Re: Culturally Offensive

["Nashinokawa" <nashinokawa@parbrook.free-online.co.uk>]

>Too blatant advertising, political messages, nudes....?


I think you would need to be extremely blatant on the advertising front
I remember the Pepsi Mawashi that Takatoriki wore early in his Makuuchi
career
which was nothing more than the logo, which some (non-Japanese) people
objected to at the time (letter in Sumo World I think)

Personally I thought a little more taste could have gone into it (a more
textured  woven style would have improved it immensely), but at the end of
the day sumo and rikishi need sponsorship to survive and he who pays the
piper calls the tune, one way or another.

Apparently the Pepsi Japan Manager of the time was a sumophile (he may have
been the first foreign Ko-en-kai chairman I believe) and sponsored
Takatoriki as he felt his style of sumo epitomized his ware:  fizzy, full of
energy, exciting etc.

I guess that the other areas would be considered unacceptable though as
Doreen says.  I think religious cults may also be unacceptable, as would
symbols that would cause controversy in the Japanese media (e.g. the Rising
Sun flag used by the military during WWII)