Chadwick Haheo Rowan,born in Hawaii May 8th 1969,
naturalized a Japanese citizen as Akebono Taro in 1996,
died in Japan April 11th 2024 according to Nikkan Sports
and other sources (Japanese language articles came first.

He was the first non-Japanese to rise to the top rank
of sumo wrestling (yokozuna),and a protege of the first
non-Japanese to rise to the third-highest rank and a
friend and rival of the first to rise to the second-highest.

All three of them had ties to Hawaii but nowadays the top
non-Japanese in sumo are almost all Mongolian.

-=-=-
The World Trade Center towers MUST rise again,
at least as tall as before...or terror has triumphed.

Given the body shapes sumo guys are encouraged to emulate, one wonders what their average life expectancy is; Wikipedia's entry affirms that they on average die sooner than other professional athletes, but doesn't specify any numbers.

I know virtually nothing about sumo, and even found it difficult to take in those handful of times--on Wide World of Sports on ABC, as I recall, and in that Bond misfire"You Only Live Twice"--I watched this strange sport. Dismiss me as unenlightened if you like, but I don't enjoy watching severely overweight fellows in loin-cloths manhandling each other.

And neither do I see the much spectator appeal when the guys--or gals--are in shape and/or bulked up, like they are in silly USA-style "pro"wrestling (or even in the more legitimate Greco-Roman and collegiate versions of the sport.)

BRYAN STYBLE/Florida

In alt.obituaries bryan_styble <radioactiveseattle@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Given the body shapes sumo guys are encouraged to emulate, one wonders
> what their average life expectancy is; Wikipedia's entry affirms that
> they on average die sooner than other professional athletes, but
> doesn't specify any numbers.

I once saw the deceased's mentor,born Jesse Kuhaulua,wrestled as
Takamiyama,coached as Azumazeki,naturalized as Daigoro Watanabe,
quoted as attributing various life expectancies to sumo wrestlers
in inverse order of rank,but the numbers he cited didn't hold up
(He'll be 80 this year and predicted he wouldn't).

Here's my chart of yokozuna which includes birth and death:

YOKOZUNA BORN-PROMOTED-RETIRED-DIED MAKUUCHI BOUTS YUSHO
SHIKONA WON LOST
Hakuho 1985-7/2007-9/2021-alive 1093 199 45
Chiyonofuji 1955-7/1981-5/1991-7/2016 807 253 31
Kitanoumi 1953-7/1974-1/1985-11/2015 804 247 24
Taiho 1940-9/1961-5/1971-1/2013 746 144 32
Kisenosato 1986-3/2017-1/2019-alive 714 453 2
Harumafuji 1984-11/2012-11/2017-alive 712 373 9
Musashimaru 1971-7/1999-11/2003-alive 706 267 12
Takanohana 1972-1/1995-1/2003-alive 701 217 22
Kakuryu 1985-3/2014-3/2021-alive 645 394 6
Wajima 1948-5/1973-3/1981-2018 620 213 14
Kashiwado 1938-9/1961-7/1969-1996 599 240 5
Asashoryu 1980-3/2003-2/2010-alive 596 153 25
Kitanofuji 1942-1/1970-7/1974-alive 592 294 10
Akebono 1969-3/1993-1/2001-4/2024 566 198 11
Kotozakura 1940-1/1973-7/1974-2007 553 345 5
Wakanohana 1 1928-1/1958-5/1962-9/2010 546 235 10
Mienoumi 1948-7/1979-11/1980-alive 543 413 3
Tochinishiki 1925-10/1954-5/1960-1990 513 203 10
Wakanohana 2 1953-5/1978-1/1983-2022 512 234 4
Asahifuji 1960-7/1990-1/1991-alive 487 277 4
Wakanohana 3 1971-7/1998-3/2000-alive 487 249 5
Tamanoumi 1944-1/1970-10/1971(death) 469 221 6
Hokutoumi 1963-5/1987-5/1992-alive 465 206 8
Takanosato 1952-7/1983-1/1986-11/2011 464 313 4
Sadanoyama 1938-1/1965-3/1968-4/2017 435 164 6
Asashio 1929-5/1959-1/1962-1988 431 248 5
Onokuni 1962-9/1987-7/1991-alive 426 228 2
Chiyonoyama 1926-5/1951-1/1959-1977 366 149 6
Kagamisato 1923-1/1953-1/1958-2004 360 163 4
*Terunofuji 1991-7/2021-active 352++ 199++ 9+
Haguroyama 1914-5/1941-9/1953-1969 321 94 7
Tochinoumi 1938-1/1964-11/1966-2021 315 181 3
Tamanishiki 1903-11/1932-12/1938(death) 308 92 9
Yoshibayama 1920-1/1954-1/1958-1977 304 151 1
Futabayama 1912-5/1937-11/1945-1968 276 68 12
Terukuni 1919-5/1942-1/1953-1977 271 91 2
Azumafuji 1921-10/1948-9/1954-1973 261 104 6
Minanogawa 1903-1/1936-1/1942-1971 247 136 2
Tsunenohana 1896-2/1924-5/1930-1960 221 58 10
Maedayama 1914-6/1947-10/1949-1971 206 104 1
Futahaguro 1963-7/1986-12/1987-2019 197 87 0
Tachiyama 1877-2/1911-1/1918-1941 195 27 11
Musashiyama 1909-5/1935-5/1939-1969 174 69 1
Umegatani 2 1878-6/1903-5/1915-1927 168 27 3
Tochigiyama 1892-2/1918-5/1925-1959 166 23 9
Onishiki 2 1883-4/1918-1/1922-1943 162 50 6
Hitachiyama 1874-6/1903-5/1914-1922 150 15 8
Okido 1878-12/1912-1/1914-1930 143 20 10
Akinoumi 1914-5/1942-11/1946-1979 142 59 1
Nishinoumi 3 1890-4/1923-10/1928-1933 134 60 1
Nishinoumi 1 1855-3/1890-1/1896-1908 127 37 2
Konishiki (1) 1866-3/1896-1/1901-1914 119 24 7
Onishiki 1 1891-5/1917-1/1923-1941 119 16 5
Umegatani 1 1845-2/1884-5/1885-1928 116 6 9
Otori 1887-2/1915-5/1920-1956 107 49 2
Nishinoumi 2 1880-2/1916-5/1918-1930 106 38 1
Ozutsu 1869-4/1901-1/1908-1918 98 29 2
Miyagiyama 1895-4/1922-1/1931-1943 90 69 2
Wakashima 1876-4/1905-1/1907-1943 82 33 4

The list extends back to Umegatani 1.

Ozeki Kaio had 879 makuuchi wins at retirement in July 2011.The only
other non-yokozuna with more than Akinoshima and Takanonami(tied at 647)
are Kotoshogiku(718),Kyokutenho(697),Takamiyama (II) (683),Aminishiki(678),
and the ozeki Konishiki (649).
Kyokutenho has the loss record at 773,displacing Terao's 753.
> I know virtually nothing about sumo, and even found it difficult to
> take in those handful of times--on Wide World of Sports on ABC, as I
> recall, and in that Bond misfire"You Only Live Twice"--I watched this
> strange sport. Dismiss me as unenlightened if you like, but I don't
> enjoy watching severely overweight fellows in loin-cloths manhandling
> each other.

The typical bout is over in seconds once they start.
First man forced either out of the ring or down within it loses.

> And neither do I see the much spectator appeal when the guys--or
> gals--are in shape and/or bulked up, like they are in silly USA-style
> "pro"wrestling (or even in the more legitimate Greco-Roman and
> collegiate versions of the sport.)

Akebono was over 500 lbs when he wrestled in sumo,not sure about
his stints in various types of "pro wrestling" after he gave up on
coaching as an assistant to Azumazeki.Konishiki (II),the Hawaiian who
was the first non-Japanese ozeki,wrestled at over 600 lbs and is alive
at 60.

> BRYAN STYBLE/Florida

-=-=-
The World Trade Center towers MUST rise again,
at least as tall as before...or terror has triumphed.

It seems like a lot of the Japanese ex-sumo are able to slim down after
retirement. But those Polynesian ones are naturally obese and can't.

I'm sure many here would "dismiss" you as a clueless narcissist and an egomaniac.

On Fri, 12 Apr 2024 04:17:13 +0000, mikespo@live.com (mikespo) wrote:

>I'm sure many here would "dismiss" you as a clueless narcissist and an egomaniac.

You must like one sided flame wars. Just because of this, you're
grounded.