Asashoryu,” celebrating the 20th anniversary of his promotion to yokozuna, suddenly appeared in Ginza wearing a T-shirt and sunglasses!

A large man wearing blue sunglasses appeared in Ginza on a holiday. He was Dolgorsen Dagwadorji, 42, a former yokozuna, Asashoryu.

Shaking his huge body, he was headed for the venue of a photo exhibition of his close friend, photographer Seiichi Nomura.

Mr. Nomura gave him a grand welcome.

Today we have a yokozuna from Mongolia, Asashoryu. He has been my friend for nearly 15 years since he was active. He has taken me to Mongolia twice.

A video of Nomura’s photographs of Asashoryu was shown to the audience.

Nomura said, “There is a scene where he throws Hakuho over his head.

Asashoryu: “That’s good (laughs).”

Nomura: “Yokozuna in those days were not as easy to talk to as they are now. Nomura: “Yokozuna at that time were not as easy to talk to as they are now. They had a different kind of fear.

Asaoryu: “He was really gentle (laughs).

Nomura: “I have never seen Hakuho float in the air.

Asashoryu: “I was thinking of sending him into space (laughs).

The audience burst into laughter at the exchange between the two. As Asashoryu, watching the video from the side, expressed his passion for sumo and his theory about sumo.

Asashoryu said, “After all, the only thing I want (when I was active) is to win. If you don’t win, you don’t win. (At that time), I was told, ‘Don’t do the gut-pose,’ but I thought it was better to do it for the audience. It is important to serve the customers who pay a lot of money and are happy to see you.

When I was working, I was not conscious of losing. If three people come from the front, I won’t lose. I become confident that I won’t be defeated even if two come from the back. Before the tournament begins, I think to myself, “There is no way Asashoryu can lose. There is no way he can lose. That’s why I enjoyed it. I think life is like that. I was thin to begin with, so I practiced three times as much as anyone else.

The man who was called a “bad boy” during his active career has transformed into a nice guy with a smile on his face.
As this year marked the 20th anniversary of his promotion to yokozuna, Asashoryu presented Mr. Nomura with a bottle of 20-year-old sake, and he and his wife walked briskly into the Ginza district.

The exhibition “A Half Century–The World is Filled with Splendid Things.” will be held at Leica Gallery Tokyo and Leica Gallery Kyoto until May 20.