And even more answers....

[Jezz <jezz@urban.ne.jp>]

jkleader wrote:

> If a rikishi does not like his stable or his stablemates or his Oyakata, can
> he switch to another?  If so, how easy or difficult is this?
>

No.  He is stuck for life with the heya he first joins.....  With the exception
that if an oyakatta from the heya breaks off to form his own heya (with the
previous heya-master's blessing), he may take a few of the rikishi with him - As
what happened with the Argentinian duo, I believe.

> The little wash cloths the rikishi use before bouts seem to come in several
> colors (e.g., yellow, blue, pink).  Does the color have any significance?
>

No.  Unless, a rikishi thinks his cloth is 'lucky' or whatever ;-)

> Do rikishi try to psych each other out in the locker room?

They are seated by the side of the hanamichi by which they enter for that day.
As their opponent will be on the opposite side, it would be hard for them to do
so.

> I known there is no overt trash talking in sumo, but is there a more subtle
> form of attempted intimidation that escapes my notice?
>

Have you seen some of the shiriken stare-downs?  I particularly enjoy the
Takanonami - Musashimaru stare-down these days!

>
> Is it considered bad form to slap an opponent (as henka is considered, by
> some, to be bad form)?

No - but watch out the next time you fight that guy, as he is likely to
remember!

> I see few take a swing at an opponent like
> Takatoriki.

T'riki is the master at the roundhouse slap!  If he gets it back, he deserves it
;-)

Why does Terao sometimes touch salt to his right shoulder before entering the
ring?

I have never seen him do it, but the reason is more than likely to
superstitiously ward off injury to that shoulder (is that where he injured it in
the past?).  Quite a few rikishi use salt in such a way.  If you notice
Hamanoshima, he always sticks a mountain of salt on the front of his mawashii
for all over body protection!

> What is the real story behind the absence of Hawaiian or American recruits
> in recent years?

They did (unofficially) decide to stop allowing foreigh rikishi into the ranks,
although they have supposedly eased off these days (hence a fair number of Asian
born new recruits).  The fact that none of these new recruits are from Hawaii
makes me tend to believe what Kawika has to say on the subject.  This could well
change though....

> With the
> success of Akebono, Musashimaru, Konishiki, Yamato, and even Sentoryu, I'd
> think there would be guys in kimonos hanging out at every Dairy Queen on
> Oahu (or Missouri) handing out envelopes of yen to young guys with the right
> appetite.  There don't seem to be any Americans in the pipeline, despite
> their great and proven success.

This could be the problem.  There are currently (approx) 800 or so Japanese-born
rikishi in Ozumo, of which two are ranked at the highest level.  There are
currently 2 Hawaiian (okay, one of them was really born in Samoa...) in Ozumo,
and both of them are ranked at the highest level ;-)  Maybe, the Japanese don't
want to have their national sport to be completely over-run by Hawaiians??

All the best,

Jejima