TOKYO -- Akebono, a native Hawaiian who arrived in Japan as Chad Rowan and went on to become the sport's first foreign-born yokozuna, or grand champion, died at 54 of heart failure in Tokyo earlier this month.
Rowan was recruited to Japan by fellow Hawaiian Jesse Kualahula, who was the first foreign sumo wrestler to compete in Japan's ancient sport and took to the ring under the name Takamiyama.
