The grand champion Hakuhou lost on November 15th. He had 63 succesive victories, but his successive victories stopped. The opponent was Kisenosato who was a strong sumo wrestler, but his position was rather lower than Hakuhou.
Why did Hakuhou lose? They say that Hakuhou was off his guard, or Hakuhou had no head for Kisenosato. It is said that the most important reason was that Hakuhou's mind was not steady.
It is usually said that spirit, skill and a physical condition are important for victory. Hakuhou was good in skill and a physical condition.
The grand champion Hutabayama (1912〜1968) had 69 successive victories (about 70 years ago), and his record has not been broken until now.
When Hutabayama lost, he said that he was not a wooden gamecock yet. A wooden gamecock is the strongest gamecock in an old Chinese book of philosophy (Soushi). Is the spirit the most important after all?