wait, I thought it was a beer bottle, not a remote
Confirmed with our friend ChatGPT:
Harumafuji, a Mongolian-born sumo wrestler and the 70th yokozuna (grand champion), retired in 2017 due to a scandal involving an assault on a junior wrestler, Takanoiwa, during a drinking party.
Key Details of the Incident:
- The Assault:
Harumafuji struck Takanoiwa with his hands, a remote control, and other objects during a gathering of sumo wrestlers. The altercation reportedly stemmed from Takanoiwa’s perceived lack of respect and inattentiveness during the event, which angered Harumafuji.
Was this a separate incident?
Sounds like the same incident as there was only one such one involving the parties in question. In sumo circles and in the Japanese press the weapon of choice was repeatedly reported to have been a karaoke remote. Perhaps flying beer bottles were also involved but I’d be inclined trust these sources more as they likely had closer access to those involved in the incident than a SI reporter.
It’s official. Hoshoryu is your next Yokozuna.
I’ve definitely seen the beer bottle story multiple times, I doubt I read it originally in SI, I just googled “harumafuji beer bottle” and that was the first thing that popped up, but yeah, it seems like one of those things where it got printed once and then every english speaking “journalist” who had a deadline picked it up and ran with it.
Does Hoshoryu have the hinkaku?
No, he’s another Hakuho-style sumo bad boy, though not as skilled or as naughty as Hak.
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FYP.
Tobizaru’s career is probably toast. Went and pulled a Hokuseiho.
Well, shit.
What’s a Hokuseiho? Assaulting other rikishi?
Hokuseiho is the name of another fallen rikishi. Hakuho’s disciple. We’ve covered that incident in this thread already IIRC.
Yeah, my question is “pulling a Hokuseiho” just sucker punching one of your bros or is there more to it than that?
It wasn’t just a sucker punch that got Hokuseiho thrown out of sumo. It was long, ongoing serial bullying. That’s what “pulling a Hokuseiho” means.
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Thanks. Can you flesh out this bullying a little more?
It seems that more senior rikishi can basically use the younger ones as their personal slaves and make them do all sorts of menial tasks. Seems hard to tease out bullying from standard sumo hierarchy behavior when an older rikishi who needs his ass wiped can ask a newb to do it for him. Seems like short of assault, you can bully in all sorts of ways which aren’t technically crossing the line.
It’s a fine line. But like society itself, sumo has undergone change. Behaviors that were considered normal a couple decades ago can get you kicked out of the sport today. I can’t say exactly what that line is, but there seem to be clear cases when it gets crossed. Like hokuseiho, and now, probably Tobizaru (if the accusations are true).
Yokozuna eating chanko.
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Now Nishonoseki-beya has come under fire again for alleged power harassment, underage drinking, and even sexual abuse. There’s a video circulating from a couple years ago that shows younger rikishi being forced by their seniors to imbibe alcohol through their ass–and then their mouth.
It’s a literal shit show and it’ll be interesting to see if ex-Kisenosato is subjected to the same severe punishment as Hakuho (my guess: no friggin’ way).
Wait they made them butt chug and then drink the butt booze? Jesus h criminy.