During the 10 years from the Great Kantō earthquake to the Mukden Incident of 1931, Japan's economy was in the midst of the Shōwa Depression. During these times, the political climate was unstable and labor-management conflicts were frequent with the rise of socialist movements in many areas. The life of sumo wrestlers was rather difficult, and from the Meiji era to the early Shōwa era, there were frequent incidents of disputes that could be called "rikishi strikes". With damaged Japanese businesses, patrons were less inclined to sponsor sumo wrestlers and unemployed Japanese citizens were unable to afford tickets. Hence, sumo attendances dropped, leaving the sumōtori wages to a historical low. At that time, the average salary of a san'yaku wrestler was 70 yen, a salary which was the same of a government public servant. Meanwhile, the starting salary of a Tokyo University student was 50 yen, and 45 yen for a graduate of a private university. In addition, at that time, the Sumo Association's accounting was unclear, and the wrestlers had no idea how much income they received or how much money they spent on expenses. Stablemasters would also take their share of profits and wrestlers had no good income.
