Hakurozan Yuta
Encyclopedia
Hakurozan Yūta is a former sumo
wrestler. The highest rank he reached was maegashira 2. His older brother is also a former sumo wrestler, under the name of Rohō of Ōtake stable
. In September 2008
both were dismissed from professional sumo after testing positive for cannabis
.
He came to Japan in February 2002 with his brother. They had intended to join the same stable, but sumo regulations limit the number of foreign wrestlers to one per stable, so Batraz joined Hatachiyama stable while Soslan entered Ōtake stable
. As with his brother, his shikona
contains the character 露, which can mean Russia. Hatachiyama stable folded upon the death of its stablemaster, former ōzeki Hokutenyū
, and Hakurozan joined the Kitanoumi stable
.
Hakurozan fought his first bout in May 2002, rising to jūryō in September 2004, and makuuchi
in July 2005. After a 10-5 result in May 2006 he reached maegashira 2, but a disastrous 2-13 the following tournament took him down to maegashira 10. He clung on to his top division status with an 8-7 mark at maegashira 14 in January 2007, but a poor 5-10 record in March meant he was demoted back to jūryō for the May 2007 tournament. He achieved nine wins there, which was enough to earn promotion to the top division in July. However, hampered by chronic knee problems, he could manage only three wins in the November 2007 tournament and was demoted to the second division once again. Scraping by with two 8-7 marks in the first two tournaments of 2008, he returned to makuuchi at maegashira 15 in May. Once again he could not maintain his top division ranking, only managing to win four matches.
, like his brother. He frequently employed pull-down techniques
such as hataki-komi and hiki-otoshi. Although yorikiri, or force out, was listed on his Sumo Association profile as his favourite technique, with a migi-yotsu or left hand outside and right hand inside grip as his preference, he ended up using hataki-komi more than any other winning technique throughout his career.
. This test occurred less than two weeks after fellow Russian Wakanohō
was sacked after being arrested for cannabis possession, and the surprise inspection was taken on 69 jūryō and higher ranked wrestlers including the two yokozuna. Although the Metropolitan Police Department
questioned the two wrestlers and searched their rooms, no further legal action was taken because it is not illegal to fail a drug test under Japanese law.
On September 6, Hakurozan and Rohō failed a second, more detailed set of doping tests.
On September 8, the Japan Sumo Association
held a meeting of the board of directors and decided on the dismissals of Rohō and Hakurozan. Both wrestlers moved out of their respective stables but stayed in Japan on short term visas and continued to deny any wrongdoing.
On October 28, the brothers filed a lawsuit against the Sumo Association with the Tokyo District Court
seeking to revoke their dismissals, claiming the tests were administered incorrectly. They also sought 100 million yen in damages. Their demands were rejected by the court in March 2009
, the judge saying "“It is recognisable that the two used marijuana...and the use of marijuana was an act to damage trust of the association." The lawyer for the brothers indicated that they would appeal the ruling.
The brothers reappeared in court on June 29, 2009, testifying for two and a half hours and criticising the conduct of the tests once again. Cross-examination of witnesses began on August 31, with Isenoumi Oyakata, Tomozuna Oyakata and Otake Oyakata among those called. Former Sumo Association head Kitanoumi, Hakrozan's stablemaster, testified on December 21, saying he voted for expulsion "mainly because Hakurozan was my deshi and I didn't want to be seen as protecting him." Unlike his brother, Hakurozan was not in attendance as he has returned to Russia.
The court found in favour of the Sumo Association on April 19, 2010, with the judge saying, "It has been proven that urine samples which showed positive results for marijuana were theirs, and it is unthinkable that they were mixed up with samples of others... the association's decision to dismiss them was adequate given that the use of illegal drugs had become a serious social problem." The District Court's ruling was upheld by the Tokyo High Court
on November 18, 2010.
Sumo
is a competitive full-contact sport where a wrestler attempts to force another wrestler out of a circular ring or to touch the ground with anything other than the soles of the feet. The sport originated in Japan, the only country where it is practiced professionally...
wrestler. The highest rank he reached was maegashira 2. His older brother is also a former sumo wrestler, under the name of Rohō of Ōtake stable
Otake stable
is a stable of sumo wrestlers.It was set up in 1971, as Taihō stable, by yokozuna Taihō Kōki on his retirement from wrestling. It passed on to his son-in-law Ōtake on his retirement...
. In September 2008
2008 in sumo
-Tournaments:*Hatsu basho, Ryogoku Kokugikan, Tokyo, 13 January - 27 January*Haru basho, Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium, Osaka, 9 March - 23 March*Natsu basho, Ryogoku Kokugikan, Tokyo, 11 May - 25 May...
both were dismissed from professional sumo after testing positive for cannabis
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
.
Career
Hakurozan began wrestling at the age of 14, winning the world junior championship aged 16. He started sumo aged 18, winning the Moscow over 100 kg championship.He came to Japan in February 2002 with his brother. They had intended to join the same stable, but sumo regulations limit the number of foreign wrestlers to one per stable, so Batraz joined Hatachiyama stable while Soslan entered Ōtake stable
Otake stable
is a stable of sumo wrestlers.It was set up in 1971, as Taihō stable, by yokozuna Taihō Kōki on his retirement from wrestling. It passed on to his son-in-law Ōtake on his retirement...
. As with his brother, his shikona
Shikona
A shikona is a sumo wrestler's ring name.As with standard Japanese names, a shikona consists of a 'surname' and a 'given' name, and the full name is written surname first. However, the given name is rarely used outside formal or ceremonial occasions. Thus, the former yokozuna Asashōryū Akinori is...
contains the character 露, which can mean Russia. Hatachiyama stable folded upon the death of its stablemaster, former ōzeki Hokutenyū
Hokuten'yu Katsuhiko
was a sumo wrestler, from Muroran, Hokkaido, Japan. The highest rank he achieved was ozeki which he held for seven years from 1983 until 1990. He won two top division yusho or tournament championships...
, and Hakurozan joined the Kitanoumi stable
Kitanoumi stable
is a stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Dewanoumi ichimon or group of stables. It was set up in 1985 by former yokozuna Kitanoumi, who branched off from Mihogaseki stable. It absorbed Hatachiyama stable in 2006, following the death of its head coach, former ozeki Hokuten'yū...
.
Hakurozan fought his first bout in May 2002, rising to jūryō in September 2004, and makuuchi
Makuuchi
or is the top division of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers , ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments....
in July 2005. After a 10-5 result in May 2006 he reached maegashira 2, but a disastrous 2-13 the following tournament took him down to maegashira 10. He clung on to his top division status with an 8-7 mark at maegashira 14 in January 2007, but a poor 5-10 record in March meant he was demoted back to jūryō for the May 2007 tournament. He achieved nine wins there, which was enough to earn promotion to the top division in July. However, hampered by chronic knee problems, he could manage only three wins in the November 2007 tournament and was demoted to the second division once again. Scraping by with two 8-7 marks in the first two tournaments of 2008, he returned to makuuchi at maegashira 15 in May. Once again he could not maintain his top division ranking, only managing to win four matches.
Fighting style
Hakurozan often relied on sidestepping at the tachi-aiTachi-ai
The tachi-ai is the initial charge between two sumo wrestlers at the beginning of a bout.There are several common techniques that wrestlers use at the tachi-ai, with the aim of getting a decisive advantage in the bout:...
, like his brother. He frequently employed pull-down techniques
Kimarite
Kimarite are winning techniques in a sumo bout. For each bout in a Grand Sumo tournament , a sumo referee, or gyoji, will decide and announce the type of kimarite used by the winner...
such as hataki-komi and hiki-otoshi. Although yorikiri, or force out, was listed on his Sumo Association profile as his favourite technique, with a migi-yotsu or left hand outside and right hand inside grip as his preference, he ended up using hataki-komi more than any other winning technique throughout his career.
Cannabis scandal and dismissal
On September 2, 2008, he and his brother Rohō had a positive test result for cannabisCannabis
Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants that includes three putative species, Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis. These three taxa are indigenous to Central Asia, and South Asia. Cannabis has long been used for fibre , for seed and seed oils, for medicinal purposes, and as a...
. This test occurred less than two weeks after fellow Russian Wakanohō
Wakanoho Toshinori
Wakanohō Toshinori is a former sumo wrestler. His highest rank was maegashira 1...
was sacked after being arrested for cannabis possession, and the surprise inspection was taken on 69 jūryō and higher ranked wrestlers including the two yokozuna. Although the Metropolitan Police Department
Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department serves as the police force for the entire Tokyo metropolis. Founded in 1874, it is headed by a superintendent general, who is appointed by the National Public Safety Commission and approved by the prime minister.The Metropolitan Police, with a staff of more...
questioned the two wrestlers and searched their rooms, no further legal action was taken because it is not illegal to fail a drug test under Japanese law.
On September 6, Hakurozan and Rohō failed a second, more detailed set of doping tests.
On September 8, the Japan Sumo Association
Japan Sumo Association
The is the body that operates and controls professional sumo wrestling in Japan under the jurisdiction of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Rikishi , gyōji , tokoyama , and yobidashi , are all on the Association's payroll, but the organisation is run...
held a meeting of the board of directors and decided on the dismissals of Rohō and Hakurozan. Both wrestlers moved out of their respective stables but stayed in Japan on short term visas and continued to deny any wrongdoing.
On October 28, the brothers filed a lawsuit against the Sumo Association with the Tokyo District Court
Tokyo District Court
is a district court located at 1-1-4 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. -References:...
seeking to revoke their dismissals, claiming the tests were administered incorrectly. They also sought 100 million yen in damages. Their demands were rejected by the court in March 2009
2009 in sumo
-Tournaments:*Hatsu basho, Ryogoku Kokugikan, Tokyo, 11 January - 25 January*Haru basho, Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium, Osaka, 15 March - 29 March*Natsu basho, Ryogoku Kokugikan, Tokyo, 10 May - 24 May...
, the judge saying "“It is recognisable that the two used marijuana...and the use of marijuana was an act to damage trust of the association." The lawyer for the brothers indicated that they would appeal the ruling.
The brothers reappeared in court on June 29, 2009, testifying for two and a half hours and criticising the conduct of the tests once again. Cross-examination of witnesses began on August 31, with Isenoumi Oyakata, Tomozuna Oyakata and Otake Oyakata among those called. Former Sumo Association head Kitanoumi, Hakrozan's stablemaster, testified on December 21, saying he voted for expulsion "mainly because Hakurozan was my deshi and I didn't want to be seen as protecting him." Unlike his brother, Hakurozan was not in attendance as he has returned to Russia.
The court found in favour of the Sumo Association on April 19, 2010, with the judge saying, "It has been proven that urine samples which showed positive results for marijuana were theirs, and it is unthinkable that they were mixed up with samples of others... the association's decision to dismiss them was adequate given that the use of illegal drugs had become a serious social problem." The District Court's ruling was upheld by the Tokyo High Court
Tokyo High Court
is a high court in Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The Intellectual Property High Court is a special branch of Tokyo High Court....
on November 18, 2010.
Top division record
External links
- Japanese Sumo Association Biography (English)(Japanese)
- complete biography and basho results (Japanese)