A 17 year old’s death raises many question in Japan’s oldest sport…
Takashi Saito joined the Sumo Training House (stable) in early May, a little over a month later… he was dead.
The death of Takashi Saito on June 26th should just not have happened.
There is no way anyone can justify the slaying of a 17 year old boy during a training session, especially within the circumstances that Saito died.
Takashi Saito, who was at the Tokitsukaze sumo stable in Inuyama, central Japan, was beaten to death by the very people who were charged with his daily care.
Saito was involved in a session of sparring practice, where a junior wrestler will smash himself against a senior, each time getting thrown down by his older, stronger opponent. This training is very taxing, and normally only goes for 2 or 3 minutes. The sparring session that resulted in Takashi Saito’s death went for 30 minutes, perhaps longer… and involved a group of senior wrestlers kicking and beating Saito even after he had fallen to the ground. It’s reported that at one stage they even used a metal baseball bat… And this all occurred with the stable master Tokitsukaze supervising the training.
In August Tokitsukaze went to the Saito family to apologize for the boy’s death, but at that time he stated that the day before Takashi’s death he’d hit him with a beer bottle. Incredulously, Tokitsukaze then asked permission to cremate the boy’s body - even before his family viewed it.
This was a request that Masato Saito - Takashi’s father - denied.
Visiting the hospital where Takashi died, Masato Saito said that he was shocked to see the cuts, bruises and burns covering his son’s body. These marks were just the result of ‘regular training’, Saito senior was told by Tokitsukaze.
Apparently, Takashi Saito had run away from the training stable twice, both times being taken back to the training house by his father - who told him to stick with it, and it would get better. At no stage did the boy tell his father about the assaults or bullying.
Aichi prefectural police are investigating the death. Saito Sr just wants justice done, and to see that this never happens again.
Sumo is very firmly stuck in the dark ages. Recently there have been difficulties with their lead Yokozuna, Asashoryu. He has legitimate mental issues, and the JSA (Japanese Sumo Association) are simply not equipped to deal with them. They basically forced a breakdown upon him, and at the moment he’s on sabbatical.
I’ve been to watch a sumo training session - just prior to the Nagoya tournament 3 years ago - and even tho’ it was a ‘normal session’, I was amazed and astounded at the brutality of it. Eventually, we had to leave - one of my mates actually felt sickened by the violence. We saw a junior wrestler repeatedly hit in the face by the man training him - he was scolded severely when he tried to stem the flow of blood from his nose, and hit with a bamboo cane. This was just part of the ebb and flow that is the daily life of a sumo wrestler - junior members are expected to just take it. They clean for senior members, accept beatings and treatment that would have people outside this world running for a lawyer. Training hasn’t changed a helluva lot in the last 200 to 300 years.
I cannot imagine the anguish that Masato Saito - Takashi Saito’s father - must feel. Twice his son ran away from the Tokitsukaze stable, only to be taken back. Not once did his father realize what he was sending his son into.
With this death, the JSA are at a cross-roads. It’s extremely unusual for criminal charges to be brought against a sumo stable boss, even tho’ many of the training methods they employ probably press the bounds of the term ‘legal’. Tokitsukaze faces probable criminal prosecution over his part in this. So… the JSA face a quandary. They can bring the sport up into the 21st century, or they can leave it in the dark ages.
I’m hoping they are going to do the former… but then I’m not going to hold my breath.
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
Wow. Amazing stuff. I never would have guessed that it was this bad. Sounds like there will be (should be) some reforms coming up.
It’s pretty clear that they do indeed need reforms… the government has now taken an interest EP.
wow! whats going to happen to sumo
this shouldnt be happening.
Indeed it should not be happening.
But it did, and as I stated - not overly surprised. The way sumo is run is firmly stuck in the dark ages, and even tho’ the JSA boss Kitanoumi has stated that he’ll get to the bottom of it, and clean it all up - I think it will take actual government intervention before they get it into the 21st century.
[...] Death of a boy… what the hell is going on in Sumo? A 17 year old’s death raises many question in Japan’s oldest sport… Takashi Saito joined the Sumo […] [...]
That is astonishing. Tokitsukaze should, at the very least, be charged as an accessory to manslaughter. Thank you for bringing this to light: I have read other accounts, but they were “Sumo Dies in Training” not “Teenager Beaten to Death” which is what actually seems to have occurred.
That is just horrible. What did they have against this one kid? Was it because he ran away they thought they would teach him a lesson? Just sounds sick and disgusting. Very disturbing.
[...] and moving to Canada? [The Smittblog] • A sad, scary death in the world of sumo wrestling. [With Malice] • Nick Mangold is a Halo fan. Now if only Chad Pennington could respawn equally easily. [The [...]
Sounds like something more may have been amiss than the usual hazing/training going on here. Hmmmmm….
thats a very sad and disturbing story.
[...] of Saito from With-Malice.com; I’m not sure where they got it because I couldn’t find it; A Japan policeman “on [...]
Thanks for the comment on my blog:
As the L.A. Times article suggests, even though the conviction rate is higher in Japan this may be because many police are only investigating crimes that are clearly murder or that they think they know the identities of the murderers. Again, it may appear that murder is far less prevalent a crime because maybe murder is being underreported. I think the interesting thing about the article is not the actual crime, but the fact that only “6.3% of the unnatural deaths in Aichi are investigated by a medical examiner.”
I personally think that two cannabis would make a national paper here just like how the Duke lacrosse rape case made every newspaper in the States. People like to sensationalize everything.
P.S. - We have the same taste in design template!
Hey there!
We do indeed have the same taste in template…
On to sumo/Japan… I can guarantee you that murder is not being ‘underreported’ here in Japan. ANY murder is front page news here! I guess it’s basically the accessibility of firearms.
I’d contest that statistic too - I’d suggest that it’s very skewed, and would like to see a similar statistic for major US cities. Also I’d like to know what definition of ‘unnatural’ was used…
And comparing two university students getting busted for cannabis (which I would bet happens in dozens of universities DAILY across America - and goes unreported) to the Duke rape fabrication is more than a little bit of a stretch…
In Japan, two guys getting busted for dope is page 2 in a national newspaper? Go figure…
Japan is stuck in the dark ages in so many ways. Traditions changes very slowly if at all. I suspect many more will die before they will ever make any reforms.