A top-knotted giant last week became the 40th sumo wrestler to attain the title of Grand Champion (yokozuna), the goal of hundreds of mammoth aspirants. The latest edition to this coveted circle was Azumafuji, a likable 27 year old wrestler tipping the scales at 371 pounds.
    Popular with fans for his clean wrestling, Azumafuji is the second "yedokko" (native of Tokyo) to gain "yokozuna" recognition. The first was Kenshiro Wakashima way back in 1905.
    Like most wrestlers, Azuma - fans leave out the "fuji" when referring to him - came up the ladder of sumo success the hard way. As a teenage youth of 15, Azuma made his debut in the sumo ring. He had previously been picked out for his strength and size.
    After six years of strenuous training and loads of food, Azuma broke into the "juryo" class. From that classification to the rank of Grand Champion was a long climb of seven years - with its share of ups and downs and plenty of heartbreaks along the way.
    Azuma gained top ranking by winning the summer tournament and by finishing the Osaka tournament with a record of 10 wins and one defeat, while having maintained a credible record for the past several years.
    Sumo of late has lost greatly in popular appeal, and much of it has been due to the lack of a great champion like Futabayama who ruled the sumo ring for almost a decade. The retirement of Futabayama - who broke into print last year when he threw several policemen in attempting to protect a self-styled "goddess" founder of religious cult - has been a blow from which the sumo sport has yet to recover.
    Sumo fans hope that Azuma will prove a worthy successor to the great Futabayama. Azuma has plenty of class and color, and sports lovers will be looking forward to his performances in the spring tournament in January.