was a Japanese

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

Goshogawara file:Goshogawara city center area Aerial photograph.1975.jpg, Aerial View of Goshogawara city center is a Cities of Japan, city located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 51,578 in 25,615 households, and a popul ...

Aomori , officially Aomori City (, ), is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 264,945 in 136,781 households, and a population density of 321 people per squa ...

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 ...

. His highest rank was '' ōzeki.''

Career

Making his debut in January 1917, 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 January 1923 and made the fourth ''

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 ...

'' rank in January 1926, although he did not take part in that tournament. He competed in the ''

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 ...

'' ranks in 1927 but left 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 ...

temporarily and was not listed on 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 ...

'' ranking sheets in the March and May 1928 tournaments. Returning in October 1928 he was listed at the bottom of 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 and after winning two ''jūryō'' tournament titles he returned to the top division in 1930. Shimizugawa was promoted to the second highest rank of ''ōzeki'' in 1932 but never made the highest ''

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 ...

'' rank, despite winning a total of three top division tournament championships. He was overlooked for promotion while two men with inferior records to him,

Musashiyama was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Kōhoku-ku, Yokohama, Kōhoku,Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture. He was the sport's 33rd ''Yokozuna (sumo), yokozuna''. He had a rapid rise through the ranks, setting several youth records, and was ve ...

and Minanogawa, were both promoted to ''yokozuna'' instead. It has been suggested that this was because Shimizugawa belonged to a small

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 ...

, Hatachiyama, whereas Musashiyama and Minanogawa were both members of much larger and more influential stables ( Dewanoumi and Takasago, respectively).

Retirement from sumo

After finishing as runner-up in the May 1937 tournament, his fifth runner-up performance, Shimizugawa announced his retirement. He remained in the sumo world as an elder under the name Oitekaze Oyakata, and was head coach of the

Oitekaze stable The is a Heya (sumo), stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Tokitsukaze ''Glossary of sumo terms#ichimon, ichimon'' or group of stables. It was established in its modern incarnation on 1 October 1998 by former ''maegashira'' Daishōyama Naoki, Da ...

. Among the wrestlers he produced was a ''

'' to whom he gave his old ''

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 fighting name,

Shimizugawa Akio was a Japanese sumo wrestler from Goshogawara, Aomori, Goshogawara, Aomori Prefecture, Aomori, Japan. His highest rank was ''Makuuchi#Ōzeki, ōzeki.'' Career Making his debut in January 1917, he was promoted to the top ''makuuchi'' division in ...

Career Record

*''In 1927 Tokyo and Osaka sumo merged and four tournaments a year in Tokyo and other locations began to be held.'' ''*Shimizugawa was runner-up in his final tournament in May 1937''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shimizugawa Mtokichi 1900 births 1967 deaths Japanese sumo wrestlers People from Goshogawara Sumo people from Aomori Prefecture Ōzeki

Career

Retirement from sumo

Career Record

See also

References