Sumo wrestling hero whose father was Ukrainian
SUMO WRESTLER
29-5-1940 - 19-1-2013
By MARGALIT FOX
TAIHO, widely considered the greatest sumo wrestler of postwar Japan despite the fact that he weighed scarcely more than 135 kilograms, has died of heart failure in Tokyo. He was 72.
Taiho, who made his debut in the mid-1950s, dominated his sport until the early 1970s. Standing about 1.85 metres and weighing about 100 kilograms at the start of his career, he was a sylph of sumo, relying on skill more than heft to win matches.
Later on he competed at about 145 kilograms, a figure that was then unremarkable and is today, in an era when sumo wrestlers can exceed 225 kilograms, negligible.
A ruggedly handsome man adored by a generation of Japanese women and girls (Emperor Hirohito was also said to be a fan), Taiho retired in 1971.
Taiho, whose Japanese name was Koki Naya, won the Emperor's Cup 32 times. The cup, an immense silver trophy awarded to the champion of sumo's top division, has long been the most coveted prize in all of Japanese sport.
The son of a Japanese mother and a Ukrainian father, Taiho was born Ivan Boryshko on Sakhalin Island, off the east coast of Siberia. Sakhalin had been colonised by the Soviet Union and Japan; at the end of World War II, the Soviets gained control of the island and Ivan and his mother were repatriated to Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan's major islands.
His father, an anti-communist who had fled his homeland for Sakhalin after the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, was apparently arrested. The family never learnt his fate; years later, touring the Soviet Union as a sumo star, Taiho reportedly sought his father's whereabouts to no avail.
He began his sumo career in 1956 and soon afterwards took the ring name Taiho, which roughly translates as "Great Phoenix". In 1960, when he won his first Emperor's Cup at 20, he was believed to be the youngest champion in sumo's 2000-year history.
The next year Taiho became a yokozuna, or grand master; at the time he was the youngest sumo wrestler to do so. Other highlights of his career include a 45-match unbeaten streak in the late 1960s.
After retiring from the sport, Taiho ran his own sumo stable. At 36 he had a stroke, but he recovered with intensive rehabilitation.
His record of 32 Emperor's cups remains unbroken to this day.
Frequently Asked Questions about this Article…
Taiho (Japanese name Koki Naya), born Ivan Boryshko, is widely regarded as the greatest postwar sumo wrestler. He dominated the sport from the mid-1950s through the early 1970s, won the Emperor's Cup a record 32 times, and set milestones—such as a long unbeaten run and becoming one of the youngest champions and yokozuna of his era.
Taiho was born on 29 May 1940 and died in Tokyo on 19 January 2013. The article reports he was 72 at the time of his death, which was attributed to heart failure.
Taiho won the Emperor's Cup 32 times—a record that the article says remains unbroken. Other career highlights include winning his first Emperor's Cup in 1960 at age 20, becoming a yokozuna in 1961 (then the youngest to do so), and compiling a 45-match unbeaten streak in the late 1960s.
Taiho was born Ivan Boryshko on Sakhalin Island to a Japanese mother and a Ukrainian father. After World War II he and his mother were repatriated to Hokkaido. His father, an anti-communist who had fled Ukraine after the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, was apparently arrested and the family never learned his fate; Taiho reportedly searched for him while touring the Soviet Union but to no avail.
The article describes Taiho as standing about 1.85 metres tall. It notes varying weights: about 100 kilograms at the start of his career, later around 145 kilograms, and also refers to him as weighing ‘scarcely more than 135 kilograms’—all small by today’s standards when some wrestlers exceed 225 kilograms. Taiho was prized for relying on skill and technique more than sheer heft.
Taiho began his sumo career in 1956 (the mid-1950s) and rose quickly: he won his first Emperor's Cup in 1960 and became a yokozuna in 1961. He retired from active competition in 1971.
After retirement Taiho ran his own sumo stable. He suffered a stroke at age 36 but recovered with intensive rehabilitation. He later died in Tokyo of heart failure in 2013.
Taiho was a hugely popular figure—described as ruggedly handsome and adored by a generation of Japanese women and girls—and was reportedly admired even by Emperor Hirohito. His ring name, Taiho, roughly translates to ‘Great Phoenix,’ and his record of 32 Emperor's Cups has cemented his legacy in sumo history.
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