Re: Yokozuna demotion (was re: random thoughts)

[Patrick Coffman <ryled@yahoo.com>]

Yes, I know that people whisper about demoting
yokozuna from time to time, and that incident in 1950
and both of the Hanada brothers' cases prove that
there is some validity to the argument.  However, I
think it could be a mistake to enact such a policy.

Could you imagine seeing a maegashira who used to be a
yokozuna?  I'm pretty sure he would be seriously
unpopular.  Even if some people still respected him,
just the fact that he once was a ceremonial physical
manifestation of all that is sumo and is now some
whiny veteran who hopes to one day climb back up the
ladder while slowly slipping into juuryou and
obscurity would be awkward.

Which, of course, leads to another argument against
such a ruling:  the great tradition of sumo.  It's
very hard to see grand sumo ever losing certain
traditions, as much as people clamour from time to
time to change things.  Look at how many sports
enthusiasts try to argue against the salt throwing. 
Will that ever change?  I actually hope not.  Many
people have no idea what these traditions are there
for, but the fact is that sumo is deeply rooted in
shugendou-like religious and cultural traditions, and
the fact is that the sumo are performing a sacerdotal
function.  It's important for it to remain culturally
Japanese, and that means preserving some of the ideals
the sport is trying to represent.

I dunno, that's just my random musing on it.  It would
be nice if a yokozuna had somewhere to go other than
retirement if he had a couple of disgraceful basho,
but anyway, there you go.  Anyway, after all the
pressure of trying to uphold the honor and status of
yokozuna and preserve the tradition of the sport and
all, once a yokozuna started to drift downhill, even
if the option were available, I'm sure almost all
rikishi promoted to that rank would choose retirement
anyway.  

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