was a Japanese 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 other than the soles of his feet (usually by th ...

wrestler from Itō,

Izumo Province was an Old provinces of Japan, old province of Japan which today consists of the eastern part of Shimane Prefecture. It was sometimes called . The province is in the Chūgoku region. History During the early Kofun period (3rd century) this reg ...

. He was the sport's 12th ''

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 ...

'' and one of its most important record keepers and historians.

Career

Jinmaku was born in Ou District,

(modern

Matsue is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Shimane Prefecture, Japan, located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. , the city had an estimated population of 196,748 in 91287 households and a population density of 340 persons per km². The total area of ...

Shimane Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Shimane Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-least populous prefecture of Japan at 665,205 (February 1, 2021) and has a ge ...

). His real name was . In 1847, he became a pupil of a wrestler named Hatsushio Kyūgorō in

Onomichi is a Cities of Japan, city located in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 129,314 in 64055 households and a population density of 450 people per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Onomichi is loca ...

Bingo Province was a province of Japan on the Inland Sea side of western Honshū, comprising what is today the eastern part of Hiroshima Prefecture. It was sometimes grouped together with Bizen and Bitchu Provinces as . The 備 ''bi'' in the names of these ...

(now in Hiroshima Prefecture). When Hatsushio died in 1848, he moved to Osaka and became a pupil of Asahiyama Shirouemon, fighting his first bout in 1850 and taking the ''

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 ...

'', or ring name, . In 1850 he was sent in excursion to

Edo Edo (), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the '' de facto'' capital of Japan from 1603 as the seat of the Tokugawa shogu ...

(now modern day Tokyo) and briefly became a pupil of

Hidenoyama Raigorō was a Japanese sumo wrestler from Kesennuma, Mutsu Province. He was the sport's 9th ''yokozuna''. Career Born , he later took the surname . He aspired to become a rikishi because his second brother was an '' ōzeki''. In 1823, he attempted ...

, the 9th ''yokozuna''. He worked under

Tokushima Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, controlling all of Awa Province and Awaji Province in what is now Tokushima Prefecture and Awaji Island of modern-day Hyōgo Prefecture. It was centered around Tokushima ...

and took the ''shikona'' . There he was known as one of the "Four Heavenly Kings of Awa" along with Kimenzan, and , all of whom wrestled for the Tokushima. He then moved under the

Matsue Domain 270px, Surviving walls and moat of Matsue Castle 270px, Matsudaira Sadayasu, final ''daimyō'' of Matsue was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, in what is now eastern Shimane Prefecture. It was centered around ...

and then

Satsuma Domain The , briefly known as the , was a Han system, domain (''han'') of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1600 to 1871. The Satsuma Domain was based at Kagoshima Castle in Satsuma Province, the core of the modern city of ...

to wrestle in Edo. His change of affiliation laid the groundwork for a rivalry between Jinmaku and the other Tokushima domain wrestlers, which resulted in several grudge matches.
He was absent from four consecutive tournaments from 1863 to 1865, and was expelled from one of these tournaments. He returned in November 1865 and became ''ōzeki'' in November 1866. He received a ''yokozuna'' licence by the and not the Edo-based Yoshida family. He was awarded an official ''yokozuna'' licence in July 1867 but the November 1867 tournament became his last active tournament. It is said that he left Edo to inform

Saigō Takamori Saigō Takamori (; 23 January 1828 – 24 September 1877) was a Japanese samurai and politician who was one of the most influential figures in Japanese history. He played a key role in the Meiji Restoration, which overthrew the Tokugawa shogunate ...

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

of the burning of the Satsuma residence. In the context of the

Boshin War The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a coalition seeking to seize political power in the name of the Impe ...

he remained in Osaka to protect

Shimazu Tadayoshi was a ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of Satsuma Province during Japan's Sengoku period. He was born into the Mimasaka Shimazu family (伊作島津家), which was part of the Shimazu clan, but after his father Shimazu Yoshihisa died, his mother m ...

from harm. 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 ...

'', or ranking, was later revised and reprinted, and Jinmaku was given a '' haridashi'' rank and was also listed in the director's section. He also appeared in the Osaka-sumo Tournament of March 1890, only performing a ring-entering ceremony. He was ''yokozuna'' for only one tournament.
Jinmaku won 87 bouts and lost only 5 bouts in the top ''makuuchi'' division. All his defeats came when he was ranked as a ''

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 ...

'' and ''

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 is the only wrestler to have never lost a bout as a ''yokozuna''. His winning percentage reached 94.6.

Retirement from sumo and death

Because of his insight and political links, he was appointed Osaka-sumo supervisor by the Governor of

Osaka Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Osaka Prefecture has a population of 8,778,035 () and has a geographic area of . Osaka Prefecture borders Hyōgo Prefecture to the northwest, Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Nara ...

. With this momentum, Jinmaku worked hard to make Osaka-sumo independent and strengthened. On 6 June 1873, he organised a match at the '' tenran-zumō'' tournament at the Osaka Mint Palace, but Saigō Takamori was not satisfied with the organisation. He also supervised two Osaka-''yokozuna'' promotions. He also managed 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 ...

with Asahiyama (former ''komusubi'' Hiraishi, deceased 1877). However, Osaka-sumo has been in constant turmoil, with many deserters and with the death of his collaborator Asahiyama, the power of Jinmaku rapidly declined. His other collaborator,

Shiranui is an atmospheric ghost lights, atmospheric ghost light told about in Kyushu. They are said to appear on days of the noon moon such as the (29th or 30th day) of the seventh month of the lunisolar Japanese calendar when the wind is weak, in t ...

, died and he finally retired in September 1890. In 1901, he was called to the completion ceremony of

Yasukuni Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It was founded by Emperor Meiji in June 1869 and commemorates those who died in service of Empire of Japan, Japan, from the Boshin War of 1868–1869, to the two Sino-Japanese Wars, First Sino-Japane ...

's '' haiden'' hall and performed a ring-entering ceremony. Jinmaku died in 1903.

''Yokozuna'' monument

Jinmaku was known as a 'monument fanatic' as he was particularly active in building monuments related to sumo all over the country and spent his fortune on building various monuments. In 1900, he erected the ''Yokozuna Rikishi'' Memorial Monument in the grounds of the

Tomioka Hachiman Shrine is the largest Hachiman shrine in Tokyo. History The shrine was established in Fukagawa in with reclamation of a shoal. Hachiman, whom the shrine reveres, was also a local kami of the Minamoto clan, thus the shrine received cordial protection ...

in the Koto ward of Tokyo. It was the culmination of a lengthy personal project to properly acknowledge all his fellow ''yokozuna''. For the first time, Akashi Shiganosuke, Ayagawa Gorōji and Maruyama Gondazaemon were recognised as the first three ''yokozuna''.

Top division record

*''The actual time the tournaments were held during the year in this period often varied.'' ''*Championships for the best record in a tournament were not recognized or awarded before the 1909 summer tournament and the above unofficial championships are historically conferred. For more information see

yūshō is the term for a championship in Japanese. This article focuses on championships in the sport of professional sumo. It is awarded in each of the six annual '' honbasho'' or official tournaments, to the wrestler who wins the most bouts. ''Yūs ...

.''

References

External links