SUMO

Former sumo grand champion Taiho dies

Sports Jan. 19, 2013 - 09:54PM JST ( 7 )

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7 Comments

2

JDB829Jan. 19, 2013 - 08:48PM JST

I had the distinct pleasure of meeting this man a couple of times. He was a true "grand" champion. May he rest in peace.
2

Tel PorterJan. 19, 2013 - 08:58PM JST

Farewell to one of the truly greatest champions of all time.
0

CarolingiumJan. 19, 2013 - 10:06PM JST

Taiho's father was Ukranian...
0

Stranger_in_a_Strange_LandJan. 20, 2013 - 12:48AM JST

Yep, he was half Ukranian, but he kept it a secret when he was wrestling, because he feared being discriminated against.
1

VirtuosoJan. 20, 2013 - 11:39AM JST

Yep, he was half Ukranian, but he kept it a secret when he was wrestling, because he feared being discriminated against.

That is not true, I'm afraid. I was here in the late 1960s and some media, such as the Sumo fanzines, referred to Taiho as the offspring of a father who was a 白系ロシア人 (White Russian). (The loathsome term haafu had yet to appear at that time.) And there were some accusations of discrimination anyway, such as when Taiho was "defeated" in a controversial bout (the videos for which later showed that he clearly won), stopping his consecutive winning streak at 45. Some said this was to keep him from breaking former yokozuna Futabayama's all-time record of 69. (Futabayama just happened to be the head of the sumo association at the time of the controversial bout.) But few Japanese fans today give much attention to Taiho's part-foreign ancestry. By the way, in addition to being a real gentleman, he was also something of a philanthropist, having purchased several ambulances.
0

Stranger_in_a_Strange_LandJan. 21, 2013 - 01:28AM JST

I guess I stand corrected. I'd read it somewhere... IME, most Japanese I talk to about sumo aren't even aware he is half-Ukranian. Not surprising that not much attention is paid to his ancestry.
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Ranger_Miffy2Jan. 21, 2013 - 06:46AM JST

What a life. Ironic that a stroke at 36 stopped this invincible athlete and the rest of his life was not a physical gift. Even with this, he added so much to sumo and seems to be pretty much loved by all. A great fighter all the way through, and an inspiration.