Yoshiki Fuse (Photo courtesy of Yoshiki Fuse)

       TOKYO -- New yokozuna Terunofuji won the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament on Sept. 26, his first title since being promoted to grand champion and his fifth tournament victory overall. His rise to the top of the sumo world after once dropping down to the fifth-tier jonidan division due to injury and illness has captured the hearts of sumo fans, while a certain grappler who inspired Terunofuji to rise from the bottom has also gained recognition.

       That wrestler is Yoshiki Fuse, 47, who came into the limelight about 30 years ago as a "one-armed high school rikishi."

       In April of this year, the 29-year-old Terunofuji, who had made a comeback to the sport's second-highest rank of ozeki and had begun training for the summer tournament, spoke out quietly.

       "In an old documentary program, I saw a man sumo wrestling with only one arm. And when I saw him wrestling so hard even though he was missing an arm, it made me want to do my best, too."

       In addition to injuries to both knees that contributed to his downfall, the Mongolian-born Terunofuji suffered from type 2 diabetes and hepatitis and faced losing his career as a wrestler and also his life.

       It was then that Isegahama stable wrestler Terunofuji happened to see the program, and he occasionally watched it again to gain courage. The one-armed wrestler featured in the program was Fuse when he was in high school.

       Fuse was born in Aomori Prefecture in northern Japan and was raised in Hokkaido. When he was in the second grade of elementary school, he lost his right arm from the elbow down when it was caught in an agricultural cutter. After the accident, he stayed in his shell and was cut out of his friends' group, but at the suggestion of his father, he started judo the following year.

       Yoshiki Fuse is seen in the sumo ring. (Photo courtesy of Yoshiki Fuse)

       At that time, the existence of sports for people with disabilities was not as well-known as it is today, and young Fuse felt comfortable competing alongside able-bodied people. Being a big-boned child, he began to win more and more, and "judo became the only thing I could feel confident about," Fuse recalled.

       In his third year of junior high school, Fuse's 176-centimeter and 110-kilogram physique looked very promising, and he started sumo in high school. After entering Hokkaido Ohno Agricultural High School, one of the sumo powerhouses in Japan's northernmost prefecture, he won the all Hokkaido tournament in 1991 when he was in his second year and finished in the top eight at the Inter-High School Sports Festival the following year.

       In the team competition at the sports festival, Fuse defeated Ryuta Tsushima, who later became komusubi Iwakiyama (now stablemaster Sekinoto). These achievements attracted the attention of the media, and a documentary program about him was produced.

       Fuse was also successful as a member of Takushoku University's sumo team, and later became a teacher at Takushoku University Daiichi High School in Tokyo. He founded a sumo club and teaches students, while continuing to compete in the amateur ring himself.

       "Sumo is a lifelong sport. I want to send the message that anyone can compete until their body stops working," Fuse said. As Terunofuji again rose to prominence and his comment was reported, Fuse's presence once again caught the attention of the sumo world. "It's not often that I get recognized by a professional rikishi, so I'm honored," he added.

       This summer, Fuse watched the Tokyo Paralympics with great interest. "Every time I watch the Paralympics, I feel the potential of human beings, like 'we can do this, we can do that,'" he said.

       "In my case, I was not made self-conscious about my disability -- thanks to the people I was involved with who treated me like an ordinary person, but there is no need to distinguish between people with disabilities and those without when playing sports. I am unique."

       Fuse hopes that the way he challenges himself will give courage to more people.

       (Japanese original by Masaru Kurokawa, Sports News Department)

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