Hakoho helps Asashoryu to his feet after defeating him. Hakoho went on to to win the Kyushu sumo tournament. The hubb found this image, which suggest that “good guy” and “bad boy” rivals might also share some big love after all.

The last few days have proved to be an interesting day at both poles of the pacific: politics in Australia, and sumo in Japan.
While on Thursday in Canberra, Liberal Party leader Malcolm Turnbull tried hard to avoid a spill in party ranks,  sumo yokozuna (champion) Asashoryu went into his bout with a season all-win track record, tied with the other yokozuna and rival Hakuho.

The sumo ring leaves very little room for diplomacy or delicate politics. And of late, Malcolm Turnbull’s leadership has been described as having similar qualities. Backbencher Dennis Jensen has described his attitude as a “scorched earth” policy, as he has pushed ahead with unfettered by challenges from within the party and wholesale resignations, in a manner that Annabel Crabb has imagined his colleagues as wondering “why doesn’t he die?”

Yet in Kyushu last week, Asashoryu made a fatal mistake in his Thursday bout by thrusting his arm too far in and his opponent soon had him on the ground, bringing him to 11 wins-1 loss. The following days were no better for the troubled yokozuna. As his rival Hakuho continued to win bouts, Asashoryu followed up his loss with two more, going in to face Hakuho with an 11-3 score, while the other yokozuna was at 14-0, with only Asashoryu standing between him and a straight 15-0 tournament victory and the Emperor’s cup.

With the leadership spill in the Liberal Party all but over, news is certainly all over twitter (#spill), and with the Loyal Joe Hockey now poised to make a challenge for leadership and See No Evil Tony Abbott prepared to step down from the challengers podium, the next 24 hours look certain to reveal whether Malcolm Turnbull will share the same fate as Asashoryu, or whether he will be able to weather this latest barrage of bombs and bullets and go on living like a T-1000 out of Terminator.

I think I fell in love with Asashoryu today. This Mongolian sumo bad boy defeated my previous favorite, sweet Mongolian Hakuho. I even bought a Hakuho towel for my nephew in spring. But now I have fallen for Asashoryu, who is criticized for failing to practice all the time, and for slapping himself silly before matches. His stubble and fat face are somehow enchanting!

And last year he upset the Japan Sumo Association by calling for a 10% salary raise, the first since 2001, to cover the rising cost of food staples such as “bread, rice, cooking oil, mayonnaise and beer”.

Who is your favorite sumo wrestler?

Kobukuro – Yell

Yokozuna Asashoryu hat es wieder im Grand Sumo Tournament mit einem 14-1 fuer sein 24th Makuuchi Division Titel geschafft. Wir waren zwar nur live vor dem Fernseher dabei, aber spannend war es trotzdem !

Here’s a picture of the Yokuzuna (Sumo grand champion) Asashoryu sitting at a table with Woody Allen.  It’s from an article from Sumo Fan Magazine.

I can’t imagine what kind of night that must of been.