<h2><span class="strongInContent">Taro Akebono</span><br>
<span class="strongInContent"> Passed away on April 6 at the age of 54</span></h2>
<figure id="attachment_405531" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-405531" style="width: 1650px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="3b43bcd3"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/12/729e7fcc6865eedbc0744949e4c4e802.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-405531" class="wp-caption-text"> Akebono celebrated his 23rd birthday in May 1992. Immediately after, he won the May tournament and was promoted to Ozeki.</figcaption></figure>
<h3> He felt &#8220;true friendship.&#8221; <br>
Koji Takanohana (65th yokozuna)</h3>
<p> We were entry-level classmates who jumped into the world of sumo in 1988. I have fond memories of calling each other &#8220;Chad&#8221; and &#8220;Koji&#8221; during our sumo training school days.</p>
<p> During my active career, I rarely spoke to other wrestlers in the same stable or to my peers, as I was devoted to sumo. However, after I retired in 2003, I started showing up at the class reunions. Akebono and I would talk about our memories of being blown to the bottom of the ring by a brute force punch. I believe we had a kind of &#8220;true friendship&#8221; that could only be understood by those who competed with each other in the ring.</p>
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<p> In 2005, Akebono-san collapsed on a wrestling tour and was rushed to a hospital in Fukuoka. I was in Fukuoka at the time preparing for the Kyushu Tournament and rushed to the hospital, but Akebono was in the intensive care unit and I was unable to visit him. At that time, I could only give flowers to his wife. It was difficult to see him after he was discharged from the hospital, and the last time we spoke was at a class reunion a few months before he was transported to the hospital.</p>
<p> I sometimes think back to Akebono&#8217;s cheerful and kind smile from my days at the training school.</p>
<p> From the January 3, 10, and 17, 2025 issue of &#8220;FRIDAY</p>
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 Shoichiro Tsuboi

 Sad farewells to stars always come suddenly -- former yokozuna Taro Akebono, who passed away on April 6. Koji Takanohana, who was a member of the same class when he first entered the world of sumo, sends his parting words.

In Memoriam ’24: Thank You, Until We Meet Again 】Koji Takanohana talks about his “true friendship” with Taro Akebono.

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