A Bar Room Brawl Between Two Sumo Wrestlers Has Utterly Rocked The Sport

A massive scandal has struck Japan’s elite sumo wrestling scene, after one of the sport’s top competitors was accused of beating a younger wrestler with a beer battle in a bar-room brawl.

Mongolian wrestler Harumafuji Kōhei, one of only four active yokozuna, has been accused of attacking Takanoiwa Yoshimori late last month in Tottori during a regional tour.

Harumafuji, 33, allegedly attacked fellow Mongolian Takanoiwa, 27, after the younger wrestler used his smartphone while he was being admonished for disrespectful behaviour towards elder wrestlers.

A doctor’s certificate provided to the Japanese Sumo Association (JSA) said Takanoiwa suffered from a suspected fractured skull and a cerebrospinal fluid leak. He was forced to withdraw from his planned appearance at the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament, which began last Sunday.

In a statement given to police, Harumafuji admitted to striking Takanoiwa, but only with his bare hands. Hakuhō Shō, another Mongolian yokozuna present at the time, also denied Harumafuji used a bottle in the assault.

An ash tray, a microphone and a karaoke remote control are other items speculated to have been used in the bust-up.

However, a source involved in the investigation told The Japan Times that some facts may have been obscured, with wrestlers potentially working to protect Harumafuji’s reputation.

“Since the wrestlers are Mongolian, they may be covering up for the yokozuna,” the source said, adding “the more conflicting the testimonies of those concerned get, the more thoroughly we must verify the facts.”

Matters were complicated by the fact Takanoiwa’s stablemaster – who acts as an all-in-one trainer, mentor, and taskmaster – informed law enforcement authorities without notifying the JSA.

That’s been interpreted as a political act in and of itself, aimed to disrupt the current make-up of the JSA.

More broadly, the incident has been called out as an example of an allegedly toxic culture that still permeates the sport. For The Japan Times, commentator John Gunning writes “a large majority of sumo fandom simply does not understand the true nature of the sport it follows.

“Boys and young men, initiated into a closed, secretive and violent Darwinian world, where their station in life is determined by an ability to physically dominate those around them, are expected to be the embodiment of fictional stoic samurai.”

The investigation continues.

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