Akebono Tarō American-born Japanese sumo wrestler, who, in January 1993, became the first non-Japanese person to be elevated to yokozuna (grand champion) status, the highest rank in professional sumo.

Sumo wrestlers deliberately make babies cry because they believe the loud sound of a baby’s cry can actually ward off evil spirits. But in their future, they make them laugh a lot.

After retiring from Sumo wrestling in 2001, Akebono tried his hands at various other combat sports. However, he could never replicate his Sumo form. All that extra weight is quite useless in almost any kind of martial art, except sumo.

Akenbo suffered from acute heart failure in 2017 which placed him in the coma. A news article from January 2, 2019, stated that he had lost use of his legs and suffers from partial memory loss. He was unable to remember his pro-wrestling days (after retirement from Sumo) and was for a short period unable to speak without the aid of his wife.