JR:            When and how the tegatana came to be has little bearing on whether it is a tradition or a ritual.  Forget left-hand/right-hand, let the Yokozuna, or any rikishi for that matter, simply take the kensho without doing the tegatana, and see  how great the outcry is.  The tegatana is certainly a real tradition; I really don’t think this can be denied.  In the end, though, what the debate boils down to is that the Yokozuna Deliberation Council has say over a Yokozuna’s promotion and his behavior.  If the YDC decides that it’s more fitting for a Yokozuna to perform the tegatana with the right hand, then that is how it must be.  It is within their purview to make such distinctions, just as it is within their purview to say the Yokozuna should retire by whatever criteria they may set.  That is their job.  I certainly don’t always agree with them, but that matters as much as whether I agree with the Kyokai’s stance on kyuujo or koushou.  They get to set the guidelines, and the Yokozuna must abide by them.  That is the trade-off for being free from demotion, the price for being at the top of the mountain.

EB:  As JR indicates, the YDC does have a role to play but theirs is one of a purely advisory nature on promotion issues and the like.  For that reason, I don’t feel there is an ‘in-stone’ trade off for being at the top of the mountain – just a case of letting the yokozuna know what they feel and looking at how he’ll respond.  It boils down to being his choice on issues such as these.  Indeed, the lack of any real power can be seen in the
Next Home

LH:  So Josh, what difference does it make which hand is used to receive kensho?

JR:  The simplest response, I think, is to ask: what difference does it make which hand is used to salute in the military?  What difference does it make which hand is used to shake hands?  What difference does it make which hand a Yokozuna puts forward to represent “offense” in an unryuu-gata dezu-iri?  Or which side rikishi do shiko first after entering the ring?  (They always raise the right leg/hand first.)  Or which hand the yumitori-rikishi twirls the bow with?  (He always uses his right.)  There are many other examples to be found, in both Japanese and Western culture, where the right hand is given preference in rituals and traditions.  And remember that the Yokozuna is not just picking up an envelope, he’s performing a ritual gesture with the tegatana, one that has been given meaning.  And then I think we need to ask, for such rituals, ceremonies and traditions, how much slack can we cut lesser rikishi, and how high a standard should we hold the Yokozuna as the paragon of sumo?