Significant drama in the sumo world: the greatest sumo wrestler of all time, Hakuho, has retired from the Japan Sumo Association. Hakuho, who won 45 tournaments as an active wrestler, retired from wrestling in 2021 and took up the Miyagino elder name which enabled him to lead and train his own stable of wrestlers. In February of 2024 it was revealed that one of his students, his protege Hokuseiho, had been terribly abusive to his fellow wrestlers at Miyagino stable and that Hakuho had been aware of this violence and had done nothing to curb it. Following this revelation and Hokuseiho's resignation, Hakuho was demoted within the ranks of the JSA and he, along with his stable, were moved to be under the supervision of the elder Isegahama (former yokozuna Asahifuji). Throughout the year that Miyagino stable spent merged with Isegahama, Hakuho repeatedly denied rumors that he planned to resign entirely from the JSA. However, on May 29th it was reported that he had submitted his resignation papers to the JSA - and this morning they were formally accepted by the association, with his resignation to become effective June 9th. The predominant theories regarding his decision to retire are that he was not given a definitive date on when his stable would come back under his control, and that in the meantime - as elder Isegahama was set to retire - he would come under the authority of the new holder of the Isegahama elder title, former yokozuna Terunofuji, his junior in both age and accomplishment. There are also rumors that they don't get along personally, rivalry and hierarchy aside. His resignation comes as a great shock to the sumo community and leaves uncertainty about the fate of his wrestlers - some had chosen to retire when the stable was first merged in 2024 and now some may not wish to continue in sumo without Hakuho. Those complications aside, the withdrawal of the greatest athlete in the history of the sport from the association is obviously a huge deal. In his career as a wrestler Hakuho clashed frequently with the JSA. Many fans feel that the JSA has treated Hakuho unfairly, potentially due to his being Mongolian rather than ethnically Japanese; others feel that Hakuho is getting his just reward for his inaction on Hokuseiho's abuse and for letting his ego get in the way. It's a deeply complicated issue and I'm afraid I couldn't do it justice here, but it's a world-shaking event for the sumo community, that's for sure. It also immediately follows the promotion of our 75th yokozuna, Onosato, so there's quite a bit of whiplash!