The first-ever foreign-born yokozuna (grand champion) of Japan’s national sport of sumo announced his retirement in late January 2001. Taro Akebono (formerly Chad Rowan of Hawaii) belongs to the Azumazeki beya, or “stable,” of sumo wrestlers. He has been nursing a long-standing knee injury that refused to heal fully, and at the age of 31 he bid farewell to 13 years of life in the sumo ring. A great yokozuna who always exhibited a courtesy and decorum more Japanese than the Japanese themselves, Akebono was much loved. This is attested by the decision of the Nihon Sumo Kyokai...
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