Person of Cultural Merit
However, from 1966, the increasing deterioration of his eyesight led to near blindness, and Funahashi resorted to dictation in order to continue his literary activities. In 1967 he was awarded the Noma Award for "Sukina onna no munakazari" (好きな女の胸飾り). Long a proponent of sumo wrestling, and a member of the Sumo Promotion Council, he was chairman in 1969. In 1975, Funahashi was named a Person of Cultural Merit by the Japanese government.