Many people in the amateur sumo world were caught by surprise last week when it was announced that the 15th edition of the Hakuho Cup would take place in February next year.
While there had been no official cancellation, it was widely assumed that the tournament — one of the largest and most prestigious events on the junior sumo calendar — would be put on hiatus in the wake of an abuse scandal earlier this year that resulted in the retirement of Hakuho’s protege, Hokuseiho, and the shuttering of his Miyagino stable.
Indeed, in a statement released to the media, Miyagino, as he is now known, wrote that he also “thought that it might not be appropriate for me to continue with the Hakuho Cup at this point in time.”
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