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Agence France-Presse

Akebono, a Hawaiian who was the first foreign-born sumo wrestler to become a grand champion, has died aged 54, US officials and Japanese media said on Thursday.
Born Chad Rowan in 1969, Akebono was among the most successful sumo wrestlers of the 1990s.
He reached the sport’s highest rank of yokozuna, or grand champion, in 1993 and became a Japanese citizen in 1996.
Akebono won 11 tournaments before retiring as a wrestler in 2001 to train younger fighters.
He died in early April after heart failure, the Kyodo News agency said.
United States ambassador Rahm Emanuel called Akebono “a proud Hawaiian and a bridge between the United States and Japan”.

“When Akebono became the first-ever foreign-born grand champion, sumo’s highest rank, in 1993, he opened the door for other foreign wrestlers to find success in the sport,” Emanuel said in a statement.
“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.”
Standing more than two metres (6ft 5ins) and weighing over 230kg (510lbs), Akebono was initially considered too tall for sumo but was allowed to join a stable run by Takamiyama, a former wrestler also from Hawaii.
Akebono made his debut in 1988 and rose through the ranks, winning his first top-level tournament four years later.
He gained promotion to grand champion and gained fame for his fierce rivalry with brothers and local favourites Takanohana and Wakanohana, who were born to an elite sumo family.
There have since been six other foreign-born yokozuna, five Mongolians and one other American.

Sumo journalist Shoko Sato knew Akebono for over 30 years and said that the wrestler had felt a heavy responsibility as the first foreign-born grand champion.
“He felt he had to work harder than the Japanese grand champions and had to be recognised as being more Japanese than the Japanese themselves,” she said. “He was only in his 20s at the time and it was a lot of pressure, so sometimes he would overdo it when he went out at night.”
Such was his fame, Akebono featured prominently at the opening ceremony of the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics.
“We would like to express our deepest condolences upon hearing of his passing,” a social media post on X by the official Japanese-language account of the Olympics read.
After retiring from sumo, Akebono launched a mixed martial arts career, fighting American Bob Sapp in front of a crowd of 45,000 in Nagoya. He also had a stint in professional wrestling.
US Forces Japan paid tribute to Akebono in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
“We join all sumo fans today in expressing our heartfelt condolences on the passing of former sumo grand champion Akebono,” it read. “A true champion and barrier breaker for becoming the first foreign-born grand champion yokozuna.”


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Japan

Sumo champion Akebono dies of heart failure, diplomat leads tributes to 230kg pioneer who was ‘bridge between US and Japan’

Akebono, the first non-Japanese yokozuna, has died at the age of 54. Photo:  EPA

Akebono holding the Emperor’s Cup after winning his first top-division championship in 1992. Photo: Kyodo

Born in the US, Akebono became a Japanese citizen in 1996. Photo: Reuters

Renewed interest in sumo, Japan’s national sport, proves big pull for tourists

Foreign tourists posing for photographs with former sumo wrestlers at a restaurant in Tokyo in July. Photo: AFP

A foreign tourist (right) wearing a costume tries to push a former sumo wrestler out of the ring at a restaurant in Tokyo in July. Photo: AFP

Fformer sumo wrestlers stretching during a demonstration in front of tourists from abroad at a restaurant in Tokyo. Photo: AFP

Sumo wrestlers during a training session at the Tamanoi-beya sumo stable in Tokyo. Photo: AFP

A group of people, many of them tourists, try to watch a sumo training session through the glass windows at the Arashio-beya sumo stable in Tokyo. Photo: AFP

In Netflix Japanese series Sanctuary, bad-boy sumo wrestler tag teams with hard-nosed journalist

Wataru Ichinose as Kiyoshi Oze (left), who joins a Tokyo sumo stable in a still from Netflix’s Sanctuary. Photo: Netflix

Shioli Kutsuna as journalist Asuka Kunishima in a still from “Sanctuary”. Photo: Netflix

Ben Miller as Jasper Tempest in a still from “Professor T”. Photo Beta Film

Emma Naomi as Lisa Donckers (right) and Barney White as Dan Winters in a still from “Professor T”. Photo: Beta Film

Frances de la Tour as Adelaide in a still from “Professor T”. Photo: Beta Film

Sport

The Hawaiian, who was the first non-Japanese sumo grand champion, became a Japanese citizen in 1996
‘Akebono strengthened the cultural ties between the United States and his adopted homeland,’ US ambassador Rahm Emanuel says


The Hawaiian, the first non-Japanese sumo grand champion, ‘strengthened the cultural ties between the United States and his adopted homeland,’ US ambassador says.


Sumo champion Akebono dies of heart failure, diplomat leads tributes to 230kg pioneer who was ‘bridge between US and Japan’

The Hawaiian, who was the first non-Japanese sumo grand champion, became a Japanese citizen in 1996 ‘Akebono strengthened the cultural ties between the United States and his adopted homeland,’ US ambassador Rahm Emanuel says

The Hawaiian, who was the first non-Japanese sumo grand champion, became a Japanese citizen in 1996

‘Akebono strengthened the cultural ties between the United States and his adopted homeland,’ US ambassador Rahm Emanuel says