was just a few weeks short of his fortieth birthday. He became a member of the Japan Sumo Association, with the name Azumazeki. To do so he had taken Japanese citizenship in 1980 and adopted the Japanese name Daigoro Watanabe, his wife's family name. Takamiyama had been responsible for recruiting fellow Hawaiian Konishiki to Takasago stable in July 1982, while he was still an active wrestler. He subsequently opened his own training stable, Azumazeki-beya, in February 1986, the first foreign-born former wrestler to do so. Another Hawaiian, Akebono, became the stable's first sekitori in 1990, and became the first foreign-born yokozuna in 1993. One of Azumazeki's stated goals after this was to coach a Japanese wrestler to the top division, and this was achieved in July 2000 when the popular Takamisakari made his makuuchi debut. He was later joined by Ushiomaru, who in 2009 took over the running of the stable when Azumazeki reached the Sumo Association's mandatory retirement age of sixty-five. His farewell party at a local hotel in Tokyo on 6 June 2009 attracted 1000 guests, including Akebono and Konishiki. A congratulatory letter from US President Barack Obama was read out. Fighting style Takamiyama's technique was somewhat rudimentary (his eleven sanshō awards did not include a Technique Prize). He tended to rely on his strength and momentum rather than work on the opponent's mawashi with throwing moves. His two most common winning techniques were yorikiri (force out) and oshidashi (push out). Being exceptionally strong he regularly won by kimedashi (armlock force out) and tsuridashi (lift out). His balance was suspect, as his long legs meant he was rather top-heavy with his centre of gravity too high. As a result, he was often prone to being thrown by lighter, more agile opponents. At a peak weight of he was the heaviest sumo wrestler of his time. Two lightweights who he often had trouble with were Asahikuni and Washuyama. Career record See also List of sumo record holders List of sumo tournament top division champions Glossary of sumo terms List of past sumo wrestlers List of sekiwake Fred Kuhaulua - Cousin of Takamiyama References External links Azumazeki beya profile Article on Takamiyama Azumazeki Beya and Takamiyama combined feature Oral history interview 1944 births Living people American sumo wrestlers American emigrants to Japan Japanese sumo wrestlers Japanese people of Native Hawaiian descent Sekiwake Native Hawaiian sportspeople Naturalized citizens of Japan Sumo