A big sumo fan, Jacques Chirac made him famous in France, notably by presenting him with the first “Jacques Chirac Cup” in July 2000. Former sumo grand champion of Hawaiian origin Akebono, who made history in the 1990s by becoming the first non-Japanese to reach the supreme rank of yokozuna, has died at the age of 54, as reported Japanese media this Thursday.
This 2.03 m colossus, whose fierce rivalry with the Japanese champions Takanohana and Wakanohana made the headlines of the sports press and delighted the public, was one of the representatives of the wave of Hawaiian wrestlers who marked sumo until ‘at the beginning of the 2000’s.
“A bridge between the United States and Japan”
He died in early April from heart failure, according to the Kyodo news agency. “I was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Akebono, a giant of the sumo world, a proud Hawaiian and a bridge between the United States and Japan,” the American ambassador to Japan reacted on X, Rahm Emanuel. “Throughout his 35 years in Japan, Akebono strengthened the cultural ties between the United States and his adopted homeland by uniting us all through sport,” he added.
Born in Hawaii (United States) in 1969, Chadwick Haheo Rowan was spotted there by another Hawaiian sumo pioneer: Takamiyama, the first non-Japanese to win a sumo tournament in 1972, who became his master in this sport. Akebono took his first steps in Japan in 1988 on the dohyo, the clay podium where the fights take place, at the same time as the two brothers Takanohana and Wakanohana, from a long line of sumo wrestlers.
” He made history “
Climbing the rankings, helped by his size – he weighed 233 kg at the peak of his career – and the powerful thrusts of his long arms, Akebono became in 1993 the 64th yokozuna in the history of sumo, and the first original foreign. After him, six other foreign yokozuna (one American and five Mongolians) have been promoted to date, and only three Japanese. “He made history,” judges sumo journalist Shoko Sato, who knew him for more than thirty years.
But with this honor, a heavy responsibility weighs on the shoulders of the man who is only 23 years old. “As a foreign wrestler, he was often considered the bad guy” against the two brothers, heroes of a nation, she explains. “I think he felt like he had to do things extremely seriously, and being somehow more Japanese than a Japanese person was a lot of pressure,” Ms. Sato said.
Akebono would go on to win eleven tournaments in total, and was chosen to participate in the opening ceremony of the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics. “He performed a magnificent dohyo entrance ritual in front of the whole world,” commented on X the official Japanese account of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which posted the video of this solemn moment. “It is with sadness that we learned of his death. »
Clothing size 10 XL
Akebono therefore also became the first to receive the “Jacques Chirac Cup” in 2000, the nickname of the trophy awarded from that date to tournament winners in the name of Franco-Japanese friendship, and the passion of the former president. French for sumo and Japan in general. After his retirement from sports in 2001, Akebono quickly turned to the more lucrative martial arts, notably kickboxing and wrestling.
He recounted with humor in his autobiography published in 2012 the behind the scenes of the world of sumo, confiding for example that at the peak of his “form” he wore size 10 XL clothes, which had to be made to measure. He also details the success of sumotori among the fairer sex, “because of the gap between their frightening appearance and their kindness”, and his surprise when discovering his tax notice after having been given many cars and watches during his tournament victories.
Hospitalized for heart disease in 2017, he suffered serious motor aftereffects, also suffering from memory loss. “A companion with whom I shared many trials and joys has left us,” his former rival Wakanohana wrote on his blog. “Our mutual affection is all the deeper because we have worked hard and fought as rivals,” he added. I really want to see you again. Wait for me a bit. »