KONISHIKI: I came from a typical Samoan family. I’m no different from any Mexican, any Haitian fleeing his country or any Cuban just off the boat. We’re all trying to survive, make life better.
Too poor. I learned from watching my older brothers and sisters go through college that it was a lot of money. When sumo came, they told me I didn’t need anything: no money, just pack your bag and come. Why not? Free trip.
I came over in my [Samoan wrap] and a T shirt, with my Bible, a picture album, my graduation shoes, slacks and aloha shirt. That’s all I had. I had no money. That was the longest trip I ever took, man.
The feeling, being scared of what I don’t know. I don’t know anything about sumo wrestling. I don’t know who I’m going to see. I can’t talk to nobody. All I can do is stand there and smile and growl and pray that somebody can show me something.
My life as a son in the family was harder than sumo, discipline-wise. Anyone can take their body to a certain level, but to take it to another level you have to be mentally strong.
They looked at my size, surprised by how big I was. The first thing they did was bring the strongest guy over to arm-wrestle with me, the highest ranked and one young one who was really strong. I put their arms to the wall, to the floor. They were just testing my strength and using me as a clown while they could.
Your lifestyle changes to reflect the level you’re at. I get more time to myself, I
get a separate room, I get to eat first, sleep first, washed down, everything in your life changes.
I enjoyed it, to tell you the truth. In the first 10 years the pressure of not knowing you would win, not knowing you wanted to win, made you strive. After that I just want to do the best I can. I was trying not to push it too much and get injuries because I was getting bigger and heavier and scary. But I did have fun, different fun. Just being there was fun for me.
There’s not much big change. They are talking about the bubble, but did prices change? No. The cost of living here in Japan is still high. At a certain level of business, that’s where the trouble is. The people that made it at that time didn’t know how to handle themselves, the pocketbook. But in Japan, the youngsters now, they’re learning how to survive on their own. They don’t care how they look or what they’re eating. They’re more into “I want to be this,” and they set a goal. I see this in the youngsters now.
