Miyagino Sho: Hakuho's Next Chapter

I'm at the Miyagino-beya sumo stable,
which is very much in the news.

Look at all these bikes!

The young wrestlers must
ride them on errands.

I want to check out the inside.
Let's go.

Good morning.

Hello.

Practice is underway.

Nice!

The master of the Miyagino-beya is legendary former Yokozuna grand champion, Hakuho.

Finish like this.

Thank you!

With an unprecedented 1,187 career wins, he left a lasting mark on the history of sumo.

Born in Mongolia, he was 16 when he participated in his first sumo tournament.

Hakuho soared through the ranks thanks to his strength, agility, and flexibility,

and was promoted to the top rank of Yokozuna at the age of 22.

He maintained his elite position for an astonishing 14 years.

At one stage, he faced great pressure as the only active Yokozuna in the sport.

In 2021, at the age of 36, he made the decision to retire following a succession of injuries.

Determined to continue dedicating his life to sumo, he's started a new chapter in his career

as head of the Miyagino-beya, adopting the stable's name as his own.

Miyagino shares his passion for the sport and his dreams for the future of sumo today on Face to Face.

Is this your first time?

I've been to Kokugikan many times,
but never a morning practice.

About 20 apprentices, all aged 16 or above, take turns sparring.

Still in. Still in!

What's your left hand doing?
An underarm or overarm throw?

Underarm.

Underarm? You're too small.
Use your right hand first.

Thank you.

It's awesome.

You can feel the power
of the impact.

The last man standing is surrounded by challengers.

Why does everyone gather around
the last man standing?

It's a form of training
called moshiai.

It's like a tournament.

- They all want to be chosen.
- I see.

They continue to spar, fueled by a determination to win.

Push forward!

Good. Much better than being
on the defensive.

Miyagino underwent this very same training from day one.

Pushing both body and soul to the limit, he faced wrestlers far larger than himself,

and began to leave his mark on the world of sumo.

Good!

After practice ends, Miyagino invites Robert into the ring.

May I?

Like this?

Purify your shoulders.

Then your feet.

This leg-lifting movement, called shiko, forms the basis of sumo training.

Miyagino places great importance on this basic movement.

Why do you practice shiko?

I weigh 150 kg, so each leg
supports 75 kg.

With shiko, one leg supports
all 150 kg.

If your opponent weighs 150 kg,
that's a total of 300 kg.

So we train the knees and back
to take 300 kg of strain.

Rest your hands on your thighs.

Lift and stretch the knee.

Yikes! It's hard to maintain
your balance.

Bend deeper.

Next is suriashi, or "sliding step."

That's hard on the knees.

No stomping.
You need to slide your feet.

-A sliding step.
-Yes.

Sliding forward in this position is deceptively difficult.

Good. Maintain that posture.

Lower!

Sumo wrestlers ordinarily wear a mawashi, or loincloth, that weighs around six kilograms.

Robert receives a hands-on class on what Miyagino believes is most important in sumo...

Practicing the basics over and over again to hone both body and technique.

Wrestlers must always show respect.

Wrestlers must always act with dignity and respect for their opponent.

Miyagino believes this is the true way of sumo.

Thank you.

So you've been in charge for about two years now.

Yes, that's right.

What's it been like?

When I was younger, I trained much more.

I practiced at night as well as in the morning.

Oddly, I always had the taste of blood in my mouth back then.

But it wasn't that I had bitten down too hard.

Last year, I finally found out the reason why.

Our trainer told me that the strenuous training caused capillaries in my lungs to break.

You had to push yourself to the limit to develop a strong mind and body, in order to keep on winning.

In my day, I think I practiced two or three times more than my apprentices do now.

But you need to change with the times and adopt different methods.

I'm in the process of discovering that it's much easier to "do" than to teach.

Has your mindset changed in any way since becoming stablemaster?

Before my predecessor retired, I studied under him, learning how to be stablemaster for nearly a year.

I also assumed many of his duties, including scouting for promising talent.

That was new for me, and honestly quite nerve-wracking.

The experience is almost like visiting your girlfriend's parents and asking for her hand in marriage.

That's how I felt.

Wow!

I didn't go to high school or college, so I didn't have those sorts of connections.

But I was lucky enough to encounter kids who respected what I'd done during my career as Hakuho and wanted to join my stable.

I noticed you talking to individual wrestlers, especially the ones who didn't do as well.

How come?

I remember when I was younger, how grateful I was when my stablemaster talked to me.

Just a few words from him meant more to me than advice from older wrestlers or trainers.

His encouragement gave me strength and confidence.

I practiced hard because I wanted him to notice me and praise me.

So now that I'm stablemaster, I'm doing the same.

I talk to the wrestlers from time to time, keep them looking forward.

In light of that, do you feel that it's important to carry on such traditions and follow in the footsteps of your elders?

Sumo requires a combination of mind, technique, and body.

80 percent is mind, and 20 percent is technique.

Starting with this year's spring tournament, I have my apprentices perform a very deep bow.

They begin and end practice with a bow, too.

It doesn't matter whether you win or lose.

You finish with a bow or "rei" which is pronounced the same way as "zero."

So you reset.

Yes, and do your best the next day.

After practice, it's time for breakfast.

Here, the wrestlers are in charge of cooking.

They're making chanko nabe, a hotpot packed with protein and vegetables.

Try the Miyagino-beya chanko.
First, the soup.

It's delicious.
It's full of chicken flavor.

Chanko is healthy.
It's not fattening.

White rice is what helps you bulk.

I was 62 kg and had to eat 8 bowls
at lunch, and again at dinner.

I just ate and slept.

I didn't understand Japanese, so
I thought I was being punished.

The younger apprentices prepare
the chanko?

Yes, they can't sit down until the
rest of us are finished.

That changes as they rise through
the ranks.

So they get to sit down.
There's a pecking order.

The ones standing up are
the last to eat.

The order is determined not by age or experience, but by division ranking.

We didn't use to get days off.

But I give them a day off
once a week.

Young kids these days want to rest.

-You want a day off?
-Yes, please. Very much so.

The two newest apprentices joined last year.

They're both 16, and joined the Miyagino-beya after finishing junior high school.

I've looked up to him ever since
he held me when I was just two.

Good! Very nice.

It's tough.

But I love to win.
That's what keeps me going.

I was homesick for the first month.
All I wanted to do was leave.

But it's great to be able to learn
from the best.

The stablemaster is much like a father to his apprentices.

This is the room shared by the lower-ranking wrestlers.

I hear some snoring.

I'll show you a sekitori room.

Higher-ranking wrestlers get to have their own rooms.

This is Hakuseiho.
He's 2 meters tall.

Hokuseiho is 21.

He made the top division in just three years, and is currently the top-ranking wrestler in the Miyagino-beya.

-You like having your own room?
-It's great.

You have more space.

Yes. I'm big, so the shared room
felt really crowded.

Rank takes precedence in every aspect of daily life.

This motivates the young wrestlers to improve and rise up.

Youngsters come from all over to train under you.

How do they get along?

Do newcomers quickly feel at home here?

We eat together, train together, and spend much of our time together, so it's easy to form close relationships.

Hirose Tanso was a famous Confucian scholar, teacher, and writer of Chinese poetry in the 1880s.

He accepted people of all ages as live-in apprentices.

They came from different backgrounds, but as they went about their everyday chores,

they were able to overcome their differences because of their desire to become scholars.

That's just like sumo.

I see.

During morning training, we practice the basics over and over again.

We'll keep going at it for up to two hours until we're ready to collapse.

I'm sure it must be key to focus on the groundwork.

I often tell my apprentices to work on mastering the basics.

Learn the form, so you can forget it.

That's the hallmark of the very best wrestlers.

But it's no use trying different things without having a solid basis to build from.

So I tell them to find what works best for them, and to pursue it.

Work on the basic techniques, and eventually you'll be able to execute them instinctively.

Some kids understand this right away, while others don't.

So I make a point of having heart-to-heart talks with each of them individually.

That's so important.

As sumo wrestlers, they can realistically only expect to compete at their highest level for 15 years at most.

The road they take from then on will depend on what they've learned as a member of the Miyagino-beya,

and how they can apply that to life after retirement.

Some of my wrestlers will be able to rise up the ranks, but others won't.

Life as a sumo wrestler is relatively short compared to what awaits thereafter.

Sumo lays the groundwork for life, much like the roots of a tree.

The roots.

The foundation.

You plant the tree; it takes root and blooms.

On February 11, 2023, a team from Ukraine visited the Miyagino-beya.

Applause for the Ukrainian team
who made it here despite everything.

Miyagino sponsors the Hakuho Cup, a sumo tournament for kids.

This year, he invited five boys from Ukraine to participate.

Push!

Harder!

Nice!

Yehor Chuhun is 15 years old.

He has won the Ukraine youth sumo championships.

He's taking part in the Hakuho Cup for the second time.

His goal is to win.

Get ready.

Miyagino is, naturally, his idol.

But he's too nervous to make eye contact.

I should let him eat in peace.

He's probably heavier than you.

How much do you weigh?

170 kilograms.

I was older than those kids when
I arrived in Japan.

I want them to learn.
to absorb everything.

And then return home
with hope and dreams.

He seemed kind and very strong.

He taught me a lot during my visit.

This is my dream.

I'd like to become a
pro sumo wrestler in the future.

Kokugikan is Japan's main sumo stadium.

Miyagino established the Hakuho Cup when he was 25.

This year marks the thirteenth iteration.

This is the first cup in 3 years.

I'm really looking forward to it.

The tournament aims to share the sport of sumo with an even wider global audience.

Teams from Mongolia, the United States, Thailand, and more have come to participate.

There are a total of 22 teams, and over 900 kids.

Yehor competes in the individual tournament.

This will be his last Hakuho Cup before he ages out.

He applies the frontal attack he learned from the former Yokozuna to win one bout after another.

But he's defeated in the third round.

I'd give myself a 5 out of 10.

I'm satisfied with my result,
but I wish I'd done better.

After the tournament, Miyagino holds a party for the Ukraine team.

I want to hold an annual tournament
in Ukraine.

Wonderful!

I know it'll be hard for you.

But I hope you'll keep practicing.

Miyagino passes on his dream to Yehor.

What were your overall impressions of the young wrestlers from Ukraine?

We didn't talk about the war at all.

We had so much fun talking about sumo together.

It's already quite a popular sport in Ukraine.

In fact, one of the wrestlers in the third-highest division in Japan is Ukrainian.

I know the kids are going through a lot right now, because of the war,

but I hope they'll continue to practice sumo.

The fact that you've managed to hold the Hakuho Cup 13 times is an incredible accomplishment.

What keeps you going?

I was 25 when I started the Hakuho Cup.

The sumo world was going through a rough time.

I was concerned about the future of sumo, and was afraid that kids would no longer dream of becoming wrestlers.

I was the only active Yokozuna at the time.

That's why I decided to launch a tournament for kids.

The kids competing in the Hakuho Cup give it their all, so we see a lot of smiles as well as tears.

This year, we had teams come from overseas.

Sumo is now practiced in over 20 countries and regions around the world.

Who knows? Sumo may one day become the national sport of a country other than Japan.

That might change the culture of that country.

Yes.

I remember seeing you fight for the very first time 20 years ago.

I was so impressed by your sumo and the fact that a non-Japanese person had risen to the top rank of Yokozuna.

Some people were voicing concern that the increase in foreign wrestlers would have a detrimental effect on the spirit of sumo.

But you succeeded in proving them wrong, and supported the growth of sumo as the only Yokozuna for a long time.

You managed to keep the popularity of sumo alive.

It's an indisputable fact.

As an American researcher of Japanese history and culture, I was very much encouraged by your endeavors.

I think this is what I was born to do.

I weighed just 62 kilograms when I arrived in Japan.

And from there, to have managed to come this far in the sumo world is like a miracle.

Sumo means everything to me.

It's all about having respect for other people.

I want to play a part in promoting sumo in Japan and all over the world.

I think there's a lot I can do in this role.

I've already produced a Sekitori, or top-division wrestler, since becoming head.

But ultimately, I dream of having one of my wrestlers rise to the rank of Ozeki and eventually Yokozuna.

That would allow me to give back to the sport.

The rankings for the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament
in Tokyo are announced

13 wrestlers from the Miyagino-beya
have moved up in the rankings

They'll share the news with family,
friends, and supporters

They're working hard at morning practice
and doing the training I used to do.

And they do it all without complaint.

That hard work has paid off,
and they know it.

Now that they've moved up in
the rankings, it'll be a new challenge.

I truly hope they'll give it their all.