is a

stable A stable is a building in which working animals are kept, especially horses or oxen. The building is usually divided into stalls, and may include storage for equipment and feed. Styles There are many different types of stables in use tod ...

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 ...

wrestlers, part of the Nishonoseki group of stables.

History

The stable was established in 1971 as Taihō stable by the 48th ''yokozuna''

Taihō Kōki was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler. He became the 48th ''yokozuna'' in 1961 at the age of 21, the youngest ever at the time. Kōki won 32 tournament championships between 1960 and 1971, a record that was unequalled until 2014. His domi ...

upon his retirement from wrestling. The stable branched off from Nishonoseki stable. The first ''

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 fr ...

'' the stable produced was Shishihō in 1977. The most successful wrestler was Ōzutsu, who reached the rank of ''

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 ...

.'' In May 1981 Taihō was persuaded by the editor of the English language sumo magazine '' Sumo World'' to accept a foreign wrestler, Philip Smoak of

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, who was with the stable for just two months. In 2003 Taihō passed control of the stable on to his son-in-law, former ''

'' Takatōriki since Taihō was approaching the age for mandatory retirement from 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 ...

. As the name of Taihō was an ''ichidai-toshiyori'' (one-generation elder name) it could not be passed on, so the stable was re-named Ōtake. In 2004, the Russian Rohō reached the top division and achieved his highest rank of ''komusubi'' but he was dismissed from sumo in September 2008 after failing a test for

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...

. In January 2010 the stable, along with the Takanohana, Ōnomatsu and Magaki stables, were ejected from the Nishonoseki ''

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

'' after Takanohana declared his intention to run as an unofficial candidate in the elections to the

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 sumo wrestling, called , in Japan under the jurisdiction of the Japanese Ministry of Ed ...

's board of directors. The ejected stables formed their own group, which gained ''ichimon'' status in 2014. In 2018 the stable joined the Nishonoseki ''ichimon''. In July 2010, Ōtake, the former Takatōriki, was dismissed from the Sumo Association for his involvement in a scandal over illegal betting. The stable was taken over by the former ''

jūryō 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 ...

'' wrestler Dairyū, who had been working as a coach at the stable under the name Futagoyama. In 2013, the Egyptian Ōsunaarashi reached the top division in 2013 but he was forced to retire in March 2018 after being caught driving without a license. As of May 2023, the stable had 13 active wrestlers. The stable still displays the red '' tsuna'' that Taihō wore while performing his ''

kanreki dohyo-iri In the Sinosphere, one's sixtieth birthday has traditionally held special significance. Especially when life expectancies were shorter, the sixtieth birthday was seen as a symbolic threshold for reaching old age and having lived a full life. Th ...

'' ceremony in 2000. In January 2018 a grandson of Taihō, Naya Kōnosuke, joined the stable. Naya was promoted to ''jūryō'' for the January 2021 tournament and changed his name to Ōhō. He is the second member of the stable to reach ''jūryō'' since the former Dairyū took over as head coach, following Ōsunaarashi. Another grandson of Taihō, , joined in November 2019 and was promoted to ''jūryō'' for the May 2025 tournament and a third, , joined in March 2020, but has not achieved ''

'' status.

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 Muromachi period and established itself during the Edo period, where they were used as a means to hide the identities of the . Given by the master to his di ...

'' that include the character 大 (read: ō or dai), which is used in the first character of the stable's name and also is in deference to the last two owners, whose former ''shikona'' also included this character. Examples of wrestlers who have incorporated this include Ōsunaarashi, Ōsuzuki, Daiseiryū and Dairyūki.

Owners

*2010-present: 17th Ōtake (''Iin'' former ''jūryō'' Dairyū) *2003 - 2010: 16th Ōtake (former ''sekiwake'' Takatōriki) *1971 - 2003: Taihō Kōki ( the 48th ''yokozuna'', Taihō)

Notable active wrestlers

File:Oho Konosuke20180526.jpg, Ōhō is a grandson of the stable's founder, Taihō File:Mudoho Kosei2022015.jpg, Another grandson, * Ōhō (best rank, ''sekiwake'') * (best rank, ''juryo'')

Notable former members

* Ōzutsu (former ''sekiwake'') * Rohō (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 ...

'') * Shishihō (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 on ...

'') * Ōnohana (former ''maegashira'') * Ōsunaarashi (former ''maegashira'') * Ōwakamatsu (former ''maegashira'')

Ushers

*Shirō (''

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

'' ''

yobidashi A , often translated in English as "usher", "ring attendant", or "ring announcer", is an employee of the Japan Sumo Association, responsible for various tasks essential to the traditional running of Sumo#Professional sumo, professional sumo tour ...

'', real name Yoshikazu Shimada) *Gorō (''san'yaku'' ''yobidashi'', real name Masaharu Akayama)

Hairdresser

*Tokonao (3rd class ''

tokoyama A is a traditional Japanese hairdresser specializing in the theatrical arts (kabuki and ) and Sumo#Professional sumo, professional sumo. The trade is the result of a slow evolution from the traditional Japanese barbers of the Edo period, some ...

'')

Location and access

Tokyo, Kotō ward, Kiyosumi 2-8-3
3 minutes from Kiyosumi-shirakawa Station on the

Toei Ōedo Line The is a rapid transit railway line of the municipal Toei Subway network in Tokyo, Japan. It commenced full operations on December 12, 2000; using the Japanese calendar this reads "12/12/12" as the year 2000 equals Heisei 12. The line is comple ...

and Hanzōmon Line

References

External links

Official site (Japanese)Japan Sumo Association profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Otake stable Active sumo stables Sports clubs and teams established in 1971 1971 establishments in Japan