Regarding the Nov. 2 article ¡±¡°: I doubt that sumo will ever be legally listed as an entertainment, because I think it¡¯s on the up and up most of the time. As for yaocho (match-fixing) and dekiyama (predetermined outcome), I would have to have been born yesterday to believe that the sumo world is untainted. My father introduced me to sumo in 1954.
What should concern sumo fans is that a stablemaster (was indicted in February) for his responsibility in the death of a teenager who wanted to leave sumo. Three deshi (trainees) beat the 17-year-old to a bruised pulp and subsequently sat in court for carrying out their stablemaster¡¯s wishes. ¡°Steeped in tradition¡± doesn¡¯t trump manslaughter, intended or unintended.
If anything kills sumo, it will be young hunks not signing up in favor of sports that don¡¯t condone bashing a trainee with a beer bottle and having blows delivered with a bat to improve performance. ¡°Captain Bligh¡± in the ring won¡¯t do in the 21st century. God forbid that sumo continues to inflict cruel training methods under the guise of discipline.
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