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 Uto, Higo Province. He was the sport's 8th ''

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 ...

'', and is the only ''yokozuna'' in history to have been demoted.

Early life

His real name was and his father was a government official. After his father's death he took over his position at age 15. He married early, at the age of 19, and had two sons. In 1823, he got into an argument with the head of his village. Forgetting his own strength, he pushed the village head too harshly. The village head fell to the floor and was knocked unconscious. Knowing the trouble this would cause him, he escaped from his hometown, leaving his family. He found refuge in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture and became the pupil of a wrestler named who later bestowed his ''

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 ring name, to him. Another version makes him the apprentice of .

Professional sumo career

He entered Osaka-sumo and made his debut in May 1824 under the name but changed his ''shikona'' multiple times. He didn't find much success in Osaka-sumo and transferred to

Edo Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...

-sumo in November 1830 where he became the pupil of a wrestler named and wrestled for the Unshu domain (雲州藩). In March, 1839 he began to wrestler for the

Kumamoto Domain The , also known as , was a Japanese domain of the Edo period. It was associated with Higo Province in modern-day Kumamoto Prefecture.

in Higo and was promoted to '' ōzeki'' under the name . He won only one tournament in February 1840 with an 8-0-2 record. He wasn't a particularly strong wrestler, but around the end of the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional ''daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was character ...

the promotion in the ranking had less to do with ability and more to do with the influence of one's backers and Shiranui had powerful patrons. His promotion to ''ōzeki'' is also said to be because of the repeated failure of ''ōzeki'' (''yokozuna'') Inazuma to appear.

''Yokozuna'' promotion

While being an ''ōzeki'', he was given a ''yokozuna'' license. The actual date he was awarded the title is obscure, but the date is officially recognized as being in November 1840. His name was not written 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 ...

'' for the next tournament in January 1841 and he was absent from the November 1841 tournament for unknown reasons. He was demoted to ''

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 ...

'' in February 1842 and changed his ''shikona'' to . At that time, ''yokozuna'' was not a rank but a title. He is the only former ''yokozuna'' to be demoted from the ''ōzeki'' rank. In 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, Shiranui won 48 bouts and lost 15 bouts, recording a winning percentage of 76.2.

Retirement from sumo

He retired from an active wrestler after the January 1844 tournament. He stayed in sumo as an elder after his retirement, under the name , and served as chairman of Osaka-sumo. The name of the Shiranui ''

yokozuna dohyō-iri , 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 ...

'' (ring entering ceremony) came not from him, but from the 11th ''yokozuna''

Shiranui Kōemon was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Kikuchi, Higo Province. He was the sport's 11th ''yokozuna''. Although the name of the style of the ''yokozunas in-ring ceremony is named after him, the fact that he himself practiced this style i ...

, whom he trained. Shiranui died in August, 1854 at 52. His grave is located on the hillside where he was born, in his hometown of

Uto, Kumamoto is a city located in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded on October 1, 1958. As of March 2017, the city has an estimated population of 37,442 and a population density of 500 km2. The total area is 74.17 km2. Famous peop ...

. The place in considered a designated historic site and it's customary for Shiranui-style ''yokozuna'' to perform an in-ring ceremony when 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 ...

tours in the province.

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.''

References