Ticket scalping at the Kokugikan
Moti Dichne
"There's actually a suspicious man reselling tickets inside the Kokugikan. This man has resold dozens of tickets, including seats on cushions closest to the dohyo, known as 'tamariseki'. And not just for this basho, but for Hatsu and Natsu," says a sumo journalist.
The Kyokai's "Sumo Tournament Spectator Contract Terms and Conditions" state the following regarding reselling: "No person may allow a third party to resell tickets (including resale via internet auctions) or obtain them in any other way without the organizer's permission. However, this does not apply to cases where the resale is based on a specific relationship with a family member, friend, business partner, or similar, and is not for profit and is not carried out as a business." This man is apparently selling the tickets at list price, and is not "for profit," but the fact that he has dozens of tickets in his possession seems strange. Who on earth is this man? The Kyokai's view: "Among sumo fans, he's something of a 'famous old man,' and some may even recognize him just by looking at his face. This man favors popular rikishi, and is surely known not only by those rikishi but also by their Oyakata. We don't know if he was entrusted with selling tickets by the heyas, or why he has dozens of prime tickets. However, tickets for Aki, as well as the Kyushu tournament in November, are all sold out. In this situation, even if it's not for profit, the act of reselling tickets in itself is not acceptable, and some kind of punishment is appropriate." (Sumo writer, mentioned above)
When we inquired with the koenkai of the heya to which this "reseller" is said to belong, they said, "We are not aware of him as he is not a member of our association." We then asked the Kyokai about this man's actions, but received the surprising response of "we will not respond." Shukan Josei PRIME obtained exclusive access to the message exchanges in which the man in question was actually reselling tickets. He is selling reserved seats and chair seats at full price, with messages such as, "We have a large number of chair seats available for the third day, all S-seats, rows 1-3, with 10 tickets in each, for a total of 30. If anyone is interested, please contact us early. We can buy as many as you like," and, "Would you like to buy any reserved seats if there are cancellations of weekday reserved seats in the September tournament?" Messages such as, "There are only XX tickets left," and other messages urging people to hurry up with their purchases have also been confirmed.
The Kyokai appears to now be focusing on how tickets are sold and checks at the point of entry are done, and on September 24th, Nikkan Sports published an article titled, "Former Komusubi Iwakiyama' (Sekinoto Oyakata), acts as a deterrent to ticket scalpers with his intimidating face." The article stated, "This Oyakata is constantly casting sharp glances around the ticket counter at Ryogoku Kokugikan. Sekinoto, with his stout build and stern expression, is patrolling to look for ticket scalpers." It is said that thanks to the "sharp-eyed" Oyakata, resale in front of the Kokugikan "is being deterred," but in reality, resale is taking place "inside" the Kokugikan. Will the Kyokai still remain silent?
*Tabloid alert- The weekly "Shukan Josei Prime".