The Miyagino stable ceased to exist Thursday after the Japan Sumo Association made the transfer of its wrestlers to another stable permanent in the wake of an abuse scandal.
The Miyagino stable, headed by former yokozuna Hakuho, winner of a record 45 championships in the elite makuuchi division, had been closed since April 2024 after it emerged that one of its wrestlers physically abused junior stablemates.
Mongolia-born Hakuho, who later became stablemaster Miyagino, moved to the Isegahama stable along with his wrestlers, but retired from the Japan Sumo Association in June last year.
The permanent closure of the Miyagino stable was approved at a board meeting of the governing body because more than two years had passed since the transfer of its members and no one intended to revive it, the JSA said.
The Isegahama stable became the largest stable with 32 wrestlers, including eight sekitori — grapplers in the top two divisions of makuuchi and juryo — as of the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament that ended earlier this month.
“We had originally talked about everyone working together as one stable, and we want to continue doing our best as before,” stablemaster Isegahama, formerly yokozuna Terunofuji, said.
© KYODO
