Yokozuna Hakuho got back to the earnest business of winning Sunday, putting on his bravest face at a meet which this time is only for show.
After a match-fixing scandal caused the cancellation of the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in March and following an earthquake and tsunami in the northeastern Japan — one of the worst natural disasters in the country's history — sumo resumed with a "test meet" to a surprisingly enthusiastic crowd at Ryogoku Kokugikan.
In the day's final bout, Hakuho kept a watchful eye on Toyonoshima before calmly blasting the diminutive komusubi into the ringside seats with a rapid-fire salvo of slaps.