Hakuho's new venture not an automatic 'Grand Slam'

Japan Times

2 days ago

World Sumo Grand Slam was the moniker used by former yokozuna Hakuho to describe his next venture during a retirement press conference on Monday.
It's a smart move to adopt a label used for golf and tennis majors that also evokes imagery of dynamic sumo finishes.
In addition to being instantly recognizable and easy to remember, World Sumo Grand Slam is a very catchy name.
Unfortunately for those hoping for more details, that's all it seems to be — at least for the moment.
Given the suddenness of his departure from professional sumo, it isn't surprising that Hakuho hasn't yet worked out the particulars of this new path.
Even so, it was disappointing to receive so little of substance from Hakuho during what was ostensibly an announcement of future plans.
The fact that nothing seems to have been decided beyond a vague notion of something related to global sumo was obvious in the hesitant and at times confusing language used by the participants.
For example, at one point "rikishi" rather than "senshu" was used to describe international sumo wrestlers, though the former is a term exclusively reserved for those in ōzumo.
And while he was no doubt being allegorical, Hakuho's claim that each country has its own yokozuna was a reminder that wrestlers who didn't come up through the collegiate or international amateur systems often have a poor understanding of exactly how those organizations work.
The mixing of amateur and professional sumo terminology was unfortunately reminiscent of past failed efforts to create a commercially viable version of international sumo.
The most recent of those, World Championship Sumo – a U.S. based production that featured amateurs facing off against former ozumo stars such as Osunaarashi and Wakanoho — hasn't been heard from since a social media post 12 months ago claiming that it was about to 'take off.'
It's a reminder that while there has been no shortage of excitement and enthusiasm expressed about Hakuho — arguably sumo's greatest ever exponent — turning his full attention to the global game, expectations should be kept in check.
WCS, despite putting on several sold-out shows at large venues and receiving extensive media coverage from outlets such as Jomboy with millions of followers, was unable to parlay early gains into sustained success.
Twenty years ago an even bigger production 'World S.U.M.O. Challenge: Battle of the Giants" sold out the almost 20,000-seat Madison Square Garden in New York.
With an event that featured taiko drumming and pageantry more akin to professional wrestling, that 2005 tournament was broadcast live on ESPN and covered by CNN, with its participants making appearances on shows such as 'Regis and Kelly' and 'The Late Show with David Letterman.'
Despite all the attention and strong ticket sales, plans for a worldwide sumo tour never came to fruition and World S.U.M.O. Challenge met the same fate as every other attempt to create a viable professional sumo organization outside Japan.
Hakuho poses with the Brazil team at the Sumo World Championships in Osaka on Aug. 28, 2015. |
John Gunning
Of course, none of those efforts were led by a 45-time Emperor's Cup winner with significant backing from some of Japan's biggest companies.
And Hakuho isn't a total novice when it comes to international or amateur sumo, with his namesake tournament — the Hakuho Cup — being arguably the biggest and most important event on the calendar for elementary school boys, and the Dream Girls Tournament a trailblazing effort to provide something similar for girls.
Even so it's going to take significant work — in countries where he has little to no name recognition — for Hakuho to establish a commercially sustainable sumo venture.
That's of course assuming World Sumo Grand Slam is even intended to be a professional sports organization.
The lack of details in Monday's press conference left it uncertain whether Hakuho's new project will be a professional sporting body or an effort to enhance and build on existing amateur sumo structures.
With the stated goal of getting sumo into the Olympic Games, it could very well be the latter.
Should that be the case, the former yokozuna may find that the politics and factionalism inherent in amateur sumo are far deeper and more bitterly fought than even those in ōzumo.
Over the past three decades, amateur sumo has seen numerous spats and schisms with every split of a governing body or usurping of power weakening the sport and leaving athletes out in the cold — in an activity which can ill-afford to lose participants.
And while some may hail Hakuho as a hero riding in on a white horse to save the day, there are plenty who will see the yokozuna's arrival as a threat to their power.
Just as there has been backlash in flag football circles to NFL players assuming they can waltz in and take slots on national teams for the 2028 Olympic Games — particularly when many of them display a lack of even the most basic knowledge about the sport — so too may there be resistance in amateur sumo's halls of power to 'outside' interference, even if it comes from the sport's most decorated champion.
There is no doubt that ōzumo's loss is international sumo's gain, and having someone with the profile and powerful backing that Hakuho brings opens up all kinds of exciting possibilities.
But whether it's a new professional organization, or the improving of existing amateur structures, the scale of the challenge is enormous. Until Hakuho shows he's able to win outside the ring in the same manner that he did inside it, expectations should be tempered.