Take it with a grain of salt, but this goes more in depth than anything else we've seen so far:

Former wrestler Terunofuji "attacked his disciple" - full story of power harassment "His face was swollen and he couldn't even open his eyes" - could it be related to the "big project worth over 2 billion yen"?

The head of the largest stable in the sumo world, former yokozuna Terunofuji, head of the stable, Isegawa (34), has come forward to say that he had "violently assaulted his apprentice," and the Japan Sumo Association has launched an investigation. With the first day of the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament fast approaching, fans are left confused by the outbreak of this emergency, which has put a damper on the already sold-out sumo world. What is behind this incident?

"I acted irresponsibly."

On February 24th, the rankings for the Osaka Spring Grand Sumo Tournament (starting March 8th) were announced. Although Isegawa Oyakata and his apprentices, Makuuchi wrestlers Hakunofuji (22) and Nishikifuji (29), were supposed to be in Osaka, they were instead at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo.

According to a sumo reporter for a sports newspaper,

"On that day, the stablemaster was scheduled to attend a press conference in Osaka for the new Sanyaku wrestler, Atamifuji (23) of the Isegahama stable, but he suddenly flew to Tokyo to be questioned by the Japan Sumo Association. The stablemaster himself had previously reported to the association that he had 'been violent towards his apprentice, Hakunofuji,' and this was the response he received."

The three of them went together because Isegahama Oyakata said, "I will also speak to the association, so I would like the other two to speak as well," and asked not only the victim, Hakunofuji, but also Nishikifuji, who was at the scene, to accompany him.

"The next day, the stablemaster returned to training in Osaka and apologized in front of the stable's wrestlers, saying he had acted irresponsibly. When asked for details by the media, he simply replied, "We are waiting for the association's disciplinary action." The Compliance Committee's investigation is ongoing, but the details remain unclear." (Source: The Daily Beast)

What on earth happened? A person familiar with the situation revealed,

"Just before the Isegahama stable arrived in Osaka, a drinking party was held with members of the supporters' club. A man known as a major sponsor also attended, accompanied by a woman, and the party was going well until halfway through. However, when drunk, Hakunofuji behaved rudely, harassing the woman, and the stablemaster became enraged and reportedly punched her."

Hakunofuji's face was so swollen that he could not even open his eyes.

"Hakunofuji is said to have a bad drinking habit, so he must have had his own problems. However, the actions of his master went far beyond a scolding. He seemed quite flustered when he saw his patron getting angry after being teased by the woman he was with. He must have been a very important person to him," he said.

An association official explained the background to the behavior, which was described by those involved as "unacceptable conduct for a master."

"Isegahama stable is based in a five-story apartment building in Sumida Ward, but plans are underway to build a new stable in Ryogoku. Despite it being a major project with construction costs exceeding 2 billion yen, it has fallen significantly behind schedule, and the stablemaster has become increasingly impatient. In the midst of all this, he witnessed his apprentice behaving in a reckless manner that could alienate a powerful sponsor, and perhaps he lost control."

A long-time supporter of the club says that there was a grudge between him and Hakunofuji, the man who hit him in the first place.

"Teru (Terunofuji) had come to Japan once before at age 18 to study sumo. It was Hakuho's biological father who brought him there. He promised to put Teru in a Japanese sumo stable and even received money from Teru's parents, but he never got in. Asashoryu felt sorry for Teru at the time and gave him some pocket money, but Hakuho did nothing, even though it was his own father who was to blame. In the end, Teru returned home in despair, but that was the beginning of his distrust of Hakuho."

Continuing further,

"The truth is, it was Teru who first invited Hakunofuji, who was a student at Tottori Johoku High School, to join his stable. However, he chose Miyagino stable, where his idol Hakuho was, and turned down the offer. Ironically, Miyagino stable was closed in 2024 following a violent incident involving former sekiwake Hokuseiho, and Hakunofuji was taken care of by Isegahama stable."

Disciplinary action to be decided after the Spring Tournament

So, what will be the punishment from now on? I was going to ask the stablemaster Isegahama, who showed up at the morning practice in Osaka, about the truth, but in the middle of the question,

"That's good."

He said just that, then walked away, ignoring the questions that followed.

The association plans to decide on the punishment after the spring tournament,

"If the biggest stable in the sumo world were to close, the impact would be far greater than that of Nakagawa stable, which was closed in 2020 after a violent incident was discovered. Given that Isegawa-san only became a master in June of last year, the association seems to want to make a soft landing. Some say that postponing the announcement is a strategy to wait for the heat to die down," said the aforementioned sumo reporter.

The March 5th issue of " Weekly Shincho " will report on the details of the new stable project, which is said to be behind the problem and has construction costs of over 2 billion yen, as well as the behind-the-scenes story of the name change scandal involving a sumo wrestler from the Isegahama stable, which is once again attracting attention.

Daily Shincho on the Isegahama situation...