Ōnobori Mitsuhiro (born Isamu Ishida, August 1, 1925 – March 1, 2009) was a

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 th ...

wrestler and coach from

Karuizawa, Nagano is a resort town located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 20,323 in 9897 households, and a population density of 130 persons per km2. The total area of the town is . Originally, there was a stage station ( ...

, Japan. He made his professional debut in January 1941, reaching a highest rank of ''

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 on ...

'' 1. He retired in 1957. From 1971 to 1990 he was the head coach of Kasugayama stable.

Career

He joined Kasugayama stable in 1941, recruited by the 14th Kasugayama Oyakata, ex-''sekiwake''

Fujinokawa Fujinokawa Takeo (born 26 September 1946 as Takeo Morita) is a former sumo wrestler from Otofuke, Hokkaido, Japan. He made his professional debut in May 1961 and reached a highest rank of '' sekiwake'' in May 1967. He was a runner-up in two top ...

. However the stable shut down in 1947 and he was transferred to

Tatsunami stable is a stable of sumo wrestlers, formerly the head of the Tatsunami ''ichimon'' or group of stables. As of January 2023 it had 20 wrestlers. Previously situated in sumo's heartland of Ryōgoku nearby the Kokugikan stadium, it briefly moved in ...

. In 1955 the stable was revived by ex-''ozeki'' Nayoroiwa and he once again became a member of Kasugayama stable. He reached the top ''

makuuchi , or , is the top division of Professional sumo divisions, 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 ...

'' division in 1951 and in just his second tournament in the division he had his greatest success, finishing runner-up to

Chiyonoyama was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Fukushima, Hokkaidō. He was the sport's 41st ''yokozuna'' from 1951 until 1959. He is regarded as the first "modern" ''yokozuna'' in that he was promoted by the Japan Sumo Association itself and n ...

in May 1951 with a 12–3 record and winning the Fighting Spirit

prize A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

. In January 1955 he defeated ''

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 o ...

Tochinishiki was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Tokyo. He was the sport's 44th ''makuuchi#Yokozuna, yokozuna''. He won ten top division ''yūshō'' or tournament championships and was a rival of fellow ''yokozuna'' Wakanohana Kanji I, Wakanohana ...

to earn his only ''

kinboshi is a notation used in professional 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 oth ...

,'' or gold star. Although he scored ten wins against five losses from ''

'' 5 in this tournament, there was no ''

sanyaku The following words are terms used in sumo wrestling in Japan. A B C D E F G H ...

'' position open for him and he was ranked at ''maegashira'' 1 on the ''

banzuke A , officially called is a document listing the rankings of professional sumo wrestlers published before each official tournament ('' honbasho''). The term can also refer to the rankings themselves. The document is normally released about two ...

'' in the following tournament in March 1955. He scored only two wins against thirteen losses, and this was to be his highest rank. After 21 top division tournaments he was demoted to the juryo division after the May 1956 tournament. He did not compete on the '' dohyo'' again, officially retiring in January 1957.

Retirement from sumo

Onobori remained in sumo as an elder of the

Japan Sumo Association The , officially the ; sometimes abbreviated JSA or NSK, and more usually called Sumo Kyōkai, is the governing body that operates and controls Professional sports, professional sumo wrestling, called , in Japan under the jurisdiction of the Min ...

, working as a coach at his old stable under a variety of elder names. In January 1971 he became head coach of Kasugayama stable following the death of ex-Nayoroiwa. He raised Kasugafuji, who also reached the rank of ''maegashira'' 1. Onobori was a director of the Sumo Association for four years from 1982, and an auditor from 1986. One of his nieces married

Asahifuji is a Japanese former professional sumo wrestler from Aomori. He joined professional sumo in 1981, reaching the top ''makuuchi'' division just two years later. He reached the second highest rank of '' ōzeki'' in 1987 and became the 63rd ''yokoz ...

in 1988. He reached the mandatory retirement age of 65 in 1990, and Kasugayama stable was wound up and absorbed into Ajigawa stable (although it was later revived by Kasugafuji upon his own retirement). Onobori died in Tokyo in March 2009 at the age of 83, from pneumonia.

Pre-modern career record

*''The New Year tournament began and the Spring tournament returned to Osaka in 1953.''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Onobori, Mitsuhiro 1925 births 2009 deaths Japanese sumo wrestlers Sumo people from Nagano Prefecture

Career

Retirement from sumo

Pre-modern career record

See also

References