Small Earthquake in Japan
THE fattest sumo champion of all time retired on November 22nd, lamenting that, at 600lb (somewhat over a quarter of a ton), he was now too heavy to wrestle. The affable Hawaiian-born Konishiki slapped all-comers out of the ring for a brief period in the early 1990s, prompting Japan’s nationalistic sumo officials to worry that an avalanche of foreign giants might take the skill out of the sport of emperors. But then Konishiki’s knees started to feel the strain. As his weight increased, smaller, nimbler wrestlers found it ever easier to sidestep his fearsome charges, and he started to fall over and injure himself.
Konishiki’s career had its share of controversy. When, despite a fine tournament record, the sumo authorities refused to promote him to the sport’s highest rank on the ground that he lacked the necessary hinkaku (dignity), he was quoted as accusing them of racism. He later denied having said anything of the sort—wisely perhaps, since the Japan Sumo Association, which can make or break a wrestler’s career, does not take kindly to criticism.
The "Dump Truck", as Konishiki is fondly known, is now a naturalised Japanese citizen and happily married to a model one-sixth of his weight. His next challenge will be to lose a few folds of flesh. Just as boxers suffer brain damage, so sumo wrestlers often pay the price for years of gorging on chankonabe, their special high-calorie pork, potato and anything-else-in-the-refrigerator stew. When they hang up their ornate loincloths, they must either slim down or face diabetes and probable early death. Konishiki disco-dances to slim, but admits that it has not worked yet.
© Copyright 1997 The Economist Newspaper Limited. All Rights Reserved
To know more about the popular Konishiki, please visit http://www.ibm.park.org/Japan/Konishiki/live-e.html
and
http://www.ibm.park.org/Japan/Konishiki/private-e.html
For more about the sport, check out http://akebono.stanford.edu/users/jerry/sumo/
or
http://web.hal.com/~nathan/Sumo/
| U.S.-born sumo star
retires May 30, 1998 7:45 AM EDT TOKYO (Reuters) - Charismatic and massive sumo champion Konishiki had his top knot clipped off on Saturday in a tearful retirement ceremony. Over 300 people, including political and business leaders, along with numerous sumo legends, each took turns at the scissors to cut a few strands of Konishiki's hair. The American-born Konishiki was the heaviest wrestler in the history of the sport known for its massive athletes. The 272-kilogram (660-pound) giant fought back tears for most of the traditional ceremony. Konishiki had a tumultuous and glorious 16-year career that saw him win three Grand Sumo tournaments and the eventual admiration of many Japanese who initially dismissed him as an oversized American import. Over the years Konishiki became fluent in Japanese and became the first foreign-born wrestler to rise to the ``ozeki'' champion rank. ``To me, the whole thing was like going to school, learning a lot of things - about the culture, the language,'' Konishiki told Reuters about his life in sumo. ``The hardest thing was trying to learn to deal with the lifestyle, learning to accept and then taking it from there,'' he said. Born in 1963 in Hawaii as Salevaa Atisanoe, Konishiki was spotted by the first foreign sumo hero and fellow Hawaiian, Jesse Takamiyama, when he was an 18-year old American high school football player. Konishiki was 175 kg (385 pounds) when he first entered the ring in 1981. His weight and prowess in sumo increased over the years and in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Konishiki was one of the top wrestlers in the sport. Along the way he picked up the nicknames ``dump truck'' and ``meat bomb'' because of his massive size. In 1992, after winning two out of three tournaments, Konishiki appeared on the verge of becoming the first foreign ``yokozuna,'' or grand champion. But controversy arose over the fact that his two wins were not consecutive and whether or not he had ``hinkaku,'' meaning grace and dignity. Fuel was added to the fire after Konishiki was quoted by a newspaper as blaming racial discrimination for his failure to be promoted - a remark he denies ever making. ``The thing about the yokozuna was probably the biggest down for me. It hurt too many people - my family, my wife - and got me to a point where I lost my concentration. That was a very sad moment in my career,'' he said. Since he announced his retirement in 1997, Konishiki has used his singing and dancing skills to become one of the leading product endorses in Japanese advertising. He is also running his own sumo stable. And since he stopped wrestling last year, Konishiki has dropped 15 kg (33 pounds) and aims to shed another 120 kg (264 pounds) in the months to come. |
Return to TUC Updated May 30, 1998 |
