Tongan Ex - Wrestler Retains Sign Of Asahiyama Sumo Stable

Without any wrestlers, and marked by a large wooden sign reading "Asahiyama-beya," the stable is home to Tevita Vaiola Falevai, 60, one of four Tongan men sent to Japan more than 40 years ago by king Taufa'ahau Tupou IV (1918-2006) in an ultimately unsuccessful bid to make sumo Tonga's second national sport after rugby.
The four, who were among youths who received coaching from the Asahiyama stable during a sumo demonstration in Tonga, flew to Japan and joined the stable in October 1974.