Do something!” Oshima Oyakata at Sumo Spring Tournament “Blackmailing the management for parking lot trouble!” Photo of the scene of the audience’s praise

The assault at the Miyagino stable, the underage drinking scandal involving a Futoshonoseki rikishi, and the alleged leftward shift of Shibatayama Oyakata (former yokozuna Ohnokuni): ……. The list of troubles in sumo is endless, but one “disturbance” occurred during the spring tour.

In mid-April, the “Urayasu Grand Sumo Tournament” was being held at the Baldrar Urayasu Arena in Urayasu City, Chiba Prefecture. The venue was very crowded, with a long line of about 3,000 fans waiting in line even before the doors opened at 9:00 a.m. However, there was an unexpected problem on the way home: ……. The event was so chaotic that not a single car was able to leave the parking lot attached to the arena. The line of cars remained motionless for more than 30 minutes, and many drivers got out of their cars and stared ahead, while family members in their cars showed expressions of frustration and resignation.

The traffic jam was not the cause of the problem,” said Mr. Kato. “The parking lot has one exit, but it is on a main street with three lanes. That street is usually frequented by large trucks and buses, but the cars never stop, so it’s hard for the first driver to get out. …… Everyone had to finish paying at the pre-payment machine, I was even more frustrated because of this trouble.

There were many traffic guides, but they were only guiding customers coming out of the venue, and for some reason there was not a single one near the parking lot exit. The management just kept repeating over the microphone announcements that had nothing to do with the traffic jam, such as ‘Please do not sit on the stairs (of the venue),’ but they were not functioning at all,” said a man caught in the traffic jam.

The situation was resolved by Oshima Oyakata (former Sekiwake Asahitenho), who was himself driving to the event. He jumped down from the driver’s seat and went to ask the driver in front of him about the situation where the convoy was not moving forward at all, and in a loud, powerful voice with a crease between his eyebrows, he said,

He said in a loud, powerful voice, his brow furrowed, “Hey, do something! Why don’t you lower the pole over here so we can get out of here too!

He directed his voice at the management staff, “Hey, do something!

“The master’s voice was quite clear, and the drivers who were getting out of their cars said, ‘Oh! ‘ and some even gave a small round of applause. Some even gave a small clap. Many of them said, ‘The operator finally moved because Oyakata told us to. Soon after that, traffic guides stood at the exit of the parking lot, and the line of cars finally started to move,” said the man mentioned above.

The Urayasu Foundation had announced on its website in advance, “Please use public transportation on the day of the event, as the parking lot is expected to be very crowded.

The fine play of Oshima Oyakata saved the day, but there is a high possibility that such problems will occur again in the future in regional tournaments, which are not accustomed to being held in such a way. We hope that this will be an opportunity for more thorough preparation.

FRIDAY Digital welcomes your information and tip-offs. Please send your information to the following information form or to the official X.

Information form: https://friday.kodansha.co.jp/tips

Official X: https://twitter.com/FRIDAY_twit