May 16, 2025

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...

May 9, 2025

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?

Show notes

May 2, 2025

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.

Show notes

Apr 25, 2025

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...

Apr 18, 2025

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...