Tokitsuyama Jin'ichi (March 10, 1925 – November 21, 1968) was a professional sumo wrestler from

Iwaki, Fukushima is a Cities of Japan, city located in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. , Iwaki had a population of 322,019 in 143,500 households, and population density of 261 persons per km². The total area of the city is , making it the largest city in the prefec ...

, Japan who wrestled for

Tatsunami stable is a stable of sumo wrestlers, formerly the head of the Tatsunami ''ichimon'' or group of stables. As of January 2023 it had 20 wrestlers. Previously situated in sumo's heartland of Ryōgoku nearby the Kokugikan stadium, it briefly moved in ...

. He won the top division sumo championship in the summer tournament of 1953 and was runner-up in five other tournaments. His highest rank was ''

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 ...

.'' After his retirement in 1961 he worked as a coach at Tatsunami stable until his death in 1968.

Life and career

At a young age his parents divorced and he was raised by his grandparents. His first professional tournament was in May 1940 as a wrestler for the former incarnation of Tokitsukaze stable, which was a leftover from the days of Osaka sumo. The stable soon closed however, and he transferred to

. He tried out a number of

ring names A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, o ...

before settling on Tokitsuyama to honor the defunct stable he originally debuted for. Tokitsuyama Scan10064

He was a weak wrestler at first, and he was not able to actually be listed on the sumo ranking sheet known as 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 ...

'' until the January tournament of 1943. He did not really bloom as a strong competitor until after returning as a soldier from World War II. In the 1946 tournament (the only one held that year) he achieved a 7–0 perfect record and also took the championship in the ''

makushita 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. Expectations surrounding him began to rise after this. He was promoted to the salaried ranks of ''

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 ...

'' in the following summer tournament of 1947. He was promoted to the top division ''

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 ...

'' in May 1949, but received a losing record and fell back to ''jūryō''. He was soon back in ''makuuchi'' though, and in September 1950 at ''

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 ...

'' 21 he achieved a 12–3 record and the Fighting Spirit Prize. He was a top division regular from then on. Almost three years later, in May 1953 he achieved his one and only top division championship with a perfect 15–0 record. However, as he was only ranked at ''maegashira'' 6, the highest ranked opponent he faced that tournament was a ''

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 ...

'' and the two '' ōzeki'' at the time

Yoshibayama , real name , was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Atsuta District, Hokkaido. He was the sport's 43rd ''yokozuna''. He suffered a number of injuries and only won one tournament championship, but was a popular wrestler. He was a runner ...

and

Tochinishiki was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Tokyo. He was the sport's 44th ''makuuchi#Yokozuna, yokozuna''. He won ten top division ''yūshō'' or tournament championships and was a rival of fellow ''yokozuna'' Wakanohana Kanji I, Wakanohana ...

, who also had winning streaks in that tournament, never had a chance to face him to even the odds. In the January 1955 tournament he was in a similar situation at ''maegashira'' 9. He was in position to win the championship on the final day of the tournament, but this time had to face ''

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 ...

Chiyonoyama was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Fukushima, Hokkaidō. He was the sport's 41st ''yokozuna'' from 1951 until 1959. He is regarded as the first "modern" ''yokozuna'' in that he was promoted by the Japan Sumo Association itself and n ...

in a playoff, which he lost. He was a consistent ''makuuchi'' wrestler for many years after this, but began to decline after 1960.

Retirement from sumo

Tokisuyama retired before the 1961 March tournament rather than face demotion to ''jūryō''. He remained in the sumo world after his retirement as an elder of 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 ...

under the name of Oshiogawa, but died of liver cancer at age 43 in November 1968.

Fighting style

During his career, Tokitsuyama was known for using a variety of techniques such as lifting and inner-thigh throws, and would often twist and turn even the strongest opponents all over the ''

dohyō A ''dohyō'' (, ) is the space in which a sumo wrestling bout occurs. A typical ''dohyō'' is a circle made of partially buried rice- straw bales 4.55 meters in diameter. In official professional tournaments ('' honbasho''), it is mounted on a sq ...

''. This reliance on such techniques also led to inconsistency, and though he was a formidable opponent, he never had more than 12 wins in any tournament besides his championship tournament and was never promoted above ''

''. Regardless, he was part of a group of well-known top division wrestlers from his same Tatsunami stable at this time, namely

Wakahaguro Wakahaguro Tomoaki (25 November 1934 – 2 March 1969) was a sumo wrestler from Naka, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. His highest rank was '' ōzeki.'' Career A former swimming champion while at junior high school, Wakahaguro made his professional ...

, Annenyama and Kitanonada who were popularly known then as the

Four Heavenly Kings The Four Heavenly Kings are four Buddhism, Buddhist gods or Deva (Buddhism), ''devas'', each of whom is believed to watch over one cardinal direction of the world. The Hall of Four Heavenly Kings is a standard component of Chinese Buddhism, Ch ...

, a Buddhist reference.

Pre-modern sumo record

*''In 1953 the New Year tournament was begun and the Spring tournament began to be held in Osaka.''

Modern sumo record

*''Since the addition of the Kyushu tournament in 1957 and the Nagoya tournament in 1958, the yearly schedule has remained unchanged.''

References