Wakamisugi Akiteru, also known as Daigō Hisateru, (24 September 1937 – 2 November 1983) 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 from Kagawa,

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. The highest rank he achieved was ''

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 ...

.'' He was the brother in law of ''

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 ...

Wakanohana Kanji I was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler. He was the sport's 45th ''yokozuna''. He was a popular wrestler and was nicknamed the due to his great fighting spirit and endurance. Wakanohana's younger brother (by twenty-two years) was the late f ...

Career

He was born as Noburu Sugiyama in

Marugame is a city located in Kagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 108,541 in 46101 households and a population density of 970 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Marugame is located in north-cen ...

. He entered professional sumo in March 1955, recruited by

Hanakago stable , formerly known as Shibatayama stable from September 1952 to May 1953, was a stable of sumo wrestlers, one of the Nishonoseki ''ichimon'' or group of stables. Founded by former ''maegashira'' Ōnoumi Hisamitsu. It closed in 1985 with all wrestle ...

. He used a variety of different ''

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 ...

,'' including his own surname of Sugiyama, Kunikaze and Misugiiso, before adopting the name Wakamisugi when he reached ''

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 ...

'' status upon promotion to the ''

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 ...

'' division in May 1958. He was promoted to 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 November 1958. He won the top division championship in May 1960 from the 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 ...

'' 4. After losing to '' ōzeki''

Wakahaguro Wakahaguro Tomoaki (25 November 1934 – 2 March 1969) was a sumo wrestler from Naka, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. His highest rank was '' ōzeki.'' Career A former swimming champion while at junior high school, Wakahaguro made his professional ...

on the opening day of the tournament he won his next 14 bouts. One of his wins was by default, over ''

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 ...

who had announced his retirement the previous day. He had a genuine victory over ''yokozuna'' Asashio on Day 4. He finished with a 14–1 record, one win ahead of ''yokozuna'' Wakanohana, who he did not have to fight as they were members of the same

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 ...

. It was his first and only tournament win. In September 1962 Wakamisugi changed his ''shikona'' once again, to Daigō Hisateru. He was a tournament runner-up in November 1962 and November 1965, both times to Taihō. He held the ''sekiwake'' rank ten times in total, including seven consecutive tournaments from May 1963 to May 1964. He earned eight ''

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 ...

'' for defeating ''yokozuna'' (most of them coming after he dropped from the ''sekiwake'' rank in 1964) and five came from the same ''yokozuna'',

Tochinoumi was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Aomori. He was the sport's 49th ''yokozuna'', earning promotion in 1964. He was somewhat overshadowed by his ''yokozuna'' contemporaries Taihō and Kashiwado, but he was a noted technician and ear ...

Retirement from sumo

He retired in May 1967 and became an elder of 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 ...

under the name Araiso, working as a coach at Hanakago stable until his death.

Fighting style

Wakamisugi's favoured ''

kimarite is the technique used in sumo by a (wrestler) to win a match. It is officially decided or announced by the (referee) at the end of the match, though judge (sumo), judges can modify this decision. The records of are then kept for statistical ...

'' or techniques were ''hidari-yotsu'' (a right hand outside, left hand inside grip on the ''

mawashi In sumo, a is the loincloth that (sumo wrestlers) wear during training or in competition. Upper ranked professional wrestlers wear a as part of the ring entry ceremony or . ''Mawashi'' ''Sekitori'' During competition For top ranked profess ...

''), ''uwatenage'' (overarm throw), and ''yorikiri'' (force out).

Career record

*''The Kyushu tournament was first held in 1957, and the Nagoya tournament in 1958.''

References

External links