Japan's top sumo wrestler speaks out about blasting judges, racist inferences

Japan's champion sumo wrestler Hakuho said Monday he was simply speaking his mind when he previously inferred that even a child would have seen that the bout against Ozeki Kisenosato shouldn't have resulted in a rematch and that the color of his skin shouldn't be an issue.

"I am sure that everyone here has their own thoughts and feelings about what I said, so I'd just say, think about it. I just spoke my mind," Hakuho told a news conference.

"Well, how should I put it? Inside one's heart, there are some things one is unable to say," Japan's Yokozuna (grand champion) said when pressed for further clarification.

Hakuho was then swiftly whisked away by officials from the Miyagino stable, in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, where the tense news conference was held, bringing the conference to an abrupt end, after it was delayed by nearly 20-minutes to begin with.

Mongolian-born Hakuho, who is currently Japan's all-time record holder after securing his 33rd career Emperor's Cup, came under fire from officials of the sport for what they deemed a breach of the sport's rigorous etiquette.

This was after the wrestler, who beat Kisenosato outright in a rematch to take the championship, told a news conference on Jan. 26 that he, "went home and watched the video and it was sumo even a child could understand."

"Why did they call for a do-over? I would hope they have a little more sense of urgency," said a disgruntled Hakuho.

The judges at the match believed that both men went out of the ring at practically the same time. Hakuho, however, begged to differ and following the comments he made regarding the judges' infantile decisions, went on to suggest that the judges were in fact favoring his Japanese-born opponent.

"The color of one's skin doesn't matter. When I am on the dohyo I have the spirit of Japan laced in my topknot. We are all human beings," declared Hakuho, who was later rebuked by the Japan Sumo Association and his stable elder Miyagino, who runs Japan's most elite sumo dormitory in Osaka, for his comments suggesting the 2000-year-old sport harbored racist elements.

Sports commentators have suggested that anti-Mongolian sentiment is growing in the sport as the Mongolians dominate, with there not being a native-Japanese yokozuna, since Takanohana retired in 2003.

But supporters of Hakuho have said that since he has gone on to boss the record books, breaking the mighty Taiho's record that was set between 1960 and 1971, Hakuho has earned himself and his Mongolian counterparts a great deal of respect in the historically homogenous sport, that some bigoted factions still deem it impossible for non-Japanese to possess the requisite levels of "hinkaku" (Japanese dignity) to understand and participate in.

"There are two arguments here. On the one hand sumo 'purists' are saying that whatever the circumstances, a wrestler should never speak out against judges' decisions, as this shows a lack of etiquette," Kenji Obata, an expert on sumo told Xinhua.

"On the other hand, Hakuho believed he was being discriminated against by the referees, so was quite rightly aggrieved, as usually when a bout is thought to have ended in a tie, the benefit of doubt favors the yokozuna," the aficionado said, adding that Hakuho's outburst has sparked the latest round of anti-Mongolian sentiment in the sport.

Obata went on to explain that the situation was a little ironic as it's the Mongolian wrestlers that have made the sport interesting and dynamic again, and the usually flawless "hinkaku" shown by the likes of Hakuho that have endeared him to a new-breed of Japanese sumo lovers, as the sport had been suffering declining public support following a number of highly-publicized gambling, bullying and drug-related scandals.

"Hakuho has already apologized once and tried to explain himself today, so that should be the end of it. He is a true champion. But there will always be those in the sumo association, the stables and fans who wish their grand champion was a native Japanese," said Obata.

"But until Japan produces better wrestlers, this won't be the case, so Japan has only itself to blame and shouldn't turn to prejudice to compensate for the deficit," Obata said. Endi