Itsutsushima Narao

, born as Isaichi Kanesaki (, December 22, 1912 – May 6, 1973 was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Minamimatsuura (now Shin-Kamigotō), Nagasaki Prefecture.

History

Itsutsushima was born in Minamimatsuura district in 1912, a district located on the Gotō Islands. Because his hometown is located in an island, he became fisherman and wrestled as an amateur sumo wrestler, serving as a local ''ōzeki''. His back and legs were well-trained because he was a fisherman, the roll of his boat naturally reinforcing his wrestling skills. One day, the Tsunenohana's retirement show came to his hometown. He was scouted and encouraged to join Dewanoumi stable and stepped in the ring for the first time during the May 1930 tournament.

Itsutsushima did not rise by leaps and bounds, but steadily climbed the ranks thanks to his enthusiasm during training sessions. In this regard, he was nicknamed . Shortly after his promotion to the ''jūryō'' division, he received the ''shikona'', or ring name, Itsutsushima with the character 五, meaning five, borrowed from his native islands' name (五島列島). One of the highlights of his career was the January 1940 tournament, during which he inflicted an upset victory on the then-dominant ''yokozuna'' Futubayama by '' hatakikomi''. This victory promoted him directly to the rank of ''sekiwake'' for the 1940 summer tournament. During that tournament, he
scored a seven matches winning streak for his ''san'yaku'' debut, a record that would only be equalled by Terunofuji at the March 2015 tournament, 75 years later. Itsutsushima won a second match in a row against Futabayama in on Day 11 (by '' tottari''), the ''yokozuna'' deciding to withdraw from the tournament ('' kyūjō'') the following day. Along with future-''yokozuna'' Terukuni, Itsutsushima was the only wrestler to have won back-to-back matches against Futabayama since Futabayama's promotion to the rank of ''yokozuna'' in 1938. Itsutsushima also scored a notable victory over fellow-''sekiwake'' and future-''yokozuna'' Terukuni on Day 14. He came close to winning the championship but took second place just behind the tournament winner, stablemate Akinoumi. For their excellent performances during the tournament, he and Akinoumi were promoted to '' ōzeki'' at the same time for the January 1941 tournament. This promotion made Itsutsushima the fourth wrestler from Nagasaki Prefecture to be promoted to this rank and the first since Tsushimanada in 1919, 22 years earlier.

However, Itsutsushima had to withdraw from his first tournament as ''ōzeki'' due to a knee injury. In a '' kadoban'' demotion-threatening situation for the 1941 summer tournament, Itsutsushima came close to securing his position, but suffered six consecutive defeats and fell to eight defeats on the final day, making his demotion certain. With only two tournaments ranked as ''ōzeki'', Itsutsushima is the wrestler who have spent the fewest tournaments at this rank since the Shōwa era. Since he was relegated back to the rank of ''sekiwake'', he lost his motivation to continue fighting and left the Japan Sumo Association. At this time, the Pacific War was also raging, and the Sumo Association had to take out numerous loans to survive in a context where the war effort was reaching its peak, leaving few resources for its elders or wrestlers who wished to develop an activity of their own. With no opportunity to establish himself as a master, Itsutsushima returned to his island and invested in various fish industries. He later returned to Tokyo and opened several businesses in Shinagawa to sell local Gotō Islands products, and later opened a sumo restaurant and a hotel.

Family and influence

Since Itsutsushima hails from the Gotō Islands, he became very popular in his native region. Future-''yokozuna'' Sadanoyama said that he aspired to turn pro because of the success of Itsutsushima. In his autobiography, ''Ōzeki'' Masuiyama I mentions Itsutsushima as a caring mentor during the period when their respective careers overlapped.

Itsutsushima's name is engraved in the monument, built in 1937 in the Ekō-in Temple's precincts by the Sumo Association as a memorial to past wrestlers. In 2016, the Sumo Museum acquired Itsutsushima's ''keshō-mawashi''. The ''keshō-mawashi'' depicts Zhong Kui and had been presented to him on the occasion of his promotion to ''ōzeki'' by supporters of the village of Narao.

''Komusubi'' , who comes from the same region, is a distant relative of Itsutsushima. He joined Dewanoumi stable in 1940 and received a ''shikona'' to evoke his parent who had just became an ''san'yaku''.

Top Division Record

See also

*Glossary of sumo terms
*List of past sumo wrestlers
*List of ōzeki

Sources

References

Further reading

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Itsutsushima, Narao

1912 births
Japanese sumo wrestlers
Sumo people from Nagasaki Prefecture
Ōzeki
1973 deaths