This week: in the span of just a few years, Akebono goes from a rookie in sumo to one of its most prominent names, and alongside Konishiki one of the Americans dominating in the top division. But unlike Konishiki, he has the potential to go one step further. So, how does a guy from Waimanalo become the first non-Japanese citizen ever to claim the title of yokozuna?

Sources

Panek, Mark. Gaijin Yokozuna: An Autobiography of Chad Rowan

Benjamin, David. Sumo: A Thinking Fan’s Guide to Japan’s National Sport

Akebono’s entry on SumoDB, going over the major stats of his career.

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Finally, some videos: the match that made Akebono a yokozuna, and a compilation of Akebono/Takanohana matchups.

This week: Chad Rowan, who will be the first non-Japanese yokozuna in history, is the subject for the rest of our episodes. How did he come to sumo? What was his early career like? And how did he come to be known by the name Akebono-the rising sun?

Sources

Panek, Mark. Gaijin Yokozuna: An Autobiography of Chad Rowan

Benjamin, David. Sumo: A Thinking Fan’s Guide to Japan’s National Sport

An excellent article from Tachiai.org on the Wakanohana/Takanohana drama

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This week: after Taiho, the floodgates open as more non-Japanese rikishi begin to enter the sport. One of them, Takamiyama, has a good but not great career. But two of the rikishi he recruits to train under him after retirement–Konishiki Yasokichi and Akebono Taro–will change sumo forever.

Sources

Panek, Mark. Gaijin Yokozuna: An Autobiography of Chad Rowan

Culyer, P.L. Sumo: From Rite to Sport

Benjamin, David. Sumo: A Thinking Fan’s Guide to Japan’s National Sport

An excellent article on Konishiki’s career by Chris Gould of Sumo Fan Magazine

New York Times coverage of the scandal around Konishiki’s remarks on potential yokozuna promotion

SumoDB entries for Takamiyama and Konishiki, for the stat nerds among you

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This week: Taiho begins his grand sumo career, and quickly proves to be one of the best ever to do it. We’ll use his career to discuss: what does greatness look like in a sport like sumo? What were the highlights of one of the greatest careers in sumo history? And what were the small number of cases where Taiho didn’t prove able to come out on top?

Sources

Cuyler, P.L. Sumo: From Rite to Sport.

Graburn, Nelson, John Ertul, and R. Kenji Tierney. Multiculturalism in the New Japan: Crossing the Boundaries Within.

The Guardian’s obituary for Taiho.

Chunichi Shinbun coverage of Taiho’s run in with the law in 1965 (Japanese-language)

Japan Times coverage of the Taiho instant replay story (note: they mistakenly ID the tournament in question as May, 1969. It was March, 1969).

SumoDB is the place for sumo historical records, and here’s Taiho’s page. Compare him to any other entry (except maybe Hakuho) to see just how insanely dominant he was.

Media

A compilation of Kashiwado/Taiho showdowns (Japanese commentary)

An example of a standard makuuchi dohyo-iri (ring entering ceremony) from Jason Grenier on YouTube

A good explanation of the yokozuna dohyo-iri and what makes it distinctive

This week, we’re beginning a new miniseries on the legends of Japan’s most ancient sport: sumo. What can we learn about Japan and Japanese identity by looking at the lives of some of the most famous competitors in the national sport? We’ll begin investigating that question with a look at the life of one of the greatest ever to enter the ring: Taiho Koki.

Sources

Cuyler, P.L. Sumo: From Rite to Sport.

Graburn, Nelson, John Ertul, and R. Kenji Tierney. Multiculturalism in the New Japan: Crossing the Boundaries Within.

The Guardian’s obituary for Taiho.

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For our final episode of this miniseries: Miyazaki Manabu faces down with the National Police Agency as he finds himself the prime suspect in Japan’s highest profile criminal case of the 1980s. After he comes out on top, where does he go next? Why, the natural place for any high profile criminal suspect: into media, and then politics!

Show notes here.

Sources

Miyazaki, Manabu. Toppamono: Outlaw,, Radical, Suspect. My Life in Japan’s Underworld. Trans. Robert Whiting.

Miyazaki’s interview with the Financial Times about his experience being a suspect in the Glico-Morinaga case.

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In our penultimate episode for this miniseries: Miyazaki Manabu narrowly escapes doing prison time, only to end up back in the underworld first of Osaka, and then Tokyo. And from there, he ends up square in the crosshairs of the police once again–this time as a suspect in one of the most infamous criminal cases in postwar history.

Sources

Miyazaki, Manabu. Toppamono: Outlaw,, Radical, Suspect. My Life in Japan’s Underworld. Trans. Robert Whiting.

Ivy, Marilyn. “Tracking the Mystery Man with the 21 Faces.” Critical Inquiry 23, No 1 (Autumn, 1996)

Some original NYT coverage of the Glico Morinaga case.

An article by the Japan Times on the occasion of the final expiration of the statutes of limitations as they relate to the case.

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This week: Miyazaki Manabu’s dramatic departure from the Communist Party, as his faith in the revolution wanes. What does a wannabe college revolutionary with no prospects turn to when the revolution fails to materialize?

Sources

Miyazaki, Manabu. Toppamono: Outlaw,, Radical, Suspect. My Life in Japan’s Underworld. Trans. Robert Whiting.

Yoshikuni, Igarashi. Japan 1972: Visions of Masculinity in an Age of Consumerism

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This week: Miyazaki Manabu goes from the Sodai struggle at Waseda to an active participant in the violent clashes of the late 1960s student movement, as a part of the “action corps” of the Communist Party. We’ll take an up close and personal look to see: what was it like to be a radical student in the 1960s?

Sources

Andrews, William. Dissenting Japan: A History of Japanese Radicalism and Counterculture from 1945 to Fukushima.

Miyazaki, Manabu. Toppamono: Outlaw,, Radical, Suspect. My Life in Japan’s Underworld. Trans. Robert Whiting.

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This week: Miyazaki Manabu completes his transformation from son of a yakuza boss to a committed member of the Communist party. After all, it turns out those two groups have a surprising amount in common…

Sources

Miyazaki, Manabu. Toppamono: Outlaw,, Radical, Suspect. My Life in Japan’s Underworld. Trans. Robert Whiting.

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