Akebono and Takanohana, who passed away at the age of 54, had “legendary intense training” and “bonding after retirement.

Sweat comes out of your eyes when you practice,” said Akebono.

The funeral for Taro Akebono (real name: Chad George Haheo Lowen), the first foreign yokozuna in the national sport of sumo, was held on April 14 after he died of heart failure at the young age of 54.

Born in Oahu, Hawaii, he came to Japan at the age of 18 to support his family’s finances.’ In 1988, he joined the Tozeki stable of former Sekiwake wrestler Takamiyama. His classmates included the Wakaki brothers and Asakayama Oyakata (former ozeki Kaio), all prominent members of the “Hana-no-Rokusangumi,” or “the 63rd group of flowers” (first sumo ring in the March 1988 tournament). He was one of the key players in the unprecedented sumo boom that had the whole country in a frenzy. He left a strong impression on sumo fans with his “Denshindo” style of wrestling, in which he used his huge body, more than two meters tall and weighing 233 kg at its heaviest, to unilaterally subdue Japanese wrestlers from the start of a bout. A reporter in charge of sumo at the time said, “When he was active, he was not a young man, but a young man.

When I was active, I used to jokingly remark, “All the sumo reporters are cheering for ‘Wakaki’ anyway, aren’t they? In a sense, Akebono was playing the “villain” role, knowing his position. I think that after Akebono’s retirement, the two finally became good friends who could talk frankly with each other.

Before becoming sekitori, the two had an undisclosed “legendary intense training session. A reporter recalls.

Akebono came to Takanohana’s Fujishima stable to practice, and the two practiced for more than an hour in what was like a duel. It was unbelievably intense, and they were both covered in blood. Even Takanohana’s father, the late master (former ozeki Takanohana), couldn’t resist stopping them. There is no rikishi today who would or could practice the way those two did.

The two rikishi continued to engage in friendly competition during the tournaments that followed the main tournaments. Since that time, the annual summer tour had been held in the Tohoku and Hokkaido regions, but the heat was too much for the rikishi. A reporter for an evening newspaper who once went to cover the tour revealed, “Akebono-san said, ‘The tour is for me, not for you.

Akebono was training with the idea that the tournaments were a place to build up his body so that he would not get injured in the main tournaments, and the same was true for Takanohana. Akebono and Takanohana would practice in the indoor practice room, which was locked before the general practice session that started at 8:00 a.m. One day, when I was not yet a sekitori, I asked Akebono if he would be willing to train with me. At one point, they were practicing with Asakayama Oyakata (then known as Koga, a shikata name), the former ozeki Kaio, who was still in the same class as them and had not yet become a sekitori. I was not allowed inside the room, but I could not hear any talking. All I could hear was the sound of their bodies colliding. I thought it was an amazing world.

Foreign-born rikishi are always puzzled by sumo’s unique training. The “crotch splitting,” which is said to prevent back pain and improve the balance of the autonomic nervous system and immune system; “rapport,” in which the winning wrestler chooses his opponent; and “bumping practice,” in which wrestlers are held by the neck and rolled around on their feet, are all such events that even Japanese wrestlers sometimes have to flee their rooms because they cannot stand them. Akebono was different. Even in his own stable, the Higashinoseki stable, he practiced hard every day. During his active career, Akebono left this line as one of his famous quotes: “Sweat often comes out of my eyes.

One of Akebono’s most famous quotes during his active career was this: “The real training is when your eyes start to sweat.

In other words, Akebono endured such rigorous training that it brought tears to her eyes, but she was able to do so because she did not want to lose to anyone. Takanohana once described Akebono as follows.

He was just a big rock. He was hard and huge. But his muscles were supple and flexible.

After retiring, they were good friends, even going to karaoke together.

Takanohana suffered from certain aftereffects even after his retirement due to the countless fights that took place not only at the main tournaments but also in the training halls. This is one of the reasons why he wears gloves and a scarf even in mid-summer. He once revealed to a reporter from an evening newspaper as follows.

He once told a reporter for an evening newspaper, “I was going head-to-head against big wrestlers, so I hurt my neck. My fingertips have been cold since I stopped wrestling.

Since their first bout in the ring, the two wrestlers have won 25 and lost 25, including the championship match. During their working years, the two were forbidden from even chatting with rikishi from other rooms, so there was no atmosphere of intimacy, but after retiring from active sumo, the two, who recognized each other on a deeper level, gradually grew closer.

In 1996, Akebono became a naturalized Japanese citizen. This was a sign of his determination to bury his bones in the Sumo Association. Nevertheless, in November of 2003, he abruptly left the Japan Sumo Association. It is said that there were many reasons for his departure.

The biggest reason was that he could not arrange for nenyose shares, which are necessary for running a sumo stable. Even at that time, it was said that it would cost several hundred million yen to acquire nenyose shares. In addition, I appealed for “internationalization,” such as that the main tournament of sumo should be held in the United States and other foreign countries, but the executive board at that time did not take me seriously at all. Takanohana was also a former ozeki, Takamimori, and the late Ushiomaru (passed away in 2007 at the age of 41), and he had a reputation for training his apprentices.

During his tenure at the association, Takanohana also said, “From now on, we need more young people to come and watch sumo. The two were clearly moving toward “sumo reform.

The two had more and more opportunities to see each other both publicly and privately, such as at the “Hana no 63 Gumi” class reunions.

Akebono was surprised to find Takanohana so talkative and cheerful,” said a source close to the Sumo Association.

It was during this period that Takanohana’s running for the board of trustees and his opposition to the executive committee of the association were known as “Takano-ran,” and he was the subject of much controversy. He also openly criticized former yokozuna Hakuho, who had won many championships while assaulting his apprentice Kinoiwa and giving him “elbows” similar to “harihatsu” and “kachi-age,” saying, “Sumo is not about hurting the opponent.

He openly criticized Hakuho, saying, “Sumo is not about hurting your opponent. They followed their masters’ teachings and strived for the way of sumo.

Takanohana must have seen Akebono and Musashimaru, as well as his seniors Konishiki and Takamiyama, in his mind’s eye. Akebono always encouraged Takanohana, who was being driven into a corner the more he spoke out in defense of the true “way of sumo,” saying, “I will always support you, no matter what. In April 2005, Akebono collapsed, and in September of the following year, Takanohana submitted his resignation to the Association. The two had been competing for the “love of sumo,” but were “cut off” by the Association. If “Akebono Taro” had remained in the world of sumo, one wonders what comment he would have made about the recent turmoil in Miyagino’s life.