on this day: 1923

["Rowan Klein" <rowanchan@hotmail.com>]

The Osaka Mainichi, Wednesday 6th June 1923

Wrestling World Turmoil Now Greatly Aggravated

Sendagawa's Resignation Will Stand; Society to be Reconstructed

    The present trouble in the Osaka wrestling world has become greatly 
aggravated because of the resignation of Sendagawa, one of the officials of 
the Osaka Wrestling Society, and the consequent resignations of 12 wrestlers 
under his tutorship, headed by Tetsugahama, Chibaura, Miyoshidake, Yashuzan, 
and Takasegawa. Sendagawa gave for the reason of his resignation the fact 
that he was responsible for the recent trouble in the association, causing 
great inconvenience to the wrestling fans of Osaka. The wrestlers who 
resigned with him gave as the reason of their action the fact that they 
realized their fault in the recent strike, which was done in disobedience to 
their teacher, Sendagawa.
    The Osaka Wrestler's Association recently held a peace meet of the 
striking wrestlers and the officials of the society, but, in spite of the 
peace which was established between the officials and the wrestlers, the 
wrestlers under the guardianship of Sendagawa have been discriminated 
against by the officials of the society and by the other wrestlers.
    The wrestling fans of Osaka are regarding the resignation of Sendagawa 
and his wrestlers very seriously, and some of the members of the Wrestler's 
Support Association have even expressed their opinion that the dissolution 
of the association is not only inevitable but also desirable from the 
standpoint of wrestling in Osaka, while others are advocating a fundamental 
reconstruction of the association in order to prevent a recurrence of 
similar trouble in the future.

Rejoicing Change to Surprise
    "I greatly regret the resignation of Sendagawa and his wrestlers," Dr. 
Sata, President of the Osaka National Sports Support Association, stated 
regarding the new trouble in the wrestling world of Osaka. "Now that the 
recent trouble has come to a happy termination, all wrestling fans of Osaka 
were rejoicing, until the new trouble occurred. I believe that the leaders 
of the recent strike as well as the officials of the Wrestling Society 
should resign, because the recent trouble has had a bad influence in the 
wrestling world in general.
    "I sympathize with Sendagawa and his wrestlers in their resignation, but 
I believe that their action will tend to purify the atmosphere of the Osaka 
wrestling world. What we need at present is a fundamental reorganization of 
the Wrestling Society as well as of the Wrestler's Association. Such a 
fundamental reconstruction is an absolute necessity if we are to maintain 
wrestling as our national sport."

Not a National Sport
    Dr. Sata hinted that, should the present unsettled condition in the 
Wrestling Society continue, the National Sports Support Association will 
cease to regard wrestling as a national sport and charge rent for the use of 
the National Sports Hall, Osaka. He also said that a meeting of the 
association will be held in the near future to decide the question of the 
resignation of Sendagawa and his wrestlers.
    "Sendagawa had a good reason to resign," Asahiyama, one of the veteran 
Osaka wrestlers, stated to a Mainichi man. "The various discriminations to 
which he and his men have been subjected recently, entitled him to desert 
the society, as he did. I, however, requested him to change his mind, but he 
seemed to be firmly determined."
    Takadagawa, one of the directors of the Wrestling Society, has expressed 
his determination to reconstruct the society so that no such trouble as 
recently occurred will develop in the future.



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