<figure id="attachment_384729" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-384729" style="width: 6722px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="8ca967de"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/07/5d8c462703ae020ce71e7ce55c77c996.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-384729" class="wp-caption-text">Musashimaru was soaking wet from the rain at the victory parade, but his face was radiant. Next to him is Musouzan (now Fujishima Oyakata)</figcaption></figure>
<p> What did &#8220;FRIDAY&#8221; report 10, 20, and 30 years ago? In &#8220;Playback Friday,&#8221; we take a look back at the topics that were hot at the time. This time, we will look back at the article from the August 5, 1994 issue, which was published 30 years ago, <span class="strongInContent">&#8220;Next time, I&#8217;m going to win the top rope! Even Hawaiian mothers danced to the moment Musashimaru won all the games</span>.</p>
<p> Musashimaru was scouted by a college football team, but decided not to go on to higher education for financial reasons. Five years after his arrival in Japan, his dream of entering the world of sumo, a world he had never heard of before, bore fruit. Musashimaru, then an ozeki, became the first foreign sumo wrestler to win all of his matches, something that Takamiyama, Konishiki, and Akebono had never achieved. Here is a picture of his family home in Hawaii at that moment. (Descriptions in parentheses are taken from past articles.)</p>
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<h3><span class="strongInContent"> Family in Hawaii is in a frenzy of joy.</span></h3>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Musashimaru&#8217;s (then 23) family home on the Hawaiian island of Oahu is a very average-sized house with a mango tree in the yard. Late at night on August 16, his parents, siblings, and a few close friends gathered to watch the live broadcast of the final bout of the tournament.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> The moment Musashimaru&#8217;s underhanded throw was decided, the silence that had prevailed up to that point was broken at once, and the crowd cheered, &#8220;Wow! rose to the air. Everyone was in a frenzy of joy. His mother, Nimala Penitani, 47, began dancing, and his brothers (Musashimaru is the third son of eight brothers) ran around the room.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I am so, so happy.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Nimala said with tears in her eyes, and everyone came up to her, hugged each other, and shared their joy. Her father, Manu, 66, is in the 160-centimeter range. Most of his siblings are of medium height and medium build, so they are not &#8220;big guys&#8221; by any means. The &#8220;biggest filial son&#8221; brought great happiness to the Penitani family, who were poor immigrants from Western Samoa.</span></p>
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<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Believing in money under the ring"></div>
<p>Musashimaru&#8217;s first victory, which came with the bonus of winning the tournament for the first time in five years since Chiyonofuji&#8217;s victory in the 1989 Autumn Tournament, was actually his &#8220;fourth time honoring his opponent. The Musashikawa stable had prepared for the victory parade three times before, but it never came to fruition. This was due to Musashimaru&#8217;s &#8220;flea&#8217;s heart,&#8221; which, despite his bold appearance, tenses up to the breaking point when the time comes. It was because of his strong hungry spirit that Musashimaru had been able to gain so much strength.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> Musashigawa Oyakata, who had previously learned from a weak apprentice in Hawaii, observed Musashimaru for three months and was amazed at his perseverance, and allowed him to join the stable, saying, &#8220;This will be fine.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> According to his wife, Yoko, &#8220;He was homesick for a while, but we didn&#8217;t give him any special treatment. She must have overcome her difficulties believing that &#8220;money is under the ring.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I want to say thank you and congratulations to my son for all the hard work he has put in and all the hard days he has spent at &#8230;&#8230;.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I want to say thank you and congratulations to my son,&#8221; his mother, Nimala, said tearfully.</span></p>
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<p> Musashimaru&#8217;s fulfillment had made it seem as if he would soon be within reach of the Yokozuna title. If so, it would be nice to see the Hawaiian mom&#8217;s &#8220;happy&#8221; dance once again.</p>
<p> However, Musashimaru continued to fall one step short in his attempts to win the Yokozuna title. Finally, in 1999, he became the 67th yokozuna. As for the reason for his slow promotion to the rank of ozeki, which took him 32 tournaments, tied for the longest in history, Musashimaru <span class="strongInContent">explained, &#8220;I was a little wandering around, drinking a lot, and I was a little lazy</span>. As <span class="strongInContent">soon as I decided to stop drinking and concentrate on sumo, I was promoted,&#8221;</span> he said in an interview with Daily Sports in May 2009.</p>
<p> Musashimaru, who became a Japanese citizen in 1996 and became a yokozuna as a Japanese, says he has made it his mission for the rest of his life to give back to Japan and the sumo world. He remains with the Japan Sumo Association and continues to teach his students as Musashigawa Oyakata.</p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Maru-chan Mama danced!"></div>
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<figure id="attachment_384731" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-384731" style="width: 6833px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="d6a59e45"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/07/0852317d720252fd8c19491625a38d17.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-384731" class="wp-caption-text">When Musashimaru&#8217;s first victory was decided, his mother, Nimala, started dancing with joy. I don&#8217;t know how to express my happiness,&#8221; she said. In the back of the room, his father Manu quietly watches over him (August 6, 1994).</figcaption></figure>
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 Takehiko Kohiyama (1st), Toshihiro Nakaikawa (2nd)

 This is a playback of what this magazine reported 10, 20, and 30 years ago. 30 years ago, Musashimaru won the July '94 tournament for the first time with a perfect record. The moment the victory was decided, his family in Hawaii, far away from home, was in a state of celebration!

Playback &#8217;94] &#8220;I&#8217;m sure you&#8217;ve had a hard life&#8230;&#8221; Tears Spilled by Mother in Hawaii for Musashimaru&#8217;s First V in All-around Winning Race

Playback ’94] “I’m sure you’ve had a hard life…” Tears Spilled by Mother in Hawaii for Musashimaru’s First V in All-around Winning Race

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