Sumo

Ex-ozeki Kotomitsuki has hair-cutting ceremony

Kyodo

Former ozeki Kotomitsuki, who was expelled from the world of sumo for betting on baseball games in 2010, had his hair-cutting ceremony on Saturday.

Kotomitsuki, whose real name is Keiji Tamiya, was banished in July 2010 and sued the Japan Sumo Association in a failed bid for reinstatement. He was feted by roughly 350 well-wishers, including the yokozuna trio of Hakuho, Harumafuji and Kakuryu, as well as former yokozuna Takanohana and active ozeki Kotoshogiku, his colleague at the Sadogatake stable.

A former amateur yokozuna at Nihon University, Tamiya currently operates a barbeque restaurant in Nagoya. He landed in hot water with authorities a little over a year ago for knowingly hiring foreigners who lacked proper visas.

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