Hakkaku’s complex legacy looms over sumo’s next chapter

The blur of massively powerful athletes smashing together on an elevated ring, while the shouts of referees in highly decorative costumes ring out around the arena is a sight that makes sumo one of the most visually stimulating sports in the world. But while those battles in the ring command the attention of fans, they aren’t the only contests taking place in Japan’s national sport. The machinations and power struggles that regularly take place behind the scenes in sumo wouldn’t be out of place on television shows such as “Game of Thrones.”