Kum Yong-Gin, who heads the pro-Pyongyang Korean Amateur Athletic Association in Japan said "Rikidozan's reputation is still great" in North Korea partly due to the presence of his daughter.
Rikidozan reportedly sired a daughter by a Korean woman -- an Olympian who has four children -- before meeting Tanaka. One of these four children, Pak Hye-jong, took part in the Asian Games in South Korea last year as the women's weight-lifting coach.
Tanaka, who had one daughter by Rikidozan, and is now a grandmother, revealed he secretly visited South Korea in 1963 as an envoy to promote rapprochement talks with Japan. Her book contains pictures showing the wrestler meeting with South Korean leaders including the then intelligence chief.
The wrestler visited the Korean truce village of Panmunjom on the 38th parallel, stripped down to his waist and shouted across the border, "Hyonnim [older brother]," apparently calling to his sibling in the North, Tanaka said.
Rikidozan also donated a limousine to Kim Il-Sung.
"I understand that he wanted the Korean peninsula to become one neutral nation like Switzerland," she said, adding, "I want to build a bronze statue of Rikidozan on the 38th parallel and stage a pro-wrestling contest there."
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