Akebono, sumo’s first foreign-born grand champion, passes away at 54

Tokyo [Japan], April 11 (ANI): The sumo association announced on Thursday that American-born sumo wrestler Akebono, who rose to become the first non-Japanese grand champion, or “Yokozuna,” had passed away in Tokyo this month from heart failure.

Akebono passed away at the age of 54.

Standing at 203 cm (6 feet 8 inches) and 233 kg (514 pounds), Akebono was physically formidable.

He had won 11 championships, which is the 10th most in the annals of modern sumo history. His fighting technique depended on using his enormous stature to knock opponents out of the ring.

Akebono, whose real name was Chad George Ha’aheo Rowan, was a college basketball player signed by a Hawaiian-born leader of a Japanese sumo stable. He started in the sumo world in 1988 and became the 64th Yokozuna of contemporary sumo in January 1993, when he reached the pinnacle of the sport, according to Al Jazeera.

US Ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel, said on X, “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 later became a Japanese citizen, taking the name Taro Akebono. He is survived by his wife, daughter and two sons, reported Al Jazeera.

As an outsider, Akebono trailed in the footsteps of the larger Konishiki, who was also from Hawaii, and fellow American Samoan Yokozuna Musashimaru.

In addition, Akebono was a celebrity on Japanese TV shows. In 2001, he retired from sumo and began competing in mixed martial arts and professional wrestling matches.