Akebono Taro, the Hawaiian legend who became the first non-Japanese-born sumo wrestler to reach the greatest title in all of sumo wrestling, has died.
The wrestler who became an unlikely household name passed after an illness at 54-years-old.
A Major Legacy in Sumo
His death was first reported by Japanese media outlets. Abekono reportedly died after being admitted to a Tokyo hospital.
The hospital listed heart failure as the cause of death.
Hawaii News Now reports, “Akebono was born Chadwick Haheo Rowan in Waimanalo and graduated from Kaiser High. He moved to Tokyo in the late 1980s and was an instant hit on the sumo circuit.”
“Standing at 6-foot-8 and weighing 500 pounds in the prime of his career, he put together a resume just as impressive as his stature, winning multiple championships to earn the status of yokozuna,” Hawaii News Now noted. “Akebono would go on to win 11 titles with over 560-match victories.”
The story continued:
Former KGMB sports anchor Neil Everett traveled to Japan in 1993 to interview the grand champion.
“I think that when they when you break it down to Akebono individually, he represented all of us at the highest level of that sport,” he said. “That’s something that we can all be proud of.”
During his reign, other Hawaii wrestlers would also become stars, including Konishiki and Musashimaru. Despite his star status, Akebono remained humble and true to his roots.
In 2008, seven years after retiring from sumo, he returned to the islands to promote a worldwide wrestling event and said his focus was on giving others the same opportunities that he had.
‘Opened the Door for Other Foreign Wrestlers’
US Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel paid tribute to Akebono on X, calling him a “giant in the world of sumo, a proud Hawaiian and a bridge between the United States and Japan.”
Emanuel said that Akebono’s role as a pioneer “opened the door for other foreign wrestlers to find success in the sport. 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.”
Honolulu’s Star Advertiser has more on Akebono’s storied career.
Only 73 men have ascended to sumo’s most exalted rank and Rowan initially seemed a longshot to ever be one of them. While his 6-foot, 8-inch height and 280-pound girth helped earn him a place at Hawaii Pacific University for basketball, some sumo purists had, upon initial inspection, written him off as a prospect for success in sumo, where, like football, the ability to get low and apply leverage is important…
Propelled by winning records in his first 18 tournaments, Akebono reached ozeki, sumo’s second-highest rank, in a record 26 tournaments. And then he beat Takanohana in their January 1993 showdown, with 62% of Japan’s TV audience watching, to earn promotion to yokozuna…
At the 1998 Nagano Olympics, Rowan was chosen to represent Japan, of whom he had become a citizen, in the opening ceremonies performing the dohyo iri or ring-entering ceremony.
Rowan retired in 2001, his 520-pound body on hobbled knees and no longer up to the punishing demands of the sport after compiling a 566-198 record.
What a career. What a man and representative of his sport.
Rest in Peace, Akebono.