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This page is about sumo elders. For the Japanese poet Minamoto Toshiyori, see Minamoto no Shunrai.

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Takanohana and Kitanoumi as toshiyori in 2013

A toshiyori (年寄), also known as an oyakata (親方), is a sumo elder exercising both coaching functions with active wrestlers and responsibilities within the Japan Sumo Association (JSA). All toshiyori are former wrestlers who reached a sufficiently high rank to be eligible. The benefits are considerable, as only toshiyori are allowed to run and coach in sumo stables, known as heya, and they are also the only former wrestlers given retirement pay.

Terminology

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See also: Shimpan

History

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Commemorative postcard of the first Ryōgoku Kokugikan in 1909 surrounded by various toshiyori

During the Genroku period various sumo groups concentrated from the countryside to the major cities of Edo, Osaka and Kyoto.[1] These groups were self-organised under the leadership of elders, who welcomed the wrestlers into their homes, which took the name of heya (meaning "fraternity house") in reference to the rooms in which these elders met to organise matches during tournaments.[1] During the Hōreki era, masters began to inherit the names of their predecessors, and heya were gradually referred to by the name borne by the master.[1]


Continue with Cuyler p.143-144 + [2]









List of normal shares

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Ajigawa Araiso Arashio Asahiyama Asakayama Azumazeki Chiganoura Dekiyama Dewanoumi Edagawa
Fujigane Fujishima Furiwake Futagoyama Hakkaku Hamakaze Hanakago Hanaregoma Hatachiyama Hidenoyama
Ikazuchi Inagawa Irumagawa Isegahama Isenoumi Iwatomo Izutsu Jinmaku Kabutoyama Kagamiyama
Kasugano Kasugayama Kataonami Katsunoura Kimigahama Kiriyama Kise Kitajin Kiyomigata Kokonoe
Kumagatani Kumegawa Magaki Matsuchiyama Matsugane Michinoku Mihogaseki Minato Minatogawa Minezaki
Miyagino Musashigawa Nakadachi Nakagawa Nakamura Naruto Nishiiwa Nishikido Nishikijima Nishonoseki
Oguruma Oitekaze Ōnaruto Onoe Onogawa Ōnomatsu Ōshima Oshiogawa Ōtake Otowayama
Ōyama Sadogatake Sakaigawa Sanoyama Sekinoto Sendagawa Shibatayama Shikihide Shikoroyama Shiranui
Shiratama Taganoura Takadagawa Takasago Takasaki Takashima Takekuma Takenawa Tamagaki Tamanoi
Tanigawa Tatekawa Tateyama Tatsunami Tatsutagawa Tatsutayama Tokitsukaze Tokiwayama Tomozuna Urakaze
Wakafuji Wakamatsu Yamahibiki Yamashina Yamawake

Historical shares

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Negishi Kimura Shōnosuke Shikimori Inosuke Kagamiyama Araiwa Nagahama Ōikazuchi Akaō Kimenzan Taihō
Kitanoumi Takanohana Minanogawa Kujiranami Kusakaze Matsugae Akitsushima Asogatake Izumigawa Ōkido
Ōhashi Kagura Goshonoura Goshoguruma Gofuku Komatsuyama Takeshima Chitosegawa Tomagashima Natorigawa
Matawatetsu Yatsugamine Yukimiyama Yotsugamine Nanatsumori

Becoming a toshiyori

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The Japan Sumo Association relations between its members are primarily shaped by rules and norms related to the ownership and transfer of "elder stocks" held by the association elders.[3] Of all the employees of the association only them can manage the organization.[4]

Standrad share

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JSA chairman Musashigawa (former Mienoumi) addresses the public at the beginning of the last day of the 2008 September tournament.

Conditions of obtention

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Hakuho and Magaki !!! Former wrestlers gain the right to participate in the management of the association by inheriting a share (called a kabu), of which there are 105.[3][5] The value of these shares was extremely high and rules only permits former sumo wrestlers who either reached at least a san'yaku rank (komusubi or higher) or been ranked for a significant number of tournaments as a sekitori to inherit them.[6] Japanese citizenship is also a prerequisite.[7] Retired wrestlers may own several shares at the same time and exchange or loan them, often in order to inherit a name that affiliates them with a particular stable or tradition.[8] In the particular culture of the association, this translates into the delegation by the association of the selection of the wrestlers who can inherits these shares to former shareholders who, by tradition, retain the power to choose their successors.[9] The association does, however, have a say in the transmission, mainly to ensure that eligibility requirements are met, ensuring that only the best wrestlers can in turn become coaches.[10] The association also manages the shares of deceased or definitively-retired former members that have not been reallocated after a five-year period.[11]

Before the association became a Public Interest Incorporated Foundation, the elder shares were to be purchased and there was a highly speculative market, which prevented many wrestlers from remaining in the association because the price of a share was too high.[11] At the end of the 90s, this value was around 100 to 400 million yen.[12] Since the introduction of the Japan Sumo Association as a Public Interest Incorporated Foundation, the shares are technically no longer purchasable, but rather managed by the Association.[13] Normally, if money is exchanged as part of the inheritance of a share, the appointment of the new holder may be invalidated and the offender subjected to disciplinary measures, up to and including expulsion from the association.[14] However, the monetization of the shares' inheritance still seems to be tolerated by the association.[15]

Each share is associated with a particular name, and in the sumo world the former wrestler will be known by that name, usually with the suffix -oyakata. The members are also often called elders in English.[16]











Extraordinary process

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An exception to the normal acquisition is made for the most successful rikishi, with era-defining yokozuna being offered a "single generation" or "lifetime" elder stock, called ichidai toshiyori (一代年寄).[5][11] This process allows the wrestler to stay as an elder without having to use a traditional share in the association, and enter his retirement duties with his ring name.[11][17] This exception system has been offered to three former wrestlers : Taihō, Kitanoumi and Takanohana.[18][19][20] A fourth, Chiyonofuji, was offered this status but preferred a normal share and became known as Kokonoe.[20][21] These four all achieved more than twenty tournament championships in their active careers.[18] In October 2021, Yokozuna Hakuhō, the Emperor's Cup number record holder, was however denied the ichidai toshiyori kabu and Masayuki Yamauchi (a Yokozuna Deliberation Council member) declared to a press conference that "no such system exists" under the new Public Interest Incorporated Foundation statutes of the association.[20][22]

The members of the Association receive a salary and are expected to assist in the running of their stable and the Association, from selling tickets and security work at the most junior level, to taking charge of one of the Association departments as a director.

These members are also the only persons given the authority to train new sumo wrestlers. They do this by opening or taking over a training stable, or heya (changed to beya as a suffix) which will take the same name as the founder's elder name. Thus Dewanoumi-oyakata will be the owner of Dewanoumi-beya. Typically about 50% of the Association members have their own stable, while the rest are required to be affiliated with one and assist the principal owner. It is common for the most senior members of the Association to concentrate on their Association responsibilities and pass the day-to-day management of a stable to another. If a senior oyakata wishes to do this, the two may elect to swap names so that the stable can keep the more prestigious name. A recent example was in 1996, when the Association's chairman Dewanoumi-oyakata (former yokozuna Sadanoyama), swapped names with Sakaigawa-oyakata (former sekiwake Washūyama) who took over the running of Dewanoumi stable.

The Association members are also split into various ranks. A new retiree will begin his career as a coach at toshiyori rank (commonly called oyakata), except for former ōzeki and yokozuna who are automatically granted Committee Member rank. The most senior Association members are Committee Members.

All members are required to retire when they reach the age of sixty-five (with a possible five-year extension if approved by the board of directors), after which they can pass their name to another, provided that person meets the association's eligibility requirements.[23] In the case of a lifetime share mentioned above, the name merely lapses. Like the toshiyori kabu system there can be only a limited number of them.



















To become a sumo elder, a retiring wrestler must be a Japanese citizen. This regulation dates from September 1976 and was widely thought to be a result of the success of the Hawaiian Takamiyama Daigorō, who had become the first foreign wrestler to win a championship in 1972, and had expressed interest in becoming an elder.[24] Takamiyama ultimately became a Japanese citizen in June 1980 and did become the first foreign-born elder upon his retirement in 1984.

Qualifications for becoming a master are determined by regulations: yokozuna, ōzeki, and san'yaku only need one tournament at this rank to be considered for elder status.[6] Wrestlers who have reached the rank of maegashira must have maintained it for twenty tournaments, while jūryō wrestlers must have maintained their rank for thirty tournaments.[6] Yokozuna and ōzeki receive preferential treatment and can remain in the association without acquiring elder status for five years (yokozuna) and three years (ōzeki).[6]








Elders must also have fought at least one tournament in the san'yaku ranks (komusubi and above),[25] or else twenty tournaments in the top makuuchi division or thirty as a sekitori (makuuchi or jūryō division).[26] This replaced the previous qualification of 25 total tournaments in jūryō, or 20 consecutive in jūryō, or one tournament in makuuchi.[27] The rules were further modified in November 2013 to allow membership after only 28 sekitori tournaments in certain circumstances,[28] and former wrestlers who are inheriting an existing stable need only 12 makuuchi tournaments or 20 in jūryō.

However, membership can only be acquired by acquiring or inheriting toshiyori-kabu, or elder stock, in the JSA. There are only 105 shares available, and the increasing lifespan of elders has meant that they take longer to become vacant. As a result, over the course of many years, the decreasing availability of elder stocks caused their price to greatly increase, with stock reportedly selling for up to 500 million yen. Often the only way wrestlers, even very successful ones, could afford a share is if they have a large and wealthy group of supporters and financial backers. After the sumo association became a "public interest corporation" in the wake of the 2011 match fixing scandal the buying and selling of elder stocks has been prohibited, and possession reverts to the sumo association when an elder retires, and the JSA determines the next holder.

All toshiyori have a mandatory retirement age of 65. In 2014, a new rule was instituted that allowed a 5-year extension to 70 if approved by the board of the JSA. Such special extension toshiyori must take a 30% pay reduction and cannot serve on the JSA board or as stablemasters. It is rare for an elder with a permanent toshiyori name to leave before that time, but there have been a few examples. Former yokozuna Wajima was asked to resign in 1985 after putting up his stock as collateral on a loan, former komusubi Futatsuryū, head of Tokitsukaze stable, was expelled in 2007 because of his involvement in the death of one of his young recruits, and former sekiwake Takatōriki was dismissed in 2010 because of a gambling scandal. The former yokozuna Takanohana retired in 2018 and closed his Takanohana stable after the Takanoiwa affair. The former komusubi Maenoshin and maegashira Kasugafuji and Hamanishiki are other, less high-profile examples.

Special cases

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An exception to the purchase requirement was made for some of the most successful former yokozuna, sometimes referred to as dai-yokozuna, who were offered a one-time membership of the JSA, or ichidai-toshiyori status. Three former wrestlers, Taihō, Kitanoumi and Takanohana obtained this status. A fourth, Chiyonofuji, was offered it but preferred a normal share. There were never any official benchmarks, but these four all achieved more than twenty tournament championships in their active career. Although Yokozuna Hakuhō won 45 tournaments, a report published in April 2021 by a committee within the JSA recommended that no more ichidai-toshiyori be offered and the meeting's chair declared at a press conference that "no such system exists."[29] This move was widely seen as a slight against Hakuhō, who was nearing retirement at that point.[30] Hakuhō ended up acquiring the Magaki elder stock in the normal way.

Alternatively, former yokozuna of any level of success can stay in the JSA for up to five years under their shikona or ring name, while former ōzeki can stay for three. Musashimaru and Tochiazuma were examples in 2008 and retiring yokozuna Kakuryū also took this option in 2021. Former wrestlers below that rank, since the abolition of the jun-toshiyori system in December 2006 (which allowed a two-year stay), have no such grace period and must leave the sumo world immediately and permanently unless they have either already purchased a share or can borrow one from a wrestler active in the ring. It is not uncommon for a former wrestler to switch to and from several elder names over the years while searching for a permanent one. Former sekiwake Kotonishiki for example, borrowed six (Wakamatsu, Takenawa, Asakayama, Araiso, Hidenoyama and Nakamura) different elder names after his retirement in September 2000 before finally procuring the vacant Asahiyama elder name as his own in 2016.[31]

Ranking

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See also: Corporate title

Much like other staff members of the JSA (such as referees and ushers), elders are also subject to a rank structure; only the lowest-ranking members are strictly known as toshiyori. The ranks are as follows:

  • rijichō (理事長, Chairman), primus inter pares among riji
  • riji (理事, Director)
  • fuku-riji (副理事, Deputy director)
  • yakuin taigū iin (役員待遇委員, Special executive)
  • iin (委員, Committee member)
  • shunin (主任, Senior member)
  • iin taigū toshiyori (委員待遇年寄, Elder receiving sitting committee privileges)
  • toshiyori (年寄, Elder)
  • san'yo (参与, Consultant), elders re-hired as consultant between 65 and 70 years old

Promotion up to iin occurs almost exclusively by seniority and is generally a fairly quick process; the majority of all elders are ranked as iin. Two exceptions apply: Elders using a borrowed share cannot be promoted from toshiyori, while very successful former wrestlers (generally, yokozuna and ōzeki) immediately receive full iin privileges as iin taigu toshiyori upon their retirement from active competition, even before their normal advancement up the ladder will take them to shunin and later iin status. However, it is customary for all new elders, even former yokozuna, to be assigned as security guards for the hanamichi in their first tournament after retirement.[32]

Furthermore, the fuku-riji and riji positions require a nomination for and subsequent election to the board of the JSA (or direct confirmation in case there are no more candidates than positions), with elections being held biennially. Yakuin taigu iin are named to their position by the chief director.

Tasks and occupations

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See also: Judge (sumo)
 
Some toshiyori serve as ring-side judges during matches; seen here debating a call by the gyōji.

The members of the association receive a salary and are expected to assist in the running of their stable and the association, from selling tickets and security work at the most junior level, to taking charge of one of the association departments as a director. These members are also the only persons given the authority to train new sumo wrestlers. They do this by opening or taking over a training stable, or heya (changed to -beya as a suffix) which will take the same name as the founder's elder name. Thus Dewanoumi will be the owner of Dewanoumi stable. Typically about 50% of the association members have their own stable, while the rest are required to be affiliated with one and assist the principal owner. It is common for the most senior members of the association to concentrate on their association responsibilities and pass the day-to-day management of a stable to another. If a senior oyakata wishes to do this, the two may elect to swap names so that the stable can keep the more prestigious name. A recent example was in 1996, when the association's chairman Dewanoumi (former yokozuna Sadanoyama), swapped names with Sakaigawa (former sekiwake Washūyama) who took over the running of Dewanoumi stable.

The association members are also split into various ranks. A new retiree will begin his career as a coach at toshiyori rank (commonly called oyakata), except for former ōzeki and yokozuna who are automatically granted "Committee Member" rank. The most senior Association members are "Committee Members."

See also

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References

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b c Ikeda, Masao (1998). "相撲部屋". The Revised New Edition of the World Encyclopaedia (in Japanese). Heibonsha. ISBN 4582040012. Retrieved 23 February 2024 – via Kotobank.
  2. ^ West 1997, p. 179.
  3. ^ a b West 1997, p. 165.
  4. ^ West 1997, p. 175.
  5. ^ a b Buckingham 1994, p. 89.
  6. ^ a b c d Kitade Koichi (6 July 2021). "特集 - 大相撲の力士をやめたらどうなるの？". NHK (in Japanese). Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  7. ^ Buckingham 1994, p. 66.
  8. ^ West 1997, p. 180.
  9. ^ West 1997, p. 167.
  10. ^ West 1997, pp. 180–181.
  11. ^ a b c d West 1997, p. 181.
  12. ^ West 1997, pp. 185–186.
  13. ^ "公益法人制度改革の一様相 ― 日本相撲協会定款を題材として" (PDF). House of Councillors (Japanese National Diet). Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  14. ^ "スポーツ探Q　せめぐ改革と伝統　相撲協会の公益法人案、私の見方". The Nikkei (in Japanese). 27 August 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  15. ^ "親方株の売買、認められる？　法律の専門家の腹案とは……". The Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). 13 June 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  16. ^ Buckingham 1994, p. 148.
  17. ^ Buckingham 1994, pp. 89–90.
  18. ^ a b Hall 1997, p. 95.
  19. ^ "Injured Takanohana retires from sumo". The Japan Times. 21 January 2003. Archived from the original on 14 September 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  20. ^ a b c "白鵬が目安クリアの一代年寄、第三者委が問題視". The Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). 19 April 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  21. ^ "一代年寄の栄誉、辞退した千代の富士 北の富士さんが明かす舞台裏". The Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). 26 November 2022. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  22. ^ Yoshiaki Shichino (3 October 2021). "FOCUS: Sumo fights hard to muzzle era-defining former yokozuna Hakuhō". Kyodo News. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  23. ^ West 1997, p. 182.
  24. ^ Miki, Shuji (5 May 2018). "Why can only Japanese nationals become sumo association elders?". Yomiuri Shimbun. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  25. ^ Gunning, John (13 June 2018). "Byzantine rules govern sumo's name shares". The Japan Times. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  26. ^ Gunning, John (9 May 2018). "Future without sumo unthinkable for Hakuho". Japan Times. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  27. ^ Grand Sumo, Lora Sharnoff, Weatherhill, 1993. ISBN 0-8348-0283-X
  28. ^ "年寄名跡取得の条件を緩和 関取在位期間を２場所短縮" (in Japanese). Sponichi. 20 December 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  29. ^ "Sumo fights hard to muzzle era-defining former yokozuna Hakuho". The Mainichi. 4 October 2021. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  30. ^ "白鵬の一代年寄襲名は厳しく、横綱大鵬への特例で定款に規定なしと説明". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). 19 April 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  31. ^ "Kotonishiki Katsuhiro Kabu History". Sumo Reference. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  32. ^ "Ex-yokozuna Hakuho begins new role, provides security at Kyushu sumo tournament". The Mainichi. 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.

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