Re: Yaocho (defined for Goldie)

[Masumi Abe <abe@accesscom.com>]

Since Ozumo is more-or-less cooperative association, I have no problem to know
that they have been helping each other. And I believe that there have been
yaocho matches and will continue so. The difference between Chuck and me is
that he thinks the rate of those matches proves that they are yaocho matches
and I don't.

For example, when a NFL football team made a playoff with being a division
champion with meaningless last game against a team which needs to win to
qualify to get to the playoff, it is rather predictable to know which team
would win. The team who qualified earlier would keep their skilled players on
the bench and go easy to avoid unnecessary injuries to prepare for more
important and meaningful playoff games.

I've seen these cases many many times and fans know what's happening there,
since it is very obvious. But they don't say it's yaocho.

People in Sumo Kyokai would say that that is because 7-7 rikishi is determined
to win with full of energy (ki or chi) more than 8-6 or 6-8 rikishi.

I personally think that those reasons in addition to yaocho matches
contributing the extraordinary rate of predictable outcome in Sumo.

By the way, give and take matches are not the only yaocho style in Sumo. Those
are yaocho for lower ranked rikishi in Maku(no)uchi and Juryo. More established
rikishi who can afford buying, such as Yokozuna and Ozeki have been doing money
games. Yokozuna and Ozeki can sell a match to lower rikishi a lot higher than
buying a match from those lower rikishi. So, richer will get richer.

Extremely popular Yokozuna Chiyonofuji is not that popular among Oyakata. Rumor
said that his practice of buying matches while he was still active Yokozuna
were out of tradition and without dignity. He promised to pay certain amount
for a match and then actually paid a lot less, or offer to buy a meaningless
match to him rather expensively before his opponent who needed a match to win a
very important yusho offer him to sell the match. As a result, his opponent
needed to offer a lot more than what Chiyonofuji offered to win the very
important yusho, probably needed for being promoted to Yokozuna.

Since I don't have anything to prove that those things actually happened, you
don't need to believe what I wrote above. But I personally believe those
rumors, though I liked Yokozuna Chiyonofuji. Those rumors have not changed my
love of Sumo. Existence and practice of yaocho in Sumo does not change my view
of Sumo.

By the way, some rikishi are believed to be totally clean from yaocho matches,
and that fact makes Sumo more exciting.

-Toshiyori Masumiriki


Chuck & Luisa Finberg wrote:

> If you search for my "picking winner" type posts from Day 14 and Day 15 of
> almost every basho during the past two years, you will find a running
> tabulation of predicted results of bouts like those mentioned by Rich
> Pardoe.
>
> Although 7-7 rikishi defeat 6-8 or 8-6 rikishi consistently -- no, virtually
> always -- I'm not sure that it's always in return for a specific past or
> future fall.  It seems more plausible to me that everyone gets a helping
> hand up.  How else could well more than 50 percent of makuuchi rikishi
> consistently attain their kachi-koshi?
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Pardoe, Richard (PRDR) <PRDR@chevron.com>
> Subject: Yaocho (defined for Goldie)
>
> Yaocho ... imply that one of the rikishi has agreed to lose the match in
> return for favours ....In the future, if the opportunity presents itself,
> the losing rikishi will get some favours (easy wins) in return.

--
*********************************************************
* Masumi Abe (aka Masumiriki / Imanonami)
* mailto: abe@accesscom.com
* WWW: http://www.accesscom.com/~abe
* from Sapporo through Tokyo to Palo Alto, California
*********************************************************
Imagine, all the people living for today...living life in peace...
sharing all the world...You may say I am a dreamer, but I'm not the only one.
I hope someday you'll join us, and the world will live as one. (John Lennon)