Toshihide Takaya is becoming a more familiar name to members of the increasing number of sumo clubs in the United States and Europe. Toshihide was the sport's 59th Yokozuna - the highest rank in professional sumo. He is now the head coach of Naruto stable. He played football and judo before turning to sumo. A late developer, he began his sumo training in 1968 he did not reach the Yokozuna ranks until 1979 when he was almost thirty one years old.

Toshihide won his first top division championship in September 1982 with a perfect 15-0 record. His fourth tournament championship in January 1984 proved to be his last, He missed most of 1985 through injury, only managing to complete one tournament. He announced his retirement in January 1986 at the age of 33 and became a sumo stablemaster.

There are a few perks in being a sumo wrestler . They are huge sex symbols in Japan similar to rock stars. The ladies love them, although their girth may prevent them from enjoying all of the positions in the Kama Sutra.

However, life is especially harsh for new recruits to whom the worst jobs tend to be allocated, and there is a high dropout rate.The negative effects of the sumo lifestyle become dangerously apparent later in life. They have a life expectancy of between 60 and 65, more than ten years shorter than the average Japanese male. They often develop diabetes, high blood pressure, and are prone to heart attacks. The Sumo Association prescribes the an exceptional strict behavior regimen of its wrestlers .. For example, in the wake of a serious car accident involving a wrestler, the Association banned wrestlers from driving their own cars. Breaking the rules can result in fines and/or suspension, not only for the offending wrestler, but also for his stablemaster.

One of the stablemaster's jobs is to fatten up his protégés with a daily course of chanko. Chanko dates to at least the late 19^th century, when short-order cooks from Niigata prefecture fixed meals for wrestlers. The word "chan" (regional dialect for "father") was conflated with "nabe," the name for one-pot meals often served at the table. It is the main course of a sumo meal, and the sumo wrestlers have to eat it, whether they like it or not.

Chanko contains a dashi or chicken broth soup base with sake to add flavor. The bulk of chanko is made up of large quantities of protein sources (usually chicken, fish tofu (and vegetables (daikon, bok choy, etc). While considered a reasonably healthy dish in its own right, chanko is very protein-rich and usually served in massive quantities, with beer and rice to increase the caloric intake. Chanko has become a popular restaurant item in Japan and many retired sumo stablemasters often open chanko restaurants.

So the only appropriate way to celebrate Toshihide's birthday is with a bowl of chanko and a beer while watching the fascinating documentary about non-Japanese sumo wrestlers, Sumo East and West (2003). You may want invite over a few of your anorexic friends to introduce them to this addictive dish which is best enjoyed seminude while wearing the traditional mawashi which resembles a diaper. It is folded sideways six times, then wrapped around the waist multiple times and attached around the groin with a strap.

Chanko

Ingredients

2 lbs chicken
5 leeks
4 carrots
1 large potato
10 shitake mushrooms
2 medium onions

4 cups bok choy
1 cup tofu
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1/4 cup sake
1/4 tsp white vinegar

Instructions

Bone the chicken and cut the meat into chunks 1-1/2 to 2 inches, reserving the bones. Cut the leeks and 3 of the carrots into bite-sized pieces. Put the chicken bones, leeks, and carrots into a large saucepan, fill it with water, and bring to the boil. Turn the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for 3 hours to make stock, then strain.
Cut the radish and potato into bite-sized pieces and parboil in lightly salted water in a separate pot; drain. Cut off and discard the mushroom stalks; cut the mushroom caps and the onion into quarters. Chop the cabbage into small pieces, and cut the remaining carrot and the deep-fried tofu into chunks.
Put the chicken meat and all the vegetables except t potato into the stock pot, together with the soy sauce. Add the radish and potato when the other vegetables are cooked. Season to taste with sake and vinegar and simmer a few minutes more. Serve hot.