(Voice actor) Mr.David Radtke

Sumo is a popular sport not only in Japan but in the whole world. The highest position that the wrestlers aim for in Sumo is “Yokozuna.” This is a position that, among many wrestlers, one can achieve only when their peers recognize them as adequate to be a Yokozuna. So, who was the fiercest Yokozuna of all time? That is “Futabayama.” That is because Futabayama had a record 69 consecutive wins, which is yet to be broken in the history of Sumo. The fiercest Yokozuna, “Futabayama,” entered the Sumo world in 1927. He did so because his father had a debt from his business, and Futabayama was going to repay the debt. Futabayama had a small frame and was not that strong of a wrestler at first. There was a wrestler who trained him. He was a Yokozuna named “Tamanishiki.” Tamanishiki trained Futabayama hard. Tamanishiki beat Futabayama over and over during practice. As Tamanishiki approached practices as if they were serious matches, Futabayama gradually became better. On January 1936, on the 6th day of Honbasho (official match), Futabayama faced off against Tamanishiki. This time, Futabayama couldn’t beat Tamanishiki. However, Futabayama had developed. The win he recorded the next day was the start of the 69 consecutive wins. In 1936, on the 9th day of the May Grand Sumo Tournament, Futabayama matched-up with the Yokozuna, Tamanishiki, again. In this match, Futabayama beat Tamanishiki. To beat the person who trained you in a serious match is called “returning the favor.” Futabayama beautifully returned the favor to Tamanishiki. Tamanishiki, who had lost, rejoiced Futabayama winning the tournament as if he had won. Futabayama won the May Grand Sumo tournament with a perfect record and ran up the road to the fiercest Yokozuna. Futabayama was promoted to Yokozuna and assumed the position that all wrestlers aim for, along with Tamanishiki. Since becoming Yokozuna, Futabayama kept winning. The state he was trying to reach was the state of “mokkei.” In China, there was a game called “cockfighting,” where they made cocks fight each other to determine the winner. Mokkei is a word derived from a historical event that, in cockfighting, the fiercest cock would not panic or get excited under any circumstances and would not move like a cock carved out of wood. Futabayama wanted to become the mokkei of Sumo. Of course, the other wrestlers hadn’t given up beating Futabayama. They tried hard to somehow beat Futabayama. And the day after Futabayama won his 69th consecutive match, the day he loses came. That day, the match was against Akinoumi. How did Akinoumi beat Futabayama? How did Futabayama feel after the loss? This is a story of Futabayama’s 69 consecutive wins, which many Yokozunas have aimed for and could not reach since.