He was the most famous yokozuna (sumo champion) of the 1960s (and for many, of all postwar period), won 32 tournaments, a record that took almost 50 years to be equaled (by Hakuho) and brought sumo to every home in Japan. His name was Taiho/大鵬 (or Ivan Boryshko: the Japanese often forget he was half-Ukranian) and the pictures are from an exhibition to his honor in Fukagawa's Edo Museum. In the picture right below, the first item on the left is his topknot: when sumo wrestlers retire, the samurai-style topknots they have during their professional sumo careers are cut in a ceremonial way. Taiho died on January 19, 2013.
(For a bigger version of these pictures both in color and black and white, check my "Japan Arekore" set on Flickr)
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