Actress Misako Konno is a huge fan of sumo, to put it mildly.
Her love of sumo paid unexpected dividends in spring when she was appointed to the Yokozuna Deliberation Council, which is tasked with nominating wrestlers for the sport’s highest rank.
Konno joined the council, an advisory body to the Japan Sumo Association, with former Lower House member Yasuko Ikenobo. Screenwriter Makiko Uchidate was the only woman who served on the panel, which was set up in 1950, before the two.
A familiar face in TV dramas, films and plays, Konno, 61, talks nonstop when the subject turns to sumo.
“When I was a girl, I was determined to marry Wajima, Kitanofuji or Takanohana,” she said, referring to the popular wrestlers who dominated the dohyo as yokozuna, grand champion, or second-ranked ozeki during the 1970s.
