003, four in 2004, and in 2005 became the first man in sumo history to win all six tournaments in a calendar year. 

 

     Hakuho defeated him in the March and May 2007 tournaments, to win those championships and earn promotion to the sport’s top rank.  At present Asashoryu has won the Emperor’s Cup 21 times, while Hakuho has six wins.       The last time a Japanese held the Cup was January 2006, when it was won by Tochiazuma. 

 

Ama from Mongolia

 

Asasekiryu from Mongolia

 

Kasugao from Korea

 

     Other Mongolians in the top division are Ama, Asasekiryu, Kakuryu, Tokitenku and pioneer Kyokutenho who is now a Japanese citizen.  South Korea’s Kasugao carries the flag for his country, the remainder of Asia come from China and Kazakhstan, and the rikishi of Pacific from Tonga.

 

Kotooshu from Bulgaria

 

Kokkai from Georgia

 

Baruto from Estonia

 

    Europe arrived in professional sumo in 2004 with the Makunouchi debut of the Georgia Republic’s Kokkai.  He has been followed by the tall Bulgarian Kotooshu who currently holds ozeki rank, Russia’s Wakanoho and brothers Roho and  Hakurozan, and Estonia’s Baruto.

 

     While the “purists” may decry the gaijin tide, there are others who believe the new influx of international talent has strengthened and rejuvenated the game.  As a fan and an amateur competitor, this writer fully believes that anything which enlarges and deepens the world sumo community is all good.

 

      Jim “Yukikaze” Lowerre first put on the mawashi in 1997 as a charter member of the Southern California Sumo Kyokai.  Later that year, the “Dohyo of Dreams” – as of now the only permanent working sumo facility in the USA – was built in his backyard.

 

      The current United States Grand Masters’ heavyweight champion, Jim serves the amateur sumo community as editor-in-chief of the Sumo Shimpo newsletter and as Board Secretary of the United States Sumo Federation, of which he is a Life Member.  He and his soulmate Lorinda live in Garden Grove, California.