Isegahama stable was a heya or stable of

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 ...

wrestlers, part of the Tatsunami-Isegahama ''

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

,'' or group of stables. Tokyo-Honganzi-Kenseihi-7

It was founded in 1859 by 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 ...

'' Arakuma. It was led from 1929 by former ''

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 ...

'' Kiyosegawa. His daughter married the sixth head, the 38th ''

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 ...

Terukuni Manzō was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Ogachi, Akita. He was the sport's 38th ''yokozuna''. He was promoted to ''yokozuna'' without any top division tournament titles to his name, although he later attained two. Career Born , he later ...

who led the stable from 1961 until his death in 1977. He had already made arrangements to pass control over to former '' ōzeki''

Kiyokuni Katsuo Kiyokuni Katsuo (born 20 November 1941 as Tadao Sato) is a former sumo wrestler from Ogachi, Akita, Japan. His highest rank was '' ōzeki'', which he held from 1969 to 1974. He won one top division ''yūshō'' or tournament championship and wa ...

before his death. After Kiyokuni's wife and children were killed in the

Japan Airlines Flight 123 Japan Air Lines Flight 123 (JAL123) () was a scheduled domestic Japan Air Lines passenger flight from Haneda Airport in Tokyo to Itami International Airport in Osaka. On August 12, 1985, the Boeing 747SR operating this flight suffered a sudde ...

crash in 1985, the stable began to decline. He remarried and moved the stable's location, but his new wife was not as interested in helping to run the stable, and recruitment suffered. Its last top division wrestler

Wakasegawa Wakasegawa Yoshimitsu (born Wataru Sato; July 28, 1962 - October 8, 2011) was a sumo wrestler from Sakata, Yamagata, Japan. He made his professional debut in 1978, reaching the top '' makuuchi'' division for the first time in 1983. His highest r ...

retired in 1992, and after ''

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 wrestler Kiyonofuji fell to ''

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. For ...

'' in January 1994, the stable had no more ''

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 ...

.'' By the end only two active wrestlers remained. After Kiyokuni reached the mandatory retirement age of 65 in November 2006, it was led temporarily by the former Katsuhikari, who wound up the stable on February 1, 2007, moving to Kiriyama stable. A different incarnation of Isegahama stable was founded as Ajigawa stable in 1979, before being re-named by ''yokozuna''

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 November 2007. Asahifuji's decision to switch to the Isegahama name can be seen as an attempt to restore his ''ichimons reputation (the ''ichimon'' was known as Tatsunami-Isegahama for many years before becoming solely Tatsunami; as a result of the success of the renamed stable the ''ichimon'' is now solely known as Isegahama).

Notable wrestlers

* *Kiyokuni Katsuo (''ōzeki'') * Bishūyama Jun'ichi (''sekiwake'') * Kairyūyama Teruhisa (''sekiwake'') * Kurosegawa Kuniyuki (''komusubi'') * Saisu Minoru (''

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 ...

'') * Wakasegawa Yoshimitsu (''maegashira'')

References

{{Reflist Defunct sumo stables