Some ceremonies have a deep significance, stretching back centuries in time, laden with both obvious and more obscure meaning. Such was the ceremony to cut away the topknot (danpatsu-shiki) of retired champion Hakuho, on Saturday in Tokyo. Worn in a bun throughout the career of a rikishi, the strand-by stand cutting for Hakuho was performed by no less than 280 acquaintances, including past wrestlers, prominent figures, even a former Prime Minister.

Many have waxed lyrical about the achievements of the retired Yokozuna - the greatest of all time - in my estimation, so this ceremony had a particular significance both for fans and Hakuho himself. As the knot was finally cut, the great man wept.

"There is a sense of loneliness, as if losing a part of my body," he said at the conclusion.

Of course, he lives on now as the stablemaster Miyagino and we might expect some quality wrestlers to emerge from that quarter in coming years.

Musician Yoshiki snips at the famous topknot.

Photo courtesy Asahi Shimbun