Fresh start for stable founded by legendary yokozuna Taiho

Japan Times

a day ago

Japan has produced an 80-year-old climber of Mt. Everest, and it's a nation where every weekend you can see men in their 60s and 70s strapping on pads and helmets to play American football.
So it's somewhat surprising that in a country so famed for longevity, and with an active and healthy elderly population, that the national sport's governing body has a mandatory retirement age of 65 for all of its members.
Put another way, if Tom Cruise were a sumo stablemaster he'd have less than two years left before being forced to call time on his career — likely long before the famously ageless movie star stopped hanging off the sides of airplanes or riding motorbikes over cliff edges.
Of course, after a life spent in one of the world's most brutal and punishing sports, few former wrestlers reach their later years unscathed, with many of them paying a heavy price for their exertions when younger.
But even sumo elders in perfect health, with sufficient reserves of energy, have to move on to pastures new when they turn 65.
When it comes to elders who are also stablemasters, because compulsory retirement has long been mandatory in sumo, succession plans are normally put in place years in advance.
In many cases those plans are obvious to outsiders, particularly in situations where a veteran wrestler under the stablemaster's charge is also married to his daughter — a common occurrence throughout sumo history.
Sometimes, however, when there is no obvious candidate to take the reins, a stable's fate remains unknown to the general public right up until shortly before the oyakata's retirement.
That was the situation with Otake Beya until it was announced on July 31 that Kugamatani elder (former maegashira Tamaasuka), who is currently coaching at Kataonami stable, will be taking over from the incumbent stablemaster, as the latter man reaches retirement age on Sep. 30.
The move involves Kugamatani taking possession of the Otake elder stock and therefore his new stable will retain its current name.
Despite much remaining as it was, the move is historically significant because it marks the first time Otake Beya will move outside the control of someone with a direct connection to its founder.
Otake stable (Taiho Dojo) in October 2011 |
John Gunning
The stable was established in 1971 by legendary former yokozuna Taiho — a man whose 32 Emperor's Cups were, at the time of his retirement, almost three times as many as the wrestler in second place.
So dominant a presence in the world of sumo was Taiho that he was granted ichidai-toshiyori, a special one-generation elder stock under his ring name, and was therefore able to create Taiho Stable.
As the name implies, ichidai-toshiyori cannot be transferred, and so when Taiho's son-in-law Takatoriki took the reins it was under the Otake name.
When Takatoriki was expelled from the Japan Sumo Association for illegal gambling in 2010, control of Otake Beya fell to a former Taiho disciple, Dairyu.
But whether under Taiho, Takatoriki or Dairyu, the stable has long been a source of interesting stories.
In 1981, Taiho gave Texan Philip Smoak a shot at becoming a professional sumo wrestler.
Smoak famously arrived off the plane full of bravado in a ten-gallon hat and cowboy boots, but he was wholly unprepared for the reality of sumo life.
After just three fights in maezumo (pre-sumo) the 18-year-old had had enough and quit the sport before even a single bout as a rikishi on the banzuke.
Near the end of his time in charge, Taiho had greater success with another foreign recruit, Roho.
The powerfully built Russian quickly rose up the ranks, and under first Otake stablemaster Takatoriki reached the rank of komusubi, before being kicked out of sumo after testing positive for cannabis.
Egyptian maegashira Osunaarashi and his family at Otake stable in October 2014 |
John Gunning
The themes of non-traditional recruitment and sudden endings continued under the reign of the second Otake stablemaster, Dairyu.
This time it was the muscular Egyptian Osunaarashi, whose ring name — 'great sand storm' — portended a tempestuous time in professional sumo.
Like Roho, Osunaarashi found success early and quickly rose up the ranks, before knee injuries slowed his ascent.
A fender bender-level car accident brought the career of sumo's first ever Arab wrestler to an end in 2018.
In addition to breaking JSA rules that prohibit rikishi from driving, Osunaarashi lied to the police who arrived on the scene and claimed his wife was behind the wheel.
That latter offense sealed his fate, and perhaps unsurprisingly Otake Beya hasn't had a foreign recruit since.
Otake has always been interesting to follow, however, with even the stable's well-behaved rikishi serving as sources of intrigue.
Whether ex-speed skater Ginseizan or half-Polish former soccer player Tsuyukusa — who had previously been a translator for a Japan national team player in Europe — Otake stable has recruited men with all kinds of backgrounds.
Tsuyukusa during training at Otake stable in August 2017 |
John Gunning
Ring names from the stable stand out as well.
Perhaps the most unique was Migikataagari, a now-retired Japanese wrestler whose ring name means 'right shoulder rising' – a phrase used to describe an ascending graph.
Moriurara, a name taken from a famous racehorse that lost 113 consecutive contests, was the moniker given to a similarly star-crossed wrestler.
Though Tamaasuka represents a fresh start for Otake, three of Taiho's grandsons, including top-division star Oho, are members of the stable, so links with the past haven't completely vanished.
The really intriguing question, however, is whether the drama will continue under new leadership.