The world of sumo has been through a rough few years, but as the first decade of the 21st century draws to a close, few serious fans would doubt that the future is looking brighter. Surely there is a silver lining in the dark clouds that have hovered above the sport since mid-2007.
The last four years of the decade saw scandals that involved: the hazing death of a 17-year-old wrestler; drugs busts that centered primarily on Russian rikishi. (the first of whom was caught dabbling with marijuana — Wakanoho, is now involved in the world of American football in the U.S.); Asashoryu's supposedly fake claims of injury; and, of course, the more recent gambling fiasco that saw ozeki Kotomitsuki thrown out of the sport.
The person with top-dog rijicho status in the association has changed three times over the course of these scandals. Similarly, and in part due to his own erratic behavior through this period, Asashoryu opted to retire earlier in the year, thus leaving reigning grand champion Hakuho as the undisputed "best of the best" in modern-day sumo.