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Kongō Masahiro
Kongō Masahiro (18 November 1948 - 12 August 2014) was a former sumo wrestler from Hokkaidō, Japan. His highest rank was ''sekiwake'' and he won a top division tournament championship in 1975. He was a sumo coach and head of the Nishonoseki stable from 1976 until 2013. Career He was born in Fukagawa as Masahiro Yoshizawa, and joined the Nishonoseki stable (home of the great Taihō) in May 1964 at the age of 15. He initially wrestled under the ''shikona'' of Oyoshizawa, based on his own surname. He first appeared on the ''banzuke'' ranking sheets in July 1964 and won all seven of his bouts, taking the ''jonokuchi'' championship with a perfect 7–0 record. However his progress slowed somewhat after that. In 1966 he made the third ''makushita'' division, and gradually climbed up to ''makushita'' 3 before dropping to ''makushita'' 6 for the July 1969 tournament. There he took his second divisional championship, again with an unbeaten 7–0 score, and was promoted to the second ''j ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 only division that is featured on NHK's standard live coverage of sumo tournaments. The lower divisions are shown on their satellite coverage, with only the ''makuuchi'' broadcast having bilingual English commentary. ''Makuuchi'' literally means "inside the curtain", a reference to the early period of professional sumo, when there was a curtained-off area reserved for the top ranked wrestlers, to sit before appearing for their bouts. Wrestlers are considered for promotion or demotion in rank before each grand tournament according to their performance in the one previous. Generally, a greater number of wins than losses (''kachi-koshi'') results in a promotion, and the reverse (''make-koshi'') results in demotion. There are stricter criteria ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daizen Takahiro
Daizen Takahiro (born 14 December 1964 as Tokuo Takahashi) is a former sumo wrestler from Osaka, Osaka, Japan. He made his professional debut in March 1981, and reached the top division in November 1991. His highest rank was ''komusubi'' and he earned two ''kinboshi''. After his retirement in 2003 he became an elder in the Japan Sumo Association and a coach at Nishonoseki stable. Upon the closure of his stable in 2013 he moved to Kasugano stable. Career record ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daitetsu
is a former sumo wrestler from Ōno, Fukui, Japan. He made his professional debut in July 1971, and reached the top division in November, 1983. His highest rank was ''komusubi''. He retired in September 1990, and has worked as a coach at both the original Nishonoseki stable and the new version of the stable, under the elder name Minatogawa. Career He did kendo at junior high school. He entered Nishonoseki stable and began his sumo career in July 1971. In July 1979 he was undefeated in all seven of his ''makushita'' bouts but lost a playoff for the '' yusho'' to Sadanoumi. He reached the ''juryo'' division in January 1980, but lasted only one tournament before being demoted. He returned to ''juryo'' in July 1982 and reached the top ''makuuchi'' division in November 1983. In July 1985 he defeated ''yokozuna'' Chiyonofuji to earn his first ''kinboshi''. In March 1987 he was promoted to ''komusubi'', becoming the first wrestler from Fukui Prefecture to reach a ''sanyaku'' rank sinc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kirinji Kazuharu
Kirinji Kazuharu, real name Kazuharu Tarusawa (9 March 1953 – 1 March 2021) was a sumo wrestler from Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. He made his professional debut in 1967, reaching the top ''makuuchi'' division in 1974. His highest rank was ''sekiwake.'' During his long career he won several awards and set a number of longevity records. Upon his retirement in 1988 he became a sumo coach and elder of the Japan Sumo Association, until reaching 65 years of age in 2018. Career He made his professional debut in May 1967 at the age of just 14, joining Nishonoseki stable. At first he fought under his own surname of Tarusawa, before adopting the ''shikona'' of Kirinji in January 1974 upon promotion to the second highest ''jūryō'' division. The ''shikona'' had previously been used by one of his stablemates, ''ozeki'' Daikirin. Kirinji reached the top ''makuuchi'' division in September 1974 and remained there for 84 tournaments, a record at the time second only to Takamiyama's 97 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saganohana
Saganohana Katsumi (5 December 1917 – 28 March 1975) was a professional sumo wrestler born as Katsumi Kitamura in Saga City, Japan. His highest rank was '' ōzeki''. Sumo career In 1934, with the help of Tamanishiki who had come as part of a regional sumo exhibition, the future Saganohana joined the now defunct Kumegawa stable and first entered the ring in May of that same year. He would later join Tamanishiki's Nishonoseki stable. He first made it to the top division ''makuuchi'' in the Summer 1939 tournament, and continued to find success. He would defeat then ''yokozuna'' Minanogawa twice for two gold stars or ''kinboshi''. In the Spring 1941 tournament, he received an 8–7 record at ''maegashira'' 1 and it was expected he would be promoted to the titled ranks, called ''san'yaku''. He was however, left at the same rank for the following tournament, but this allowed him another chance to distinguish himself, as he managed an improved 9–6 record and also had his seco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aobajō Yukio
is a Japanese former professional sumo wrestler from Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. He did not miss a single bout in his 22-year professional career, and holds the record for the List of sumo record holders#Most consecutive bouts, most consecutive matches fought, at 1,630. After his retirement from active competition he was an elder of the Japan Sumo Association and a coach. Career He made his debut in March 1964, joining Nishonoseki stable (1935), Nishonoseki stable. He reached the top ''makuuchi'' division for the first time in January 1975. In only his fourth top division tournament he was a tournament runner-up, won a ''sansho (sumo), sanshō'' (for Fighting Spirit) and earned a ''kinboshi'' for defeating a ''yokozuna (sumo), yokozuna''. He was never to achieve any of those things again, but he fought in the top division for 62 tournaments in total. He made his ''san'yaku'' debut in September 1975 at ''komusubi'' and in October of that year he followed the former ''Makuuchi#Ōz ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Takanohana Kenshi
Takanohana Kenshi 貴ノ花 健士 (born Hanada Mitsuru; February 19, 1950 – May 30, 2005) was a sumo wrestler from Hirosaki, Aomori, Japan. His highest rank was '' ōzeki'', which he held for fifty tournaments. As an active ''rikishi'' he was extremely popular and was nicknamed the "Prince of Sumo" due to his good looks and relatively slim build. He was the father of Wakanohana Masaru and Takanohana Kōji, and as head of the Futagoyama stable coached both of them to the ''yokozuna'' rank. Career He had been a champion swimmer while at school, but did not think he could make a living out of it. He was determined to join professional sumo, in spite of some opposition from his family, who had wanted him to continue swimming (he was considered a possibility to make the team for the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City). He began his career in the spring of 1965, joining Futagoyama stable which had been set up his elder brother, former ''yokozuna'' Wakanohana Kanji I, three years pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wajima Hiroshi
was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Nanao, Ishikawa. He was the sport's 54th ''yokozuna'' and remains the only wrestler with a collegiate background to reach its highest rank. Entering professional sumo in 1970, he won a total of 14 tournament championships or ''yūshō'' during his career before retiring in March 1981. He was later head coach of Hanakago stable, but after several controversies, Wajima was forced to leave the sumo world and turned to professional wrestling. Sumo career After graduating from Nihon University where he was twice the amateur sumo champion in 1968 and 1969, he made his professional debut in January 1970 at the age of 22, joining Hanakago stable. He was given ''makushita tsukedashi'' status, meaning he could begin in the third highest ''makushita'' division. He was undefeated in his first 14 matches and reached the ''jūryō'' division after just two tournaments. He was promoted to the top ''makuuchi'' division in January 1971. After finis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sanshō (Sumo)
are the three special prizes awarded to top (''Makuuchi'') division sumo wrestlers for exceptional performance during a sumo ''honbasho'' or tournament. The prizes were first awarded in November 1947. Criteria All wrestlers in the top division below the rank of '' ōzeki'' are eligible. In order to be considered for a special prize a rikishi must make a ''kachi-koshi'' or majority of wins during the tournament. Among eligible rikishi, the prize winners are decided by a panel which includes press writers covering the tournament. There is no requirement that the prizes must be awarded, and it sometimes happens that one or more of the ''sanshō'' are not given. It is also common for an award to be awarded to more than one wrestler. The three prizes are *, Outstanding Performance prize *, Fighting Spirit prize *, Technique prize Typically the ''Ginō-shō'' is awarded to a wrestler or wrestlers who display the most skillful ''kimarite'', or techniques; the ''Shukun-shō'' is awarde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kinboshi
is a notation used in professional sumo wrestling to record a lower-ranked (''maegashira'') wrestler's victory over a ''yokozuna''. It is believed that the term stems from the usage of the terms ''shiroboshi'' (lit: white star) to designate a bout victory, and ''kuroboshi'' (black star) to designate a bout defeat. Thus, a "gold star" designates it as a special victory. The word ''kinboshi'' first came into popular use in the Taishō period (1912-1926), and the system of monetarily awarding a ''maegashira'' who defeated a ''yokozuna'' in an official tournament began in January, 1930. A ''kinboshi'' victory increases the balance in the ''maegashiras '' mochikyūkin'' account by 10 yen. This balance is converted using a multiplier, presently 4,000, and added to the wrestler's bonus in every subsequent tournament in which he competes as a ''sekitori''. With six tournaments a year, this one victory corresponds to a pay increase of 240,000 yen per annum for the remainder of the wres ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
