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 ...

wrestler from

Goshogawara is a city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. ...

Aomori is the capital city of Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 278,964 in 136,457 households, and a population density of 340 people per square kilometer spread over the city's total area of ...

, Japan. 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 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 ...

'' 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 is the body that operates and controls professional sumo wrestling (called ''Ōzumō'', 大相撲) in Japan under the jurisdiction of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). '' Rikishi'' (activ ...

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 on ...

'' 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 and Minanogawa, were both promoted to ''yokozuna'' instead. It has been suggested that this was because Shimizugawa belonged to a small stable, 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 stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Tokitsukaze ''ichimon'' or group of stables. It was established in its modern incarnation on 1 October 1998 by former ''maegashira'' Daishōyama, who is the stable's current head coach. He had marri ...

. 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 Edo period, where they were used as a means to attract customers and hide the identities of the '' rikishi''. Like standard Japanese names, a ''shikona'' ...

'' or fighting name,

Shimizugawa Akio was a Japanese sumo wrestler from Goshogawara, Aomori, Japan. His highest rank was '' ōzeki.'' Career Making his debut in January 1917, he was promoted to the top ''makuuchi'' division in January 1923 and made the fourth ''komusubi'' rank 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