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Young Japanese men reject the brutal training and regimented lifestyle, which includes communal living and mundane chores in the stables. Some who planned to train as wrestlers are said to have pulled out after Tokitaizan's death.

Meanwhile, the sport of Japanese emperors has been dominated by foreigners. In the 1990s two Hawaiians, Akebono (pictured on the right) and Musashimaru (left) led the pack. Today, the only yokozuna, or grand champions, are Mongolians, Asashoryu and Hakuho. And Asashoryu has caused trouble, from topknot-tugging (inadvertent, he claimed) during a bout and faking injuries, to rumours of match-fixing and tax evasion.

All this has thrown an uncomfortable spotlight on the insular and opaque JSA. It is accused of tolerating the sport's unsavoury practices, from possible match-rigging to the abusive treatment of initiates. In 1996 two former wrestlers who dared disclose match-rigging died shortly afterwards, hours apart, of the same respiratory ailment. And the JSA turned a blind eye to Tokitaizan's suspicious death until the boy's father went to the press and the police. Since 1989 four other young men have died of “heart failure” during training, reports Bunshun, a weekly magazine.