Akebono Tribute	Retirement Ceremony
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What's this? Photo essay on Yokozuna Akebono's retirement ceremony held on Sept. 29, 2001.
Last modified: May 15, 2004

Story and photos by Philbert Ono

This is where Akebono and his wife stood to greet visitors before the ceremony started. The sign at the center reads, "Akebono Intai Hirou Ozumo" which means "Akebono Retirement Exhibition Sumo." After the ceremony was over, many people stood in line to pose in front of this sign for a photograph. I had to wait about 30 min. before I could take this shot with no people in it.

One thing I really like about sumo is that it is a very visible microcosm of life itself, and it reminds me of my own life experience. After you are born, you grow and develop physically, mentally, and spiritually. To succeed in life or to become good at something, you have to practice, practice, and practice (or study or train). Your strong will and determination becomes the key to success in almost any endeavor. Without this mental and spiritual resolve, you will fail, regardless of your physical condition. It is also amazing how a person can overcome certain handicaps (small physique, etc.) to succeed. (In sumo, the smaller opponent often defeats the bigger one.) And it is also a fact of life to have various obstacles (injuries, rivals, etc.) thrown in front of you as impediments. Sumo wrestlers face a constant struggle as most of us do in real life.

But nevertheless you must still develop yourself as much as you can, and perform as best as you can for as long as you can. You hit a peak period in life, then you begin to burn out or degrade. But there's always a different challenge that awaits ahead. And by the time you retire, you will have amassed much knowledge and experience which you should pass on to the younger generation. This is what many retired sumo wrestlers do. And this is the cycle of life itself, at least the way I see it.

Retirement ceremony poster.

Cover of the retirement ceremony program booklet. Akebono is standing front of two huge framed victory posters before they were hoisted up in the Kokugikan. They were made after he won two tournaments in a row in Sept. and Nov. 1993. The program booklet was given free to everyone. It has 34 pages in color showing photos of Akebono's past glory, baby and family photos, win-loss record of all his tournaments, message in English from U.S. Ambassador Howard Baker, messages from Azumazeki and Akebono, photos of overseas exhibiiton tours, etc. Except for the ambassador's message, there's no English. There was also a separate leaflet listing the day's program.

Question: How did you get interested in sumo?
Well, I was born and raised on Maui, Hawaii which is where Takamiyama is from. Takamiyama was a boyhood hero for me. I also lived near a Buddhist temple which had the island's only sumo ring. It was made of what we called "red dirt." It was an open-air sumo ring with a roof above. Sometimes the local sumo club would come and practice there in the evening, and I would walk over and sit on the grass and watch. (The shy guys who wore shorts underneath the mawashi belt looked really funny.)

Thus, I was first exposed to sumo during childhood. I also remember some big-time sumo wrestlers (Yokozuna Taiho, etc.) also came to Maui once during an exhibition tour in Hawaii, and we all went to see them at the local shopping center. Of course, at the time, I didn't know who anybody was except Jesse. Only after viewing my dad's home movies of that day years later, did I recognize who we saw that day. I was really surprised.

I also remember when Takamiyama had a homecoming on Maui and sumo exhibition matches were held at the temple's sumo ring. There was a big crowd, of course, and Takamiyama gave the local boys a chance to clash with a real sumo wrestler. It was a thrill for them and us to see a celebrated Maui boy come home and show his stuff. He later posed for pictures with babies, etc., (including my baby sister). I was impressed by his warmth and kindness. When I moved to Japan, Takamiyama was still an active wrestler and I have kept track of sumo ever since. -Philbert Ono

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