Yokozuna Deliberation Council
{{Short description|Advisory body of Japanese professional sumo}}
{{Western name order}}
{{See also|Makuuchi#Criteria for promotion|label 1=Yokozuna promotion}}
The {{nihongo|Yokozuna Deliberation Council|横綱審議委員会|Yokozuna shingī iinkai}},{{sfn|Buckingham|1994|p=234}}{{sfn|Newton|Toff|2000|p=124}} sometimes called {{transl|ja|Yokozuna}} Promotion Council,{{sfn|Schilling|1994|p=35}} and usually abbreviated in Japanese as {{nihongo||よこしん|Yokoshin}}, is an advisory body to the Japan Sumo Association. The council considers candidates for promotion to sumo's top rank of {{transl|ja|yokozuna}}, before passing its recommendations to the Sumo Association. It also gives comments about {{transl|ja|{{glossary link|glossary=Glossary of sumo terms|san'yaku}}}} ranked wrestlers anticipating their potential promotions.
Creation
The reason the council was created is because of a scandal at the beginning of 1950. All of the three {{transl|ja|yokozuna}} of the time (Azumafuji, Terukuni and Haguroyama) were absent for most of the January tournament, driving intense criticism.{{sfn|Cuyler|1979|p=119}} The Sumo Association even began to think about a demotion system applied to {{transl|ja|yokozuna}} but the idea was later dropped under pressure from sumo purists and traditionalists.{{cite web|last=Gunning|first=John|author-link=John Gunning (journalist)|title=Sumo’s Yokozuna Deliberation Council plays important role in overseeing sport|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2018/09/05/sumo/sumos-yokozuna-deliberation-council-plays-important-role-overseeing-sport/|work=The Japan Times|url-access=subscription|date=13 June 2018|access-date=12 April 2023|archive-date=7 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180907185517/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2018/09/05/sumo/sumos-yokozuna-deliberation-council-plays-important-role-overseeing-sport/#.W5LJq1N_pqY|url-status=live}} To maintain the dignity of the rank, it was instead decided that {{transl|ja|yokozuna}} should be recommended by experts with a deep knowledge of sumo, like the House of Yoshida Tsukasa (who controlled the world of sumo during the Edo period).{{cite web|url=https://mainichi.jp/articles/20220505/k00/00m/050/179000c|title=角界のご意見番・横綱審議委員会 求める綱の品格と「苦言」の歴史|language=Japanese|work=Mainichi Shimbun|date=6 May 2022|access-date=16 February 2023}} The {{transl|ja|Yokozuna}} Deliberation Council was established on April 21, 1950 as an advisory body to the Japan Sumo Association. The council was officially established by the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture.{{sfn|Buckingham|1994|p=216}}
The first chairman of the council was {{ill|Tadamasa Sakai|ja|酒井忠正}}, a former count and member of the House of Peers. Its ten members were all distinguished members in fields unrelated to sumo; they include college administrators, business directors, sociologists, writers and newspaper editors.{{sfn|Cuyler|1979|p=119}}{{sfn|Buckingham|1994|p=216}} In January 1951 the Sumo Association declared that the {{transl|ja|yokozuna}} licenses would be, from that moment on, entirely under the control of the {{transl|ja|Yokozuna}} Deliberation Council and the directors of the Sumo Association, transforming the traditional recommendation and approval of the House of Yoshida Tsukasa into a pure ceremony.{{sfn|Cuyler|1979|p=119}}
Composition and operation
The {{transl|ja|Yokozuna}} Deliberation Council is constituted on the basis of Article 52 of the Japan Sumo Association statutes.{{cite web|url=https://www.sumo.or.jp//IrohaKyokaiFinancialInformation/wrap/|title=業務・財務情報 |language=ja|work=Japan Sumo Association|access-date=19 February 2023}} A purely advisory body, the council is a pro forma organ within professional sumo.{{sfn|Schilling|1994|p=37}}
The council is composed of prominent Japanese citizens from various fields who are said to share a passion for sumo and have a deep understanding of it.{{sfn|Buckingham|1994|p=216}}{{sfn|Newton|Toff|2000|p=124}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nikkansports.com/sports/sumo/news/p-sp-tp3-20100126-589398.html|title=横綱審議委員会、最大５期10年報酬なし|language=ja|work=Nikkan Sports|date=26 January 2010|access-date=19 February 2023}} Since it is made up of personalities not employed by the Japan Sumo Association, the council is supposed to represent public opinion on wrestlers promoted to the supreme rank of {{transl|ja|yokozuna}}.{{sfn|Buckingham|1994|p=216}}
During the emergence of foreign wrestlers in Japan's national sport, the media platform offered to council members revealed differences of opinion within it.{{sfn|Schilling|1994|p=38}} Some council members publicly sided with opening the supreme rank of {{transl|ja|yokozuna}} to foreigners, citing in particular that it "makes no difference if the open door would create a desirable stimulus" for the sport, notably to motivate Japanese wrestlers then perceived as "lazy and slack".{{sfn|Kenrick|1969|p=136}} Others took a public stand in favor of excluding wrestlers from the rank, deigning that they did not, by definition, possess the dignity necessary to practice at the highest level of the {{transl|ja|banzuke}}.{{sfn|Schilling|1994|p=38}}
Sumo Association members cannot be appointed in the council and its members are unpaid. Since 1997, it was decided that members would serve terms of two years, with a maximum of five terms. The number of members is limited to 15 and there are currently 9 members on the council. The council is directed by a chairman elected by mutual vote of members. The chairman's term of office is 2 years, up to 2 terms. Sumo Association members can also attend and take part at the meeting; the Sumo Association's chairman and other directors usually attend the meeting.
The meeting of the council is held after the announcement of each tournament ranking and before the final ranking organization meeting. It is also held the day after each tournament's {{transl|ja|{{glossary link|glossary=Glossary of sumo terms|senshūraku}}}}. At the request of the Sumo Association, the council will report to the association's consultation on {{transl|ja|yokozuna}} recommendation based on the wrestler's {{transl|ja|hinkaku}} (品格, dignity) and other {{transl|ja|yokozuna}}-related matters, or make recommendations based on its suggestions. Should a wrestler emerge as a contender for the highest rank in professional sumo, the Sumo Association will formally request the opinion of the council, which will vote to approve or disapprove the wrestler in question.{{sfn|Newton|Toff|2000|p=124}} Although the Sumo Association is free to ignore the advice of the council, it is customary to follow its recommendation.{{sfn|Newton|Toff|2000|p=124}}{{sfn|Schilling|1994|p=37}}{{cite web |url=https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20250126/k10014704001000.html|title=大相撲初場所 豊昇龍が優勝 横綱昇進に向け臨時理事会開催へ|date=26 January 2025|publisher=NHK|access-date=15 February 2025|language=ja}} Moreover, it is rare for the council to oppose the choice of wrestler presented by the association, as debates on the wrestler's qualities are generally internal.{{sfn|Schilling|1994|p=37}}
The council also usually provides three types of advice to the already existing {{transl|ja|yokozuna}} it examin:
- {{nihongo|Encouragement|激励|{{transl|ja|gekirei}}}}
- {{nihongo|Warning|注意|{{transl|ja|chūi}}}}
- {{nihongo|Recommendation to Retire|引退勧告|{{transl|ja|intai kankoku}}}}
For the {{transl|ja|yokozuna}} promotion process, the internal rule is that an {{transl|ja|ōzeki}} wins two tournaments in a row in principle. This rule was established following the promotion of the {{transl|ja|yokozuna}} Futahaguro in 1986. The Sumo Association was looking for an opponent to Chiyonofuji who was a dominant {{transl|ja|yokozuna}}. Futahaguro's performance suggested that he would win tournaments quickly, and the Sumo Association decided to promote him to {{transl|ja|yokozuna}} before he had actually won any Emperor's Cup. However, Futahaguro's results never matched his rank and his attitude problems led to his forced retirement in 1988.{{cite web|title=強さの裏に未熟さ、優勝なき横綱 元双羽黒が死去|url=https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASM3Y6JQ7M3YUTQP033.html|work=Asahi Shimbun|date=29 March 2019|access-date=17 March 2023|archive-date=31 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331031237/https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASM3Y6JQ7M3YUTQP033.html|url-status=dead}}
From that day on the Association decided to organise a more efficient filtering of wrestlers eligible for the rank of {{transl|ja|yokozuna}} by unofficially requiring two tournaments won in a row. Since Asahifuji in 1990, every {{transl|ja|yokozuna}} promoted until Kakuryū won two tournaments in a row. Today, the Sumo Association seems to consider that results "equivalent to a tournament victory" can also be considered sufficient for promotion to the sumo supreme title.{{cite web|title=貴景勝、横綱昇進は絶望的に 審判部長「厳しい」|url=https://www.sanyonews.jp/article/1353494|work=Sanyo Shimbun|date=19 January 2023|access-date=17 March 2023|archive-date=17 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230317092125/https://www.sanyonews.jp/article/1353494|url-status=dead}} When recommending a wrestler with similar results, two-thirds or more of the attending council members must agree. The council also report on the second highest rank of sumo because {{transl|ja|ōzeki}} are at the gateway of the {{transl|ja|yokozuna}} rank. Therefore, in 2022, the {{transl|ja|Yokozuna}} Deliberation council delivered harsh comments on the attitude and performances of the three {{transl|ja|ōzeki}} at that time (Takakeishō, Shōdai and Mitakeumi), even going as far as proposing a harsher system in case of an {{transl|ja|ōzeki}} demotion.{{cite web|url=https://www.sanspo.com/article/20220927-JMCPOV4X3JNODEZZORLKBYTKSA/|title=横審、不振大関陣に苦言 御嶽海＆正代４勝１１敗 「あまりにも負けた人は小結まで落としたら」という声も|language=Japanese|work=Sankei Sports|date=27 September 2022|access-date=16 November 2022}} In the meantime, the council also gives praises to promising talents. For example, during the same period, the council praised {{transl|ja|sekiwake}} Wakatakakage and {{transl|ja|maegashira}} Tamawashi on their tournament.{{cite web|url=https://www.nikkansports.com/battle/sumo/news/202209260000993.html|title=「大関去る御嶽海含め一層奮起を」横審委員長が大関陣に苦言「初代若乃花ほうふつ」若隆景に期待|language=Japanese|work=Nikkan Sports|date=26 September 2022|access-date=16 November 2022}}
Finally, the council also hold an open {{transl|ja|{{glossary link|glossary=Glossary of sumo terms|keiko}}}} session (called {{transl|ja|{{glossary link|glossary=Glossary of sumo terms|sōken}}}}, 総見) at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan, in front of a considerable number of {{transl|ja|toshiyori}}, as well as many members of the sports and mainstream media. The event is also filmed by at least six different entities. The {{transl|ja|sōken}} was opened to the general public and held in the main area of the Kokugikan, but in 2023 the Japan Sumo Association and the {{transl|ja|yokoshin}} decided to move the training to the sumo school rings with a limited attendance.{{cite web|last=Gunning|first=John|author-link=John Gunning (journalist)|title=Return of yokozuna council's open training offers good and bad|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2023/05/10/sumo/yokozuna-deliberation-council-return/|work=The Japan Times|url-access=subscription|date=10 May 2023|access-date=12 April 2023|archive-date=10 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230510150901/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2023/05/10/sumo/yokozuna-deliberation-council-return/|url-status=live}}
In September 2023, it was decided that the {{transl|ja|sōken}} would once again be open to the public. This event, the first public one in four years, also marked the first time that a {{transl|ja|Yokozuna}} Deliberation Council event coincided with a {{transl|ja|kanreki dohyō-iri}}, the chairman of the Japan Sumo Association, Hakkaku (the former Hokutoumi), having celebrated his sixtieth birthday on the same date.{{cite news|url=https://www.chunichi.co.jp/article/714881?rct=sumo|title=八角理事長9月2日に“還暦土俵入り”異例の一般公開「どうせやるなら」化粧まわしは思い出深い“三つぞろえ”【大相撲】|date=23 June 2023|newspaper=Chūnichi Shinbun|access-date=23 June 2023}}
In 2000, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology appointed {{ill|Makiko Uchidate|ja|内館牧子}} as a member of the council. It was the first time a woman was made a member of the {{transl|ja|yokoshin}}.{{cite web|url=https://www.nikkansports.com/entertainment/news/201806010000231.html|title=内館牧子氏の相撲愛の原点は幼少期のいじめ体験|language=Japanese|work=Nikkan Sports|date=1 August 2018|access-date=16 February 2023}} In 2022, the Ministry appointed Konno Misako and Ikenobō Yasuko as members of the {{transl|ja|Yokozuna}} Deliberation Council and, for the first time, two women became members at the same time of an organization linked to the Japanese Sumo Association.{{cite web|title=大相撲 横審委員に紺野美沙子さんと池坊保子さん 女性2人は初|url=https://www3.nhk.or.jp/sports/news/k10013561621000/|work=NHK|date=31 March 2022|access-date=12 April 2023|archive-date=16 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230216124438/https://www3.nhk.or.jp/sports/news/k10013561621000/|url-status=dead}}
=Notices=
Notices have been issued three times since the council's inception in 1950:
- January 2010: Recommendation to Retire issued to Asashōryū.{{cite news |url=https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20181126/p2a/00m/0sp/018000c|title=Sumo yokozuna council issues rare 'encouragement' notice to struggling Kisenosato|date=26 November 2018|newspaper=Mainichi Daily News|publisher=Mainichi|access-date=24 November 2020}}
The recommendation was issued following allegations that Asashōryū punched and injured an acquaintance in a drunken brawl at a nightclub during the January 2010 tournament. It has been suggested in the media that Asashōryū chose to retire before the Sumo Association could follow through on the council's recommendation.{{cite web|url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ed20100206a2.html|title=End of the line for Asashoryu|date=6 February 2010|work=Japan Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170907032751if_/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2010/02/06/editorials/end-of-the-line-for-asashoryu/#.WbC8yc37RPY|archive-date=7 September 2017|access-date=24 November 2020}} - November 2018: Encouragement issued to Kisenosato.
The council issued its first Encouragement notice of its history because Kisenosato lost his first five matches in the November 2018 tournament before withdrawing. Prior to that, he had withdrawn (either partially or fully) without a winning record in eight out of ten tournaments as {{transl|ja|yokozuna}}. The withdrawals were due in part to injuries suffered at the end of his winning tournament run in March 2017. He eventually retired from the sport after three consecutive defeats in the January 2019 {{transl|ja|basho}}. - November 2020: Warning issued to two {{transl|ja|yokozuna}}, Hakuhō and Kakuryū.{{cite web|title=Sumo: Advisory board issues warning to rehabbing yokozuna duo|url=https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20201124/p2g/00m/0sp/026000c|work=Mainichi Shimbun|date=24 November 2020|access-date=12 April 2023|archive-date=25 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125045949/https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20201124/p2g/00m/0sp/026000c|url-status=dead}}
According to the council, both wrestlers did not perform to the level required of the {{transl|ja|yokozuna}} rank between November 2019 and November 2020. In that timeframe, Hakuhō sufficiently performed three times ({{transl|ja|yūshō}} in November 2019 and March 2020, plus a 10-win performance in July 2020) while Kakuryū sufficiently performed just once (runner-up in March 2020 with 12 wins). Both of them sat out of the September 2020 and November 2020 tournaments due to injury.
The warning to Hakuhō and Kakuryū was upheld in March 2021.{{cite web|url=https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2021/03/77a9bf004ea0-sumo-hakuho-remains-subject-to-warning-over-injury-absences.html|title=Sumo: Hakuho remains subject to warning over injury absences|date=29 March 2021|work=Kyodo News|accessdate=29 March 2021}} Kakuryū sat out for two additional tournaments since the warning was first issued, eventually retiring during the March 2021 {{transl|ja|basho}}.{{cite web|url=https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2021/03/443456bd50d5-breaking-news-sumo-association-approves-retirement-of-yokozuna-kakuryu.html|title=Sumo: Yokozuna Kakuryu retires after missing 5th straight tourney
|date=24 March 2021|work=Kyodo News|accessdate=24 March 2021}} After sitting out of the January 2021 tournament due to COVID-19, Hakuhō won two matches in March before withdrawing when doctors told him that he would require kneecap surgery.
Current members
As of January 2025.
List of past chairmen
| class="wikitable"
! !Name !Tenure !Note |
| 80px
|{{ill|Tadamasa Sakai|ja|酒井忠正}} † |1950-1969 |Member of the first council after its foundation. |
| 80px
|1969-1976 |Writer and novelist. |
| 80px
|1976-1981 |Former deputy prime minister. |
| 80px
|{{ill|Takahashi Yoshitaka|ja|高橋義孝}} † |1981-1990 |Scholar of German literature, critic and essayist. |
| |{{ill|Hideo Ueda|ja|上田英雄}} †
|1990-1993 |Former Professor at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo. |
| |{{ill|Seiki Watanabe|ja|渡辺誠毅}} †
|1993-1997 |Former Asahi Shimbun president. |
| |{{ill|Tomokazu Sakamoto|ja|坂本朝一}} †
|1997-1999 |Former NHK chairman. |
| |{{ill|Kazuo Ichiriki|ja|一力一夫}} †
|1999-2001 |Former Kahoku Shimpō chairman. |
| 80px
|2001-2003 |Former Yomiuri Shimbun chairman. |
| |{{ill|Yoshio Ishibashi|ja|石橋義夫}} †
|2003-2007 |Former Kyoritsu Women's University president. |
| |{{ill|Katsuji Ebisawa|ja|海老沢勝二}}
|2007-2009 |Journalist, Former NHK president. |
| |{{ill|Takuhiko Tsuruta|ja|鶴田卓彦}} †
|2009-2013 |Former Nikkei, Inc. chairman. |
| |{{ill|Hitoshi Uchiyama|ja|内山斉}} †
|2013-2015 |Former Yomiuri Shimbun counselor. |
| |{{ill|Hideshige Moriya|ja|守屋秀繁}}
|2015-2017 |Professor Emeritus at Chiba University. |
| |{{ill|Masatō Kitamura|ja|北村正任}}
|2017-2019 |Advisor to the Mainichi Shimbun's board and former Japan Newspaper Publishers and Editors Association president. |
| |{{ill|Hironori Yano|ja|矢野弘典}}
|2019-2022 |Central Nippon Expressway Company advisor. |
| 80px
|2022-2023 |Former Minister of Defense and Foreign Affairs. |
| 80px
|{{ill|Masayuki Yamauchi|ja|山内昌之}} |2023-2025 |Professor Emeritus at the University of Tokyo. |
References
=Citations=
{{Reflist}}
=Bibliography=
- {{cite book|last=Buckingham |first= Dorothea M. |date=1994 |title=The Essential Guide to Sumo |url=https://archive.org/details/essentialguideto00doro/mode/2up |url-access=registration |publisher=Bess Press |isbn=1880188805}}
- {{cite book|last=Cuyler |first=Patricia Lee |date=1979 |title=Sumo: From rite to sport |url=https://archive.org/details/sumofromritetosp0000cuyl/mode/2up |url-access=registration |publisher=New York: Weatherhill |isbn=9780834801455}}
- {{cite book |last=Kenrick |first=Douglas M. |year=1969 |title=The Book of Sumo: Sport, Spectacle, and Ritual |url=https://archive.org/details/bookofsumosports0000kenr/mode/2up |publisher=New York: Weatherhill |url-access=registration |isbn=083480039X}}
- {{cite book |last1=Newton |first1=Clyde |last2=Toff |first2=Gerald J. |year=2000 |title=Dynamic sumo |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9784770025081/page/135/mode/2up |publisher=Kodansha International |url-access=registration |isbn=4770025084}}
- {{cite book|last=Schilling |first=Mark |author-link=Mark Schilling |date=1994 |title=Sumo: a fan's guide |url=https://archive.org/details/sumofansguide0000schi/mode/2up |url-access=registration |publisher=Japan Times |isbn=4789007251}}
- {{cite book|last=Sharnoff |first=Lora |date=1993 |title=Grand Sumo:The Living Sport and Tradition |publisher=New York: Weatherhill |isbn=0-8348-0283-X}}
Category:Sports organizations established in 1950
Category:1950 establishments in Japan
Category:Organizations based in Tokyo