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Tachiyama
was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Toyama City, Toyama Prefecture. He was the sport's 22nd ''yokozuna''. He was well known for his extreme strength and skill. He won 99 out of 100 matches from 1909 to 1916 (not counting draws), and also won eleven top division tournament championships (two of them unofficial as they were before the championship system was established in 1909). Career His real name was . Tachiyama joined Tomozuna stable at the insistence of Itagaki Taisuke and Saigō Tsugumichi. However, he was so strong that most of the wrestlers in the stable were unable to practice with him. Therefore, Hitachiyama Taniemon became his practical coach. He was promoted to ''yokozuna'' in February 1911. His most feared skill was ''tsuki'', or pushing. On the 3rd day of June 1910 tournament, Tachiyama's thrusts caused ''komusubi'' Kohitachi Yoshitaro to fly over spectators where he fell in the fourth row of seats. Kohitachi was wounded and left the tournament. Tachiy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nishinoumi Kajirō II
was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler. He was the sport's 25th ''yokozuna''. Career His real name was , but he later changed his surname to . He entered sumo in January 1900, using the ''shikona'' name . He changed it to in May 1905, and was promoted to the top ''makuuchi'' division in May 1906. A month later he changed his ring name again, this time to . He changed his ''shikona'' for the last time in January 1914, when he took the given name Kajirō. Nishinoumi was awarded a ''yokozuna'' licence by the house of ''Yoshida Tsukasa'' in February 1916 after winning a championship at the January 1916 tournament. He was 36 years old at the time of his promotion, making him the oldest wrestler to be promoted to ''yokozuna'' in the 20th century. In the top ''makuuchi'' division, he won 106 bouts and lost 38 bouts, recording a winning percentage of 73.6. He was the only wrestler to defeat Tachiyama between 1909 and 1916, his victory in January 1912 preventing Tachiyama from r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Unryū Kyūkichi
was a Japanese sumo wrestler from Yanagawa, Chikugo Province. He was the sport's 10th ''yokozuna''. Career He was born in Yanagawa, Fukuoka, but would later change his name to . He lost his parents and grandmother in 1833. He made his debut in Osaka sumo in May 1846. He moved to Edo in 1847. He was promoted to the top ''makuuchi'' division in February 1852. Unryū was a strong wrestler at the beginning of his career. He had the equivalent of four consecutive championships upon entering the top ''makuuchi'' division (those this was before the championship system established in 1909). On the occasion of Matthew C. Perry's visit to Japan, he had an opportunity to display his wrestling prowess in a tournament Perry and his military advisors attended. He was promoted to '' ōzeki'' in January 1858. He was awarded a ''yokozuna'' licence in September 1861, but by that time he had already passed his peak and was unable to win a significant number of bouts after that. In the top ''mak ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tochigiyama Moriya
was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler. He was the sport's 27th ''yokozuna'' from 1918 until 1925. Generally he is considered one of the pioneers of modern sumo. He remains the lightest ''yokozuna'' in the history of the sport with a weight of 104 kg. Early career He was born , but later changed his surname to . He entered sumo in February 1911, using the ''shikona'' until changing the given name to Moriya in January 1914. His coach Hitachiyama Taniemon did not expect him to be strong owing to his light weight. However, Tochigiyama lost only 3 bouts on his way to the top ''makuuchi'' division, achieving promotion in January 1915. Tochigiyama defeated Tachiyama Mineemon, ending his series of 56 victories, on the 8th day of the May 1916 tournament. Tochigiyama was promoted to '' ōzeki'' in May 1917. After he won his first two championships at ''ōzeki'' without suffering a single defeat, he was promoted to ''yokozuna'' in February 1918. Yokozuna Tochigiyama won a thi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hitachiyama Taniemon
was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture. He was the sport's 19th ''yokozuna'' from 1903 till 1914. His great rivalry with Umegatani Tōtarō II created the "Ume-Hitachi Era" and did much to popularise sumo. He is remembered as much for his exploits in promoting the sport as for his strength on the ''dohyō.'' In his later years as head coach of Dewanoumi stable he trained hundreds of wrestlers, including three ''yokozuna''. Many consider him the most honorable ''yokozuna'' in sumo history, which earned him the nickname , or "sumo saint". Early career Hitachiyama was born as , on January 19, 1874, to a samurai family which belonged to the Mito Domain. His family was dismissed by the Meiji restoration authorities and was ruined financially. He moved to Tokyo and became dependent on his uncle. He attempted to enter Waseda University where his uncle was employed. At around this time, however, his uncle observed that he was able to lift a rock weighi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yokozuna (sumo)
, or , is the top division of the six divisions of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers ('' rikishi''), ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments. This is the only division that is featured on NHK's standard live coverage of sumo tournaments. The lower divisions are shown on their satellite coverage, with only the ''makuuchi'' broadcast having bilingual English commentary. ''Makuuchi'' literally means "inside the curtain", a reference to the early period of professional sumo, when there was a curtained-off area reserved for the top ranked wrestlers, to sit before appearing for their bouts. Wrestlers are considered for promotion or demotion in rank before each grand tournament according to their performance in the one previous. Generally, a greater number of wins than losses ('' kachi-koshi'') results in a promotion, and the reverse ('' make-koshi'') results in demotion. There are stricter crit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Komusubi
, or , is the top division of the six divisions of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers ('' rikishi''), ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments. This is the only division that is featured on NHK's standard live coverage of sumo tournaments. The lower divisions are shown on their satellite coverage, with only the ''makuuchi'' broadcast having bilingual English commentary. ''Makuuchi'' literally means "inside the curtain", a reference to the early period of professional sumo, when there was a curtained-off area reserved for the top ranked wrestlers, to sit before appearing for their bouts. Wrestlers are considered for promotion or demotion in rank before each grand tournament according to their performance in the one previous. Generally, a greater number of wins than losses ('' kachi-koshi'') results in a promotion, and the reverse ('' make-koshi'') results in demotion. There are stricter crit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shikona
A is a sumo wrestler's ring name. The tradition of ring names in sumo dates back to the Edo period, where they were used as a means to attract customers and hide the identities of the '' rikishi''. Like standard Japanese names, a ''shikona'' consists of a surname and a personal, or given name, and the full name is written surname first. However, the personal name is rarely used outside formal or ceremonial occasions. Thus, the former '' yokozuna'' is usually referred to as simply ''Asashōryū''. When addressing a sumo wrestler of the '' makuuchi'' or ''jūryō'' divisions, the suffix is used instead of the usual . The given name is often, but not always, the wrestler's original name, and may be changed at the whim of the individual wrestler. Foreign wrestlers always adopt a new, Japanese given name. Often, on first joining professional sumo, a wrestler's ''shikona'' is the same as his family name. As a wrestler rises through the ranks of sumo, he is expected to change his ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yūshō
is the term for a championship in Japanese. This article focuses on championships in the sport of professional sumo. It is awarded in each of the six annual '' honbasho'' or official tournaments, to the wrestler who wins the most bouts. ''Yūshō'' are awarded in all six professional sumo divisions. The prize money for a top '' makuuchi'' division championship is currently 10 million yen, while for the lowest '' jonokuchi'' division the prize is 100,000 yen. A runner-up is referred to as a ''jun-yūshō.'' Perhaps surprisingly, considering that most of the interest in tournaments today revolves around who will win the ''yūshō'', the concept of a prize for a wrestler's individual performance is a relatively recent one. Legendary wrestlers such as Tanikaze and Raiden are credited today with winning many championships, but they are all unofficial and are really nothing more than a "best tournament record." The individual ''yūshō'' idea evolved gradually, from wrestlers s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ōnishiki Uichirō
was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler. He was the sport's 26th ''yokozuna''. On November 2, 1922, he became the first ''yokozuna'' to perform the '' yokozuna dohyō-iri'' at the Meiji Shrine. Biography He was born , in Osaka on November 25, 1891. Ōnishiki trained under former ''yokozuna'' Hitachiyama Taniemon, joining his Dewanoumi stable. He was promoted to the top ''makuuchi'' division in January 1915. After finishing the May 1915 tournament with a 9–1 record at the ''komusubi'' rank, he was promoted to '' ōzeki''. He won his first ''yūshō'' or championship with a perfect 10–0 record in the January 1917 tournament and was promoted to ''yokozuna''. He reached the top ''yokozuna'' rank after only five tournaments, which is the all-time record. He lost only 16 bouts in his entire career. He won five top division tournament championships and was runner-up in four others. He was very smart in comparison with most sumo wrestlers of his era, and so he was very strong a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tamanishiki San'emon
was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Kōchi. He was the sport's 32nd ''yokozuna''. He won a total of nine top division ''yūshō'' or tournament championships from 1929 to 1936, and was the dominant wrestler in sumo until the emergence of Futabayama. He died whilst still an active wrestler. Career He was born . He joined Nishonoseki stable but the stable was very small at that time. Therefore, he often visited Dewanoumi stable and was trained by ''yokozuna'' Tochigiyama Moriya. He later became head coach of Nishonoseki stable whilst still active in the ring, and under his leadership the stable enjoyed one of its most successful periods in its history. Tamanishiki won three consecutive championships from October 1930 to March 1931, but he was not promoted to ''yokozuna''. In January 1932, the broke out. The incident was the biggest walkout in sumo history. He was one of eleven top division wrestlers who remained in sumo and became the first head of , or the assoc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dohyō
A ''dohyō'' (, ) is the space in which a sumo wrestling bout occurs. A typical ''dohyō'' is a circle made of partially buried rice-straw bales 4.55 meters in diameter. In official professional tournaments (''honbasho''), it is mounted on a square platform of clay 66 cm high and 6.7m wide on each side. Configuration and construction In professional sumo, a new ''dohyō'' is built prior to each tournament by the '' yobidashi'' (ring attendants), who are responsible for this activity. The process of building the ''dohyō'' and its 66 cm high platform takes three days and is done with traditional tools. The clay used is taken from the banks of the Arakawa River in Saitama Prefecture. However, due to growing urbanization, clay from Ibaraki Prefecture has started to be used. The surface is covered by sand. The ''dohyō'' is removed after each tournament and in the case of Nagoya, pieces are taken home by the fans as souvenirs. The ''yobidashi'' also build the ''dohyō'' fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hakuhō Shō
; , lead=yes) is a retired professional sumo wrestler (''rikishi'') from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Making his debut in March 2001, he reached the top ''makuuchi'' division in May 2004. In May 2007, at the age of 22, he became the second native of Mongolia, and the fourth non-Japanese overall, to be promoted to the highest rank in sumo, ''yokozuna''. In 2009, he broke the record for the most wins in a calendar year, winning 86 out of 90 bouts, and repeated this feat with the same record again in 2010 when he established the second longest winning streak in sumo history. He also holds the record for the most undefeated tournament championships at sixteen, which is eight more than any other sumo wrestler in history. He was the only active ''yokozuna'' from 2010, following the retirement of his rival and fellow Mongolian Asashōryū, until 2012 with the promotion of fellow Mongolian Harumafuji. In March 2021, he became the only active ''yokozuna'' once again following the retireme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_IMG_1452_20130302.JPG "Click for more on -> Shikona")
