is a

stable A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...

sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a '' rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring ('' dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by t ...

wrestlers, part of the Dewanoumi '' ichimon'' or group of stables. It has a long, prestigious history. Its current head coach is former ''

maegashira , 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 o ...

'' Oginohana. As of January 2022 it had 15 wrestlers.

History

The stable's rise to prominence was due to the 19th ''

yokozuna , 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 on ...

'' Hitachiyama, who transformed it from a minor stable when he joined sumo into a powerful recruiting house when he retired in 1914 and became its head coach. Under his leadership the stable produced three yokozuna, Ōnishiki, Tochigiyama and Tsunenohana, '' ōzeki'' Kyushuzan, Tsushimanada, Ōnosato, and Hitachiiwa, and 20 other top division wrestlers. At its peak the stable contained over 200 wrestlers, and Hitachiyama's refusal to allow any of his disciples to break away and form new stables when they retired ensured its dominance remained after his death in 1922 at the age of 48. Tsuneohana was the ''rijichō'', or head of the

Japan Sumo Association The is the body that operates and controls professional sumo wrestling (called ''Ōzumō'', 大相撲) in Japan under the jurisdiction of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). '' Rikishi'' (active ...

from 1944 to 1957, and every subsequent head from 1968 to 1998, including former Dewanohana Kuniichi and the 50th ''yokozuna'' Sadanoyama, was a member of the Dewanoumi ''ichimon''. The 57th ''yokozuna'' Mienoumi was the first Dewanoumi stable member to be permitted to branch out and open a new stable, which he did in 1981 with Musashigawa stable. (A previous ''yokozuna'' from the stable, Chiyonoyama, had been thrown out of the Dewanoumi ''ichimon'' in 1967 after setting up Kokonoe stable). Long time head Sadanoyama stood down in 1996, passing control over to former ''sekiwake'' Washūyama. The demotion of Futen'ō to the ''

makushita Professional sumo as administered by the Japan Sumo Association is divided into six ranked divisions. Wrestlers are promoted and demoted within and between these divisions based on the merit of their win–loss records in official tournaments. Fo ...

'' division in July 2010 left the stable without any ''

sekitori A ''sekitori'' (関取) is a '' rikishi'' (力士, sumo wrestler) who is ranked in one of the top two professional divisions: '' makuuchi'' and ''jūryō''. The name literally translates to having taken the barrier, as only a relatively small fra ...

'' (wrestlers in the salaried divisions) for the first time since 1898. This continued until was promoted to the ''jūryō'' division for the November 2014 tournament (in which he managed only five wins and was immediately demoted). In January 2015 the stable saw former ''

Towanoyama Towanoyama Yoshimitsu (born July 10, 1977 as Akihito Kobayashi) is a former sumo wrestler from Toshima, Tokyo, Japan. He made his professional debut in 1993. His highest rank was ''maegashira'' 13, achieved in March 2002. He had many injury proble ...

announce his retirement, leaving and the 44-year-old , with four tournaments in ''jūryō'' between them, as the only other wrestlers apart from Dewahayate with any ''sekitori'' experience. However shortly afterwards the stable recruited former amateur ''yokozuna'' Mitakeumi who quickly made ''jūryō'' in July 2015 and the top ''

makuuchi , 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 o ...

'' division in January 2016. In July 2017 he became the first member of the stable to reach ''

sekiwake , 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 o ...

'' rank since 1982, and in July 2018 the first to win a top division championship for the stable since Mienoumi in 1980. In January 2022, Mitakeumi won his third top division ''yūshō'', and was promoted to ''ōzeki''.

People

Ring name conventions

Many wrestlers at this stable take ring names or ''

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'' ...

'' that begin with the characters 出羽 (read: dewa), which are taken from the first two characters of the stable's name.

Owners

*2014–present: 11th Dewanoumi Akikazu ('' riji'', former ''maegashira'' Oginohana) *1996-2014: 10th Dewanoumi Yoshikazu ('' riji'', former ''

'' Washūyama) *1968-1996: 9th Dewanoumi Tomotaka ( the 50th ''yokozuna'' Sadanoyama) *1960-1968: 8th Dewanoumi Yoshihide (former ''maegashira'' Dewanohana) *1949-1960: 7th Dewanoumi Hidemitsu ( the 31st ''yokozuna'' Tsunenohana) *1922-1949: 6th Dewanoumi Kajinosuke (former ''

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 o ...

Ryōgoku is a district in Sumida, Tokyo. It is surrounded by various districts in Sumida, Chūō, and Taitō wards: Yokoami, Midori, Chitose, Higashi Nihonbashi, and Yanagibashi. In 1659, the Ryōgoku Bridge was built, spanning the Sumida River ju ...

) *1914-1922: 5th Dewanoumi Taniemon ( the 19th ''yokozuna'' Hitachiyama) *1890-1914: 4th Dewanoumi Unemon (former ''

'' Hitachiyama) *c. 1862-1890: 3rd Dewanoumi (former ''

'' Katsuragawa)

Coaches

*Dekiyama Sōichi (''

consultant A consultant (from la, consultare "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice and other purposeful activities in an area of specialization. Consulting servi ...

'', former ''sekiwake'' Dewanohana) *Nakadachi Yasuteru (''iin'', former ''komusubi'' Oginishiki) *Takasaki Ryūsui (''iin'', former ''maegashira'' Kinkaiyama)

Notable wrestlers

Active

* Mitakeumi (best rank: '' ōzeki'')

Former

* Hitachiyama ( the 19th ''yokozuna'') * Ōnishiki ( the 26th ''yokozuna'') * Tochigiyama ( the 27th ''yokozuna'') * Tsunenohana ( the 31st ''yokozuna'') * Musashiyama ( the 33rd ''yokozuna'') * Akinoumi ( the 37th ''yokozuna'') * Chiyonoyama ( the 41st ''yokozuna'') * Sadanoyama ( the 50th ''yokozuna'') * Mienoumi ( the 57th ''yokozuna'') * Hitachiiwa (former '' ōzeki'') * Shionoumi (former ''ōzeki'') * Masuiyama (former ''ōzeki'') *

(former ''sekiwake'') * Tenryū (former ''sekiwake'') * Dewaminato (former ''sekiwake'') * Dewanohana (former ''sekiwake'') * Ōnishiki (former ''komusubi'') * Mainoumi (former ''komusubi'') * Dewanohana (former ''maegashira'') * Kushimaumi (former ''maegashira'')

Assistant

*Fukuryūdake ('' sewanin'', former ''jūryō'', real name Shigeo Nakao)

Referee

*Kimura Chishū ('' juryo'' '' gyōji'', real name Ryōta Kobayashi)

Usher

*Yōhei (''makushita'' '' yobidashi'', real name Yōhei Kadooka)

Hairdressers

*Tokoriki (fourth class ''

tokoyama A is a hairdresser employed by the Japan Sumo Association to cut and prepare sumo wrestlers' hair, which is done in the style. The Sumo Association ranks them according to experience and ability and only the most senior are entitled to prepar ...

'')

Location and access

Tokyo, Sumida Ward, Ryōgoku 2-3-15
7 minute walk from

Ryōgoku Station is a railway station in Yokoami, Sumida, Tokyo, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation (Toei). Lines The station is served by the JR East Chūō-Sōbu Line and the Toei Oedo L ...

on Sōbu Line

References

External links

Official site

Japan Sumo Association profile
{{coord, 35.6924, N, 139.7926, E, source:wikidata, display=title Active sumo stables