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Sumo's Dirty
Secret
FEBRUARY 28, 2000
VOL. 155 NO. 8
by Tim Larimer,
Tokyo
Time Asia
Sumo has always been a peculiar sport. Two gigantic men dressed in loincloths rinse their mouths with water, throw salt in a clay ring and then ram their massive bodies against each other for a few seconds. "Mysterious. Religious. Philosophical." That's how former wrestler Keisuke Itai describes sumo. If the accusations he is now making are to be believed, it's also crooked.
Retired since 1997, the 43-year-old Itai recently stepped back into the sumo spotlight with scandalous charges that most of the flesh-to-flesh combat is, in fact, merely show. In his day, he told TIME, 80% of the matches were fixed, and the winners and losers were worked out in the dressing rooms beforehand. That's still happening, he insists, and he can tell by watching when someone has agreed to take a fall. Of a daily slate of 18 bouts, only three or four are fought seriously. "Match fixing was kind of matter-of-fact among the wrestlers, " Itai says. "None of us felt any guilt at all."
Itai is not the first to cry foul about sumo. A young writer named Shintaro Ishihara made similar claims back in 1963; he's now governor of Tokyo. Four years ago, a tabloid magazine a series of articles alleging underworld connections and match rigging. Making the claims then were two ex-wrestlers, who despite being healthy, robust appearances, died unexpectedly within 15 hours of each other in the same Nagoya hospital, of the same respiratory ailment, shortly before publication of their tell-all book. Sumo is indeed filled with mystery.
Itai knows what happened to previous whistle-blowers. One of those two ex-wrestlers was Itai's stablemaster. So it was no surprise that Japan last week was abuzz with rumors that after airing his allegations, Itai had gone into hiding, fearful that gangsters with sumo ties had put out a contract on his life. Not so, protested Itai "I'm not afraid! I'm not hiding!"
The Sumo Association, Vatican-like in its secrecy and its hammerlock hold on the sport, has always denied charges of match fixing. (Association officials declined interview requests from TIME.) Some top-ranking wrestlers filed a letter of protest against Itai to the association last week. But Itai isn't going down lightly. He has produced some juicy evidence audio tapes he claims to have made surreptitiously during sumo meetings in 1989 and 1991 suggesting that the sport's administrators knew all along what was going on.
On one of the tapes, a copy of which was given to TIME, a voice Itai identifies as one of Japan's highest-ranking sumo official says "Match rigging is a rationale to skip training and daily practice, and sacrifices the fundamental nature of sumo. And when this is out in public, it will threaten the existence of the Japan Sumo Association." Later, the official direclty addresses some wrestlers "You have a long lok on your face that says, 'What's the problem? This has been around for a long time." But at some point, we need to put an end to this."
What the official on the tape wanted to eradicated, according to Itai, was pervasive match fixing fostered by the sport's archaic ranking system. To maintain their rankings, which determine their salaries, wrestlers need to win at least half their matches in a tournament. After the first few days of competition, some wrestlers have racked up enough victories, rendering their remaining bouts largely meaningless. Itai says some contestants would "sell" those bouts to less successful wrestlers in exchange for "points" to be collected at later tournaments when the sellers themselves needed wins. Money changed hands when poor-performing wrestlers hand no point to redeem and had to buy victores, for roughtly $2,000 a bout.
One curious thing about these allegations, of course, is the role of Itai. Interviewed four years ago by TIME, he was bitter about the way he was treated by the sumo world upon retirement, but he denied there was match rigging. Is he how seeking revenge? Money? Itai says he does plan to write a book about his exploits, but he insists his motivation is pure. Now an owner of a restaurant that serves chanko, the high-calorie cuisine of sumo wrestlers, Itai recently joined a fringe Christian group called the God Light Association an decided to confess about his past. "I was in the public baths, and there were people watching sumo and someone shouted, 'It must be fixed,'" he says. "It's time for sumo to come clean to win back its fans." It's hard to say whether Itai's charges will have that effect, but taking some of the mystery out of sumo might be the best thing that happens to the ancient sport.
'I Don't Care If I Get Killed'
Interview with Keisuke Itai, a 43-year-old former sumo wrestler who says 80% of matches are fixed
Keisuke Itai, a 43-year-old former sumo wrestler, recently stepped back into the sumo spotlight to say most of the sport's matches were fixed. He said he had audio tapes, recorded secretly at sumo meetings while he was competing in 1989 and 1991, to back up his claims that the sport's organizers knew all about the match-fixing ("yaocho" in Japanese). In an interview with TIME Tokyo bureau chief Tim Larimer at Itai's restaurant in Chiba prefecture, outside Tokyo, Itai denied media reports that he went into hiding in fear for his life, joking that it would be rather difficult to hide his 104-kg frame.
TIME It's been nearly 10 years since you competed. Why are you speaking out now?
Itai These days it's quite difficult for sumo fans to tell real tournaments from fixed matches. Someone asked me about [a recent match] was it faked? I was in the public baths, and people were watching sumo and someone said, 'It must be fixed!' I was surprised. Maybe that's why I'm talking about it now.
TIME But people have talked about match-fixing for a long time already. Why did you wait?
Itai Customers ask me about it now at the restaurant. I think maybe half the people watching know some bouts are fixed. Maybe the Sumo Association [the sport's governing body] can take what I've said and use it to make reforms so sumo can be more popular again.
TIME What reforms are needed?
Itai The first thing is [to change] the system. Now, if you are injured and can't fight again, you keep your ranking for one tournament, but the next tournament, that's it. If you don't fight, you lose your ranking. Wrestlers need more time to recover from their injuries. They need to have the option to be absent from three or four tournaments. There are six tournaments a year, and 15 bouts each tournament. It's difficult for every single bout to be fought for real.
TIME How many matches are fixed?
bItai In the five years that I fought, 80%. If on one day there were 18 [top-level] bouts, only three or four were for real.
TIME What about your matches? How many were fixed?
Itai The same rate. Out of 10, I fought two, three or four for real. The rest were fixed.
TIME As a professional athlete who trained hard, were you uncomfortable about fixing matches?
Itai Among sumo wrestlers, there was no sense of guilt at all. It was kind of matter of fact. You fought for real in about three to five matches, in order to win more matches than you lost. And without staying in condition, you couldn't win those matches and keep your ranking. You still have to be strong even if the matches are fixed.
TIME Do you remember the first match-fixing bout you were involved in?
Itai It was only a year after I entered the sumo world. I had been promoted quite quickly in the ranks. My first experience was when I was told by my stable master, "Oh, today you will win." You win one day, you lose the next day, and after 14 days, you end up with seven wins and seven losses. If you didn't have enough wins, you would borrow a win from another wrestler at that tournament, and then you have to pay them back at the next tournament.
TIME Were you surprised when you found out about the match-fixing?
Itai I remember very clearly I had an uneasy feeling. I was 23. I was owed one point, and then I had to pay it back at the next tournament. That's how it started.
TIME How did the match-fixing work?
Itai Usually, it was arranged through the attendants. Sometimes, just before bouts, in the dressing room. Sometimes, the day before. Or attendants would arrange it while top ranking wrestlers were getting dressed in their isho-mawashi [elaborately decorated silk aprons used in a ceremony before high-ranking wrestlers' first bouts]. It was kind of an ordinary thing, in the dressing room with all the wrestlers there.
TIME Was money exchanged?
Itai No, not usually. But if someone owed a point and they needed a win, then they had to pay. So if someone already owed me [a win] but needed me to lose, he had to pay 200,000 yen. The ultimate aim is to win eight out of 15 matches. If you win five without fixing, you have spare bouts. You can sell those losses. If you aren't strong enough to win five serious bouts, your ranking will be lowered. So you need money to fix bouts to keep your position.
TIME How could competitive athletes live with this system?
Itai It was more of a safe bet. Rather than fight hard for a higher ranking, it was easier and safer to maintain your current ranking. There are various kinds of sumo. Some are ambitious, and want to be yokozuna [the top ranking]. They wouldn't do this. Those like myself... weren't so ambitious. It was easier to keep your ranking with fixed matches. Then you can fight for a longer period of time. When I was wrestling, there was a distinction between those who did yaocho and those who did not.
TIME Can fans tell by watching which matches are faked?
Itai Amateur fans, no. I can tell 100% of the time. For ex-sumo wrestlers, it's easy to tell.
TIME Don't you feel like you cheated the fans?
Itai Fixed matches were a matter of course. While I was in that world, I didn't even think about cheating the fans. But deep in my heart, perhaps, I felt uneasy.
TIME Four years ago when you were interviewed by TIME you sounded bitter about the way you had been treated by the sumo world. Are you doing this out of revenge?
Itai I know people are saying that I am doing this for revenge. That's not true at all. I only hope the sumo world will be made aware of the problems and be able to improve the sport's popularity. For the past decade, magazines have exposed the yaocho scandal, and nothing has changed. That has made sumo fans leave sumo. Maybe the fans can't tell if matches are fixed or real. This is the time. Someone has to stand up and tell the real story.
TIME Where did these audio tapes come from?
Itai My house was burgled four years ago. All the valuable things were stolen. When I was going through my jazz tapes, I found them. It was a coincidence. I didn't record them with evil intent. I'm not doing this for money or anything. I even let my customers listen to the tapes! They laughed.
TIME Why did you make the tapes?
Itai Another sumo wrestler, who had strange habits, told us he recorded the sex acts of another wrestler. He suggested we record whatever we might think is important. At a meeting, I accidentally had my Walkman on. Without really thinking, I put it on the table and started recording. Then I let the attendants listen to the tape and they laughed. I did it half as a joke.
TIME How do we know the voices on the tapes are who you say they are and not just a bunch of friends playacting?
Itai Each of the wrestlers recorded on the tapes has a distinct voice. Other people who know them have listened to the tapes and agree.
TIME There were reports that you were worried someone was trying to kill you. Is this true?
Itai I'm not hiding at all. There have been some prank phone calls at home, that's all, recorded on my answering machine. I don't mind. I was away at the time--I went to see a friend and listened to [jazz pianist] Bill Evans in a teahouse--but I didn't feel in danger.
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