Letter From Tokyo: Guess Who's Taking Over the Sumo Ring

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In Japan, however, sumo is not just a sport but also a revered institution, an intrinsic part of the national genome. A number of its esoteric rituals are rooted in Shinto, the native animist religion, and its training emphasizes ancient Japanese virtues, such as duty, fortitude and respect for elders, as much as it does pure athletic prowess. Even though the foreign invasion has reignited public interest in the stagnating sport, many elders at the clubby and hidebound Japan Sumo Association have become fearful that admitting too many hungry foreign upstarts will dilute what they routinely rhapsodize as professional sumo's unique Japanese character and traditions. In the past decade, they have imposed veritable import quotas and have slowly squeezed the numbers even smaller so that each beya is now allowed only one foreign fighter (a grandfather clause permits a few exceptions). That cap on foreigners may cripple the sport's resurgence and thwart its chances of becoming a genuinely world-class sport, one with Olympic aspirations.

Since most sumo stables have filled their quota, there are very few that can even consider taking on Gorgadze, no matter how bright his prospects. Wearing the traditional mawashi loincloth and taping his feet just before a recent practice, Gorgadze says, "I know I would do well if I were given a shot." If something doesn't open up soon, he says, he will be forced to return to Georgia in January when his temporary visa expires. And that will probably be the end of his dream. "I don't really understand why the rule exists," he says with a shrug. "If I were Japanese, I would already be part of a stable, already be proving myself." While he doesn't speak more than a few words of Japanese, Gorgadze has clearly mastered the essential Japanese virtues of tact, deference and fatalistic perseverance. When asked whether he is outraged by the rule, whether he feels it is unjust, he offers a sheepish smile and says simply, "I try not to think about fair or unfair. For now, the rule is what the rule is, and there is nothing I can do about it."