 In January 2009 Wakanoho dropped all legal action against the Sumo association and the two sides reached an amicable agreement regarding his severance pay, believed to be 5.8 million yen.He had an informal hair-cutting ceremony or "danpatsu-shiki", symbolically accepting that his sumo career was at an end.It was held in an hotel in Tokyo with no other "rikishi" or coaches attending.