Guests taking part in the hair-cutting ritual include US Ambassador to Japan Howard Baker, an ambassador representing the French President (and sumo fan) Jacques Chirac, Konishiki, Takanohana and finally Akebono's stablemaster Azumazeki Oyakata.
In 1999 he won the yūshō or tournament championship and earned promotion to the second highest rank of ōzeki, but he lost the rank in 2001 and, for the most part, remained a maegashira until his retirement in 2009.
2001 | 2001 in music | 2001 ATP Tour | 2001: A Space Odyssey | 2001: A Space Odyssey (film) | 2001 in film | United Kingdom general election, 2001 | 2001 in television | sumo | The Fast and the Furious (2001 film) | 2001 in sports | 2001 in baseball | 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship | Planet of the Apes (2001 film) | 2001 WTA Tour | 2001 Gujarat earthquake | Sumo | Major Indoor Soccer League (2001–2008) | 2001 anthrax attacks | Armageddon 2001 | 2001 World Championships in Athletics | 2001 Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy | Transnistrian presidential election, 2001 | Ocean's Eleven (2001 film) | Norwegian parliamentary election, 2001 | Enigma (2001 film) | Down to Earth (2001 film) | Alberta general election, 2001 | 2009 in sumo | 2001 Major League Baseball Draft |