Waiting” for Miyagino Oyakata’s Hope of Reestablishing His Office? His disciples are in danger of “mass retirement” after the summer tournaments.

The Summer Grand Sumo Tournament was marked by the large number of absences of yokozuna Terunofuji and other “role wrestlers,” and the unusual situation in which as many as 10 rikishi from the juryo division and above were absent from the tournament, but there is an even deeper problem,” said an experienced sumo reporter.

It is said that Miyagino Oyakata (former yokozuna Hakuho), who has had his stable closed indefinitely, has been pushed into the ring once again.

In February, former maegashira Hokuseiho was found guilty of violence, and Miyagino was demoted two ranks after being held accountable for his actions. His stable was closed, and he was transferred to the Isegahama stable, where he became the stablemaster.

In an effort to reflect on his actions and revive the stable, Miyagino said, “I will practice every day and work hard! He has been giving unprecedentedly enthusiastic guidance at the training hall every day, but since the first day of the summer tournament that began on August 12 at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, 10 of the 19 rikishi who belonged to the former Miyagino stable have missed a large number of days off. The other eight rikishi are “likely to retire after the tournament,” according to the reporter mentioned above.

After the decision was made to close the Miyagino stable, there were two or three changes in the number of places that would accept the wrestlers. The reasons for this were that some of the stable owners refused to accept a large number of rikishi and to host Miyagino Oyakata, who had been a staunch supporter of the executive board of the Japan Sumo Association since his active days in the ring.

Poor Conditions Awaiting Former Miyagino Rikishi

Before the May tournament began, the former Miyagino stablemates moved into the Isegahama stable. While the sekitori-shu rikishi will be provided with single rooms, the other rikishi will sleep in a large hall in their rooms. However, due to the large number of rikishi from the former Miyagino stable moving into the Isegahama stable, there is no place for them to sleep, and they are now sleeping in the training area in the basement or in the “agari-zashiki” (a boardroom where the stablemaster watches over and instructs the rikishi during training).

One rikishi has already retired after the decision was made to close the stable, but the environment in the Isegahama stable is quite poor for former Miyaginosei wrestlers, and it would be no surprise if a large number of them retire after the summer tournaments,” said another sumo reporter.

A further incident occurred. On the eighth day of the tournament, Hakuohoho, the “monster of Reiwa,” the eighth highest ranked wrestler in the west juryo division, who had been nurtured by his master Miyagino, announced his absence from the tournament on the eighth day (19th).

The reason for his absence was a new type of corona infection that required about five days of rest and treatment. Now that the corona outbreak has largely subsided, the general public has come to view corona infection as ‘self-responsibility,’ but I don’t think that will be the case in the sumo world,” said another sumo journalist.

In the world of sumo, it is said that “rikishi transfers” do not go well. After Takanohana’s retirement in 2006, eight rikishi from the former Takanohana stable, led by Ozeki Kikagatsu, were transferred to the Chikanoura stable (now the Tokiwayama stable), but currently there are only three former Takanohana wrestlers in the stable. The former Takanohana stable is said to have been hit hard by the troubles between wrestlers from different rooms and “spitting matches” between supporters’ associations, causing young rikishi to quit the stable in droves.

Even though he has been forced to close his stable, Miyagino Oyakata hopes to eventually “reestablish” the stable. Will he allow it or not? The first step in the decision-making process will be made by Isegahama Oyakata and Asakayama Oyakata (former ozeki Kaio).

In short, they are his educators. After each tournament, they report Miyagino’s situation to the executive board of the JSA, which decides whether or not to “lift” the room’s closure. It has never happened before in the sumo world that a stable is closed down and a wrestler is transferred to another stable because of a scandal,” said an experienced sumo journalist.

Miyagino would have liked to see the rikishi he had trained reinstated as a member of the Isegahama stable. In reality, however, more than half of the former apprentices of the Miyagino stable failed to even step into the ring. The road to recovery envisioned by the former yokozuna, who was the strongest yokozuna during his active career, has a long way to go.