Shinji Hamada (22 September 1965 – 20 November 2021), better known as Toyonoumi Shinji, 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 Buzen,

Fukuoka is the List of Japanese cities by population, sixth-largest city in Japan and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancient times. ...

. He made his professional debut in March 1981 and reached the top division in November 1988. He was known by 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 ...

Takanohama until 1990. His highest rank was ''

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 ...

'' 1. He did not miss a single bout in his 19-year professional career. Upon retirement from active competition he became an elder in 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 Yamahibiki. He left the Sumo Association in June 2002.

Career

Born Shinji Hamada in

Buzen, Fukuoka file:20160924kubote003.jpg, 270px, Mt. Kubote and Mt. Inugadake file:Buzen city center area Aerial photograph.2013.jpg, 270px, Buzen city center is a Cities of Japan, city located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated populati ...

, he was first spotted while at elementary school by '' ozeki''

Takanohana Kenshi , born , was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Hirosaki, Aomori. Making his debut in May 1965, his highest rank was '' ōzeki'', which he reached in November 1972. He then went on to hold the rank for what was then a record fifty tourna ...

, who was on a regional tour, and the youngster was promised a spot in

Futagoyama stable is a heya (sumo), stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Dewanoumi ichimon, group of stables. It was established on 1 April 2018 by former ''Makuuchi#Ōzeki, ōzeki'' Miyabiyama, who branched off from Fujishima stable (2010), Fujishima stable, ...

. After graduating from junior high in March 1981, he made his professional debut alongside future ''

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 ...

'' Tochitsukasa. In March 1982 he followed the now retired Takanohana to a new stable the former ''ozeki'' had founded, Fujishima. Having previously fought under his own surname of Hamada, to mark the occasion his ''

'' was modified to Takanohama. He rose steadily up the ranks, reaching the elite ''

sekitori A ''sekitori'' (関取) is a '' rikishi'' (力士, sumo wrestler) who is ranked in one of the top two professional divisions: '' makuuchi'' and '' jūryō''. The name literally translates to having taken the barrier, as only a relatively small fr ...

'' level in September 1987 when he was promoted to the ''

juryo 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. In November 1988 having won the juryo '' yusho'' or tournament championship he made his debut in 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 alongside Saganobori. These two were the final new ''makuuchi'' wrestlers of the

Shōwa era The was a historical period of History of Japan, Japanese history corresponding to the reign of Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito) from December 25, 1926, until Death and state funeral of Hirohito, his death on January 7, 1989. It was preceded by the T ...

. He fell back to ''juryo'' in July 1989 but immediately returned. In July 1990 he switched to the ''shikona'' of Toyonoumi, which he was to use for the rest of his career. In January 1992 he took a second ''juryo'' division championship – in the same tournament that his stablemate Takahanada (the son of his stablemaster) won the ''makuuchi'' division title. In February 1993 he found himself back under the Futagoyama banner when his original stable and Fujishima merged following the retirement of Futagoyama Oyakata (former ''yokozuna''

Wakanohana Kanji I was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler. He was the sport's 45th ''yokozuna''. He was a popular wrestler and was nicknamed the due to his great fighting spirit and endurance. Wakanohana's younger brother (by twenty-two years) was the late f ...

). Despite fighting in the top division for a total of thirty tournaments, Toyonoumi never won a special prize or managed to defeat a ''

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 ...

.'' He never reached a ''

sanyaku The following words are terms used in sumo wrestling in Japan. A B C D E F G H ...

'' position, his highest rank being ''

'' 1 which he achieved in September 1992. His last appearance in the top division was in March 1994 but he carried on fighting for another five years after that, finally announcing his retirement in March 1999 facing certain demotion to the unsalaried ''

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. He had been an active wrestler for 19 years and had never missed a bout in his entire career, fighting 1316 consecutive matches – the eighth highest in sumo history.

Retirement from sumo

Toyonoumi's ''

danpatsu-shiki A , or, more colloquially, , is a sumo wrestler. Although used to define all wrestlers participating in sumo wrestling matches, the term is more commonly used to refer to professional wrestlers, employed by the Japan Sumo Association, who part ...

'' or official retirement ceremony was held on 3 October 1999 at the Ryogoku Kokugikan, with around 3000 guests. He remained in the sumo world as a coach at his stable under the elder name of Yamahibiki Oyakata, but he was only renting the elder stock and he left the

in June 2002. The Sumo Association announced that he had died of an unspecified illness on 20 November 2021, aged 56.

Fighting style

Toyonoumi was one of the heaviest wrestlers ever, reaching a peak weight of around in 1998, and was sometimes criticised for being ungainly and slow-moving. He favoured ''yotsu-sumo'' or grappling techniques. He used a ''hidari-yotsu'' position on his opponent's ''

mawashi In sumo, a is the loincloth that (sumo wrestlers) wear during training or in competition. Upper ranked professional wrestlers wear a as part of the ring entry ceremony or . ''Mawashi'' ''Sekitori'' During competition For top ranked profess ...

'' or belt, with a right hand outside, left hand inside grip. His two most common winning ''

kimarite is the technique used in sumo by a (wrestler) to win a match. It is officially decided or announced by the (referee) at the end of the match, though judge (sumo), judges can modify this decision. The records of are then kept for statistical ...

'' were yori-kiri ''(force out)'' and ''oshi-dashi'' (push out). Among other techniques he used regularly were ''kotenage'' (armlock throw) and ''kimedashi'' (arm barring force out).

Career record

References

External links