Re: And even more answers....

[Doreen Simmons <jz8d-smmn@asahi-net.or.jp>]

At 15:53 +0900 1/12/99, Jezz 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 oyakata 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 first statement is correct,  as is the second; but your final remark
refers to a different case. Ex-ozeki Kirishima bought the Michinoku myoseki
from the previous stablemaster (who quit the world of sumo altogether) and
took over its only remaining deshi, the two Argentines, who moved into his
new stable when it was built. A similar thing happened with Wakamatsu-beya,
except that the old master had reached retirement age and had sold the whole
shebang to his designated successor. The old master kept the building but
the name, and the deshi, went with the new owner of the myoseki (ex-ozeki
Asashio).

> 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....

It could well be, but I'd like to hear of a specific instance of an oyakata
wanting to recruit a specific Hawaiian and being told he couldn't. So far I
haven't heard this. (This is not to say it hasn't happened, of course....)

>  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??

I think Jezz has a point.  It's numbers, or perhaps proportionate numbers,
that count. A few years ago the Kyokai also expressed a fear of foreign
cliques forming if too many of the same nationality were allowed into the
same heya.

Doreen in sumoland

♪I'm not old -- just classic♪