Yokozuna Hakuho has retired after a glorious sumo career of more than two decades that has not only seen him shatter many records but also raised serious questions about the future of the ancient Japanese sport.

Hakuho, arguably the greatest sumo champion in history, has broken almost every major record in the sport, winning a record 45 career championships. He has been propping up the backbone of professional sumo.

Kudos to the amazing achievements he has accomplished during the 20-plus years since he left his native Mongolia to enter the sumo world at the age of 15.

In an era when most sumo matches were more or less simple clashes between two big guys, Hakuho demonstrated afresh how sumo could be nuanced and exciting physical battles by fighting with the speed and finesse made possible by his great talent and supple body.

Hakuho’s rise to sumo stardom saved the professional sumo world, which had been rocked by a string of scandals.

These included the death of a young trainee due to violence by his stablemaster and elders, alleged use of illegal drugs by some rikishi, former yokozuna Asashoryu’s retirement after a drunken brawl outside a bar and illegal baseball gambling.

But Hakuho has also been criticized for certain rough tactics and unconventional behavior that were seen as beneath the dignity of a yokozuna.

He was frowned upon for slapping the opponent’s face, doing what bordered on an elbow strike, clearly showing discontent with decisions by referees, leading the spectators in “banzai sansho” (three cheers) and a "sanbon-jime" hand-clapping cheer during his victory interviews.

There is nothing wrong about debating what yokozuna should and should not do. But the problem is that many critics of Hakuho trace his “unsavory” behavior to his Mongolian roots and question the qualities of foreign sumo wrestlers in general.

Even more questionable is that the Japan Sumo Association, the governing body of professional sumo, has partly sided with such arguments.

This spring, a panel of experts set up by the association, led by Masayuki Yamauchi, a professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo, made a set of proposals concerning the future of professional sumo.

Responding to the association’s request for advice on what to do to maintain and expand the traditional sumo culture, the panel criticized foreign-born wrestlers in remarks that did not name names but apparently referred mainly to Hakuho.

The panel called on foreign rikishi to transform themselves through sympathy with sumo’s history and tradition, calling the process “nyu nihon ka,” a new word that apparently means embracing and assimilating to Japanese culture and tradition.

But the panel failed to make clear what historical heritages and traditions should be protected. It also made the ridiculous argument that stablemasters need to have Japanese nationality to show they are rooted in Japan.

The panel’s recommendations have raised numerous questions, including how their arguments can be consistent with the fact that so many scandals broke out under Japanese-born stablemasters.

The panel, however, made one noteworthy proposal. It pointed out that sumobeya, or stables, the primary organizations for training rikishi, generally lack good governance and stressed the need to tackle this problem.

A sumo wrestler’s status in the sumo world is determined by his ranking and records. But a high ranking or great records in the sumo ring do not necessarily translate into key qualities required to be a good stablemaster, such as coaching and management skills.

One related question is who should evaluate wrestlers’ qualities to be a stablemaster and how. Another is what should be done to improve the training environment for wrestlers.

The challenge should not be left entirely up to individual stables and may require cooperation with outside organizations. The association needs to start wrestling with these challenges immediately.

There are many other issues that remain unaddressed. One is whether the tradition of banning women from entering the sumo ring should be maintained.

The association has to debate and determine which elements of the sumo culture and tradition should be maintained and which should be changed. The debate and decisions need to reflect serious consideration to changes and trends in society.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Oct. 1