Yokozuna Hakuhō—Japanese Mongolian hero

Abstract

Yokozuna Hakuhō, a prominent Sumo wrestler, is a Mongolian-born Japanese national hero. However, he, as other Mongolian wrestlers, presents Sumo with tensions between worldviews, which are battled both within the hierarchical setting of the Sumo association, and in public opinion. Those concern questions of etiquette and ethical behavior, between what is understood the “real Japanese” spirit, and the Mongolian attitude. Moreover, the Mongolian attitude also coincided with modern tendencies and the culture of celebrities so that those tensions are also a case of a Japanese way of dealing with the external influences of globalization. Moreover, since both Japanese and Mongolian cosmos are “inclusive,” namely, tend toward the non-dual, the tensions are not resolved but rather create a cultural enclave of shifting assemblages yielding both new regulations and popular opinions. And while those tensions are negotiated, the common belief as to what constitutes true Japanese traits is also forged and inculcated.