Asashoryu Akinori, to call him by his full Japanese name, remains as divisive as ever in the world of Japanese sumo.
A brilliant yokozuna at his peak, quite likely capable of beating anyone on his day — past or present — Asashoryu now stands alone in third place on the all-time yusho winners' list having picked up his 25th championship to date despite a final day flop against fellow Mongolian and yokozuna Hakyho Sho. Despite this incredible achievement, which must surely be put down to a solid period of pre-basho practice and a degree of focus throughout that has been missing in recent months, his inability to keep his head down 24/7 and focus solely on things sumo has already come back to give him a blow where it hurts most — to his pride.
Sadly, it is unlikely that his self-destructive streak will ever satisfy Japanese desires for an increased awareness and respect for that aspect of the sport so difficult to put into words — hinkaku. Perhaps best termed by the English words "honor and/or respect," it has often been argued that the level of hinkaku expected of a non-Japanese rikishi is actually higher than that expected of a local-born fighter.