Asashoryu  announced his retirement. He has already been involved in several scandals and his recent violent behavior toward a man has provoked this consequence. Some are great fans of him and others think of him as a disgusting guy. I think he is a very interesting sumo wrestler so I miss him. Of course he should have behaved better but I don’t think we can only blame him because sumo society and outside of sumo society couldn’t stop his behavior and they just let him do as he wanted. I always wonder why sumo wrestlers can often go for a drink so late at night, as late as the wee hours of the morning.  Originally sumo was a sacred event to foretell if the following year would bring an abundant harvest or not. It was a kind of ritual art. Then it turned into a martial art. Now look what it has become! In many parts of the world, merely making money is not enough to gain any respect any more. Asashoryu won the Emperor’s Cup as many as 25 times . The authorities told him to behave with more class as a sumo Grand Champion but they didn’t show him or make him understand what class was.  We have some traditional sports and games such as kendo, judo, or shogi.  Being strong is important but being polite and fair is essential. Whenever Asasyoryu won a Championship, Takasago sake brewery in Fujinomiya ( this is my favorite ) received an order and sent a lot of sake to the Takasago stable to which he is attached.