BIG IN JAPAN
 Konishiki
For over a decade, Konishiki' take-no- prisoners stare and massive 640-pound frame made
him one of Japan's most feared, and most successful, sumo wrestlers. Two years after his
retirement, however, Konishiki has mellowed mellowed to the point where he can be found
on television wearing a pink bunny suit or lying leisurely on an inner-tube raft in a
Hawaiian lagoon.
Whether co-hosting a prime time television talk show or appearing in a variety of
commercials, the 37-year-old Konishiki has literally become the "biggest" hit in
Japan's entertainment industry, overtaking Arnold Schwarznegger as Japan's most popular
foreign-born pitch man.
"He's ten times as popular now as he was when he was a wrestler," said Tatsuo
Sekine, the president of TV Commercial Research Center, an organization which has ranked
Konishiki's ads first on four occasions.
"I enjoy every second," Konishiki said of his new profession in an interview
with the Associated Press. "I'm just being myself."
One of nine children whose father was a civilian worker at the US Navy base at Pearl
Harbor, Salevaa Atisanoe (Konishiki's name at birth) says he would never have left his
hometown of Nanakuli, on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, if a sumo recruiter hadn't been
persistent in persuading him to come to Tokyo.
A former football player with zero experience in sumo, Konishiki kept getting knocked and
slapped out of the ring early in his career. But he persevered to compile one of the best
records in sumo history, 733 wins against 498 losses. After matches he always seemed to
wear a smile. "Win or lose, it didn't matter," said sports fan Shinichiro
Kawakami to Newsweek. "He was spellbinding."
Changing careers after retirement coupled with his laid-back persona could also be
appealing to the Japanese, striking a chord in this fast-paced, workaholic country. Taking
a new direction in mid-career, especially for sumo wrestlers, is still close to
impossible. With no more pressure from the tournaments and with the strict etiquette of
sumo no longer a part of his life, Konishiki spends more time at home with his wife,
Sumika, a former model.
Also, with no more twice-a-day servings of sumo's chanko nabe - a stew devoured by sumo
wrestlers filled with, um, nutrients - Konishiki has been eating smaller, more regular
meals every day. The result? He's close to 70 pounds thinner. "I feel great,"
Konishiki told Newsweek recently.
A naturalized Japanese citizen, Konishiki has a keen interest in children. He often
appears at fundraisers for charities in Japan, and he does commercials for the Education
Ministry telling kids to study. He also has set up a foundation for needy Hawaiian
children, Konishiki Kids Foundation, which has sent 35 Hawaiian sixth-graders to visit
Japan.
"It's entirely possible he could ride his popularity to become Japan's first
foreign-born lawmaker," said Hidehiko Sekizawa, an advertising research executive.
But according to a spokesman, the possibility of Konishiki entering yet another profession
is "virtually zero." But, he added, he wouldn't rule it out. And why not? After
performing in a sumo loincloth and then a pink bunny suit, Konishiki might find a
politician's blue suit an easy fit.
Larry Cafiero |
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