The Greatest Ever? cont.
dohyo and in the public consciousness, for more than a decade.
Records

Taiho set a number of records in his career, some of which still stand. One record he pursued - Futabayama's 69-bout winning streak - was halted due to one of the most infamous judging errors in sumo history. Taiho had already achieved win streaks of 30 and 34 wins (twice). But in the 1969 Haru Basho, on a 45-bout winning streak, Taiho's 2nd Day match against East Maegashira 1 Toda became a matter of controversy. The gyoji initially called the match for Taiho, but, after a mono-ii, the shinpan (dohyo-side judges) overturned his verdict. However, photographs in the newspapers the following day clearly showed Toda stepping out first. (This embarrassing mistake is said to have been a major motivating factor in the use of instant replays to assist in the case of close matches.)

Perhaps his most enduring mark is his incredible 32 tournament championships. At the time he became yokozuna,

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The Hakuho Jidai: Climbing the Heights with His Great Rival

It is said that all dai-yokozuna need a great rival and Taiho found his in the form of Kashiwado. Kashiwado preceded Taiho in sumo entry, juryo entry and makuuchi entry by one to two years each. They would later even out as Taiho finally caught up to him at ozeki, though by that time, their rivalry had already started to make waves as they began to really develop their strength and attract public attention. Promoted to yokozuna together after their

yusho playoff in the 1961 Aki Basho, they would thereafter pursue very different career arcs. Kashiwado - the "Haku" in "Hakuho" - would be plagued by injuries and limited to just five yusho. Taiho - the "ho" in that jidai (era) name - enjoyed stronger health, racking up yusho after yusho through the years of their prime. Enemies at first, but later friends, they remained fierce rivals on the dohyo, with Kashiwado taking 16 of their 37 head-to-head career makuuchi matches, not counting two yusho playoffs won by Taiho. Together, they dominated sumo, both on the
Taiho's trophies