When Takamisakari called it a day back in 2013, this paper carried a headline declaring that the “clown prince of sumo” had retired, while Kyodo News opened with a line that called the former komusubi’s pre-bout rituals “goofball antics.”
Those were somewhat harsh assessments, as Takamisakari was never really playing a role or hamming it up for the crowd with his face slaps and foot stomps. Those sometimes off-kilter comments and that Robocop routine were just the Aomori Prefecture native being himself.
Unable to view this article?
This could be due to a conflict with your ad-blocking or security software.
Please add japantimes.co.jp and piano.io to your list of allowed sites.
If this does not resolve the issue or you are unable to add the domains to your allowlist, please see out this support page.
We humbly apologize for the inconvenience.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.