Konishiki Yasokichi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Konishiki Yasokichi (1896-1901) was also the 17th yokozuna.
Konishiki Yasokichi (小錦八十吉 Konishiki Yasokichi?, born Saleva'a Fuauli Atisano'e on December 31, 1963), is a Hawaiʻi-born Samoan sumo wrestler, nicknamed "The Dump Truck."[1]
Konishiki made his name in Japan by becoming the first foreign born champion, or Ozeki, in the Japanese sport of sumo. Ozeki is the second highest rank in the sport. He entered sumo in 1982 and rose to the topmost makuuchi division in two years, a remarkably rapid rise. It took him a further three years to reach Ozeki rank.
Due to his potential he was given the name Konishiki, after the 17th Yokozuna (see List of Yokozuna) who came from the same training stable at the end of the 19th Century (during the Meiji period in Japan).
During his career he won the top division championship on three occasions and came close to becoming the first foreign born grand champion, or yokozuna, prompting first a debate as to whether a foreigner could have the necessary cultural understanding to be acceptable in sumo's ultimate rank. After winning two championships in three tournaments (his 2nd and 3rd overall) he publicly accused the Japan Sumo Association (the governing body of Japanese professional sumo) of racism for not promoting him to yokozuna. However, Konishiki quickly apologized and never again repeated the accusation in public.
At a typical fighting weight of around 270 kg he was the heaviest rikishi ever in sumo and used his weight to power his opponents out of the ring. However, particularly in latter years, his weight led him to be susceptible to belt throws by lighter and more agile opponents.
He retained his Ozeki rank for more than six years, and carried on fighting in the top division for a further four years. Towards the end of his sumo career he became progressively more popular with many Japanese fans, due his fighting spirit, distinctive bulk and personality.
After his retirement he remained in the Japan Sumo Association as an elder for a short time, before branching out as a Japanese entertainer under the name "KONISHIKI". (The capitalization is an effort to reflect the association's requiring him to write the name in the Roman alphabet, forbidding its being spelled out in Japanese characters, after he left sumo).
In 2000 Shinichi Watanabe, director of Excel Saga and Puni Puni Poemy, created an anime series called Dotto Koni Chan, in which Koni, the protagonist, is a fat kid who strongly resembles KONISHIKI. The series pays homage to KONISHIKI, who is well-loved by many Japanese people.
He is now the host of an NHK children's program called Nihongo de Asobo (にほんごであそぼ) which teaches children traditional and colloquial Japanese.
In 2006, he made a short cameo appearance in the movie The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.
[edit] Notes
- ^ British Newspaper The Observer January 6th 2002 http://observer.guardian.co.uk/osm/story/0,6903,626785,00.html
[edit] External links
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Yasokichi, Konishiki |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Atisano'e, Saleva'a Fuauli (birth name) |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Professional sumo wrestler |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 31, 1963 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Oahu, Hawaii |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
 |
This Japanese biographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
