Among tens awards of a live legend of sumo of Taykho Koki now there is also the Ukrainian award "For Merits" of the III degree. The unsurpassed athlete received it from Administration of the President of Victor Yanukovych.

The president of Ukraine intended to hand over personally him to a wrestling legend, but before ceremony of Taykho Koki ached. No wonder, after all it already old (71 years) also moves on a wheelchair. Therefore a meeting cancelled, and transfer of an award charged to Embassy of Ukraine in Japan.

Taykho Koki 32 times won the Imperial cup, and to anybody this record still didn't manage to be surpassed! In Japan on Koki look as at the relic and don't remember its Slavic roots.

Practically know nothing about "relationship" with a sumoist and inhabitants of Ukraine. From its native village Runovshchina of the Kharkov area there were no more than ten yards, Lenin da's monument school. The house of parents of a sumoist turned into ruins - Markiyana and Kia. But it and no wonder. Boryshko's family left Ukraine long ago. According to one data, even before revolution - in 1894. On another - much later: in the 41st year during the Great Patriotic War. They got over to Sakhalin where the fighter of sumo "all times and the people" was born.

The father of the athlete Markiyan was the youngest son, but also the most enterprising. In youth managed in the Far East to organize vinoochistny plant and a dairy farm. They say that Boryshko-san became the reason not to one sleepless night for beauties of the city of Sikuka, but married Nye Kia's dressmaker. To happiness of the Ukrainian and the Japanese I didn't prevent neither an age difference (18 years), nor quarrels with parents of the girl. Nye presented Markiyana of four children and helped to be engaged in farm affairs.

From the war beginning the Japanese police arrested Markiyan on suspicion in espionage, and the wife it was succeeded to run with children to parents. Small Ivan (so called at Taykho Koki's birth) was only three years old. But parents of Nai didn't wish to see neither it, nor her "Russian" children.

Out of Markiyan's prison I went in 1957 at the age of 72 years. Settled to work as the watchman in museum of local lore in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and there in three years  died, without having seen relatives. On a twist of fate of the 1960th I became year of triumph of his son Ivan, more precisely, Koki. It passed to the highest division of Japanese league of sumo and at once won the main prize for fight equipment. And in the 1962nd I took the first Cup of the emperor.

Koki I knew the origin. But I didn't like to speak about the country from which they with mother had to run, I concealed rage on the father who didn't find opportunity to meet the children. Neither a sumoist, nor his spouse don't own Ukrainian or Russian.

- In the east say that after 60 years at the person the second life begins. And so, and Koki began to see clearly, and already in old age started being interested in the Ukrainian roots, - Valentina Kurilenko, the principal in Runovshchina which collected materials about seven Boryshkos tells. - The sumoist didn't decide to arrive to Ukraine - sent the journalist. In 2002 I helped Fudzinori's Itera to get to the Poltava archive and to find all possible data about Boryshko. The journalist on the camera imprinted a place where there was a hut of grandfather Karp Boryshko, a well. I carried the Koki spring water and a handful of the Ukrainian earth. At our school there is a corner devoted to the glorified sumoist, and in Kharkov since 2002 the cup Taykho's Koki is played.

Olesya KUCHERENKO, Katerina ZORIN

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