by Julia Watermouth

Sumo wrestling has a long and rich history in Japan but has not been immune from scandal. Most of the scandals over the past few decades have had to do with stable masters and wrestlers getting involved with illegal gambling or match fixing but it’s extremely rare for the wrestlers themselves to criticize or question the fair play of one of their competitors. That is until a recent tournament in Nagoya.

Several wrestlers filed a complaint with the Japan Sumo Association that the winner of the Nagoya tournament, Kitagawa Takashi, used his irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) as a weapon to distract his opponents. They claim he defecated right on the Dohyō during a match and that his legs were slippery from the mess he was making under his mawashi, the traditional sumo wear.

“The smell was horrible,” said wrestler Aoiyama Kosuke through a translator. “I lost focus completely.”

“When I grabbed his legs to make a move, they slipped right off and then my hands were full of gunk,” added Hōshōryu Tomokatsu. “There was no way I could recover from that.”

The Dragonfly Report tried to reach out to Kitagawa but he did not return our calls. His stable master told us that his wrestler did suffer from irritable bowel syndrome and sometimes nature just calls, especially during intense physical activity. 

“When he gets into the squatting position, it can trigger a bowel movement,” he said. “The sumo squat position is very similar to the way one would squat when taking a crap in a benjo, a Japanese style floor toilet,” he continued. “Regardless, I’m proud to be his stable master. He took a problem and turned it into a weapon. You have to admire him for that.”