Sumo Wrestler
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Sumo Wrestler
A , or, more colloquially, , is a professional sumo wrestler. follow and live by the centuries-old rules of the sumo profession, with most coming from Japan, the only country where sumo is practiced professionally. Participation in official tournaments () is the only means of marking achievement in sumo, with the rank of an individual based solely on official wins. The number of active peaked at 943 in May 1994, at the height of the "Waka-Taka boom," but had declined to 665 by January 2022. Terminology In popular use, the term can mean any sumo wrestler and be an alternative term to (sumo practitioner) or the more colloquial . The two kanji characters that make up the word are "strength/power" and "gentleman/samurai"; consequently, and more idiomatically, the term can be defined as "a gentleman of strength". Within the world of professional sumo, is used as a catch-all term for wrestlers who are in the lower, un-salaried divisions of , , and . The more prestigious ...
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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 throwing, shoving or pushing him down). Sumo originated in Japan, the only country where it is practiced professionally and where it is considered the national sport. It is considered a ''gendai budō'', which refers to modern Japanese martial arts, but the sport has a history spanning many centuries. Many ancient traditions have been preserved in sumo, and even today the sport includes many ritual elements, such as the use of salt purification, from Shinto. Life as a wrestler is highly regimented, with rules regulated by the Japan Sumo Association. Most sumo wrestlers are required to live in communal sumo training stables, known in Japanese as ''heya'', where all aspects of their daily lives—from meals to their manner of dress—are dic ...
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Kuniyoshi Utagawa, The Sumo Wrestler
Kuniyoshi (written: 国吉 or 國吉) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Fumio Kuniyoshi (国吉 史生, born 1985), Japanese-German rapper *, Japanese footballer *, American painter and photographer *, Japanese baseball player Kuniyoshi (written: 邦嘉, 邦佳, 邦栄, 國義 or 國芳) is also a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese mixed martial artist *, Japanese painter, illustrator and photographer *, Japanese educational theorist and publisher *, Japanese scientist *, Japanese ''daimyō'' *, Japanese artist in woodblock printing and painting * Prince Kuni Kuniyoshi was a member of the Japanese imperial family and a field marshal in the Imperial Japanese Army during the Meiji and Taishō periods. He was the father of Empress Kōjun (who in turn was the consort of the Emperor Shōwa), and therefore, the mat ... (1873–1929), member of the Japanese imperial family and field marshal in the Imperia ...
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Musashimaru Kōyō
is a Japanese former professional sumo wrestler. He was born in American Samoa, before moving to Hawaii at the age of 10. At 18 he moved to Japan and made his professional sumo debut in 1989, reaching the top ''makuuchi'' division in 1991. After reaching the rank of '' ōzeki'' in 1994 his progress seemed to stall, but in 1999 he became only the second foreign-born wrestler in history to reach the sport's highest rank of ''yokozuna''. Musashimaru won over 700 top division bouts and took twelve top division tournament championships during his career. His sheer bulk combined with of height made him a formidable opponent, and he was remarkably consistent and injury-free for most of his career. An amiable personality, his fan base was helped by a surprising facial resemblance to Japanese warrior hero Saigō Takamori. After becoming a Japanese national and retiring in 2003, he became an elder of the Japan Sumo Association and founded the Musashigawa stable in 2013. Early career F ...
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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 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 ...
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Akebono Tarō
is an American-born Japanese former professional sumo wrestler and professional wrestler from Waimānalo, Hawaii. Joining sumo in Japan in 1988, he was trained by pioneering Hawaiian wrestler Takamiyama and rose swiftly up the rankings, reaching the top division in 1990. After two consecutive '' yusho'' or tournament championships in November 1992 and January 1993 he made history by becoming the first non-Japanese-born wrestler ever to reach ''yokozuna'', the highest rank in sumo. One of the tallest and heaviest wrestlers ever, Akebono's rivalry with the young Japanese hopefuls, Takanohana and Wakanohana, was a big factor in the increased popularity of sumo at tournament venues and on TV in the early 1990s. During his eight years at the ''yokozuna'' rank, Akebono won a further eight tournament championships, for a career total of eleven, and was a runner-up on thirteen other occasions, despite suffering several serious injuries. Although his rival ''yokozuna'' Takanohana wo ...
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Native Hawaiian
Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, First Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians) ( haw, kānaka, , , and ), are the indigenous ethnic group of Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaii was settled at least 800 years ago with the voyage of Polynesians from the Society Islands. The settlers gradually became detached from their original homeland and developed a distinct Hawaiian culture and identity in their new isolated home. That included the creation of new religious and cultural structures, mostly in response to the new living environment and the need for a structured belief system through which to pass on knowledge. Hence, the Hawaiian religion focuses on ways to live and relate to the land and instills a sense of communal living as well as a specialized spatial awareness. The Hawaiian Kingdom was formed in 1795, when Kamehameha the Great, of the independent island of Hawaiʻi, conquered the independent islands of Oʻ ...
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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 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 ...
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Samoans
Samoans or Samoan people ( sm, tagata Sāmoa) are the indigenous Polynesian people of the Samoan Islands, an archipelago in Polynesia, who speak the Samoan language. The group's home islands are politically and geographically divided between the Independent State of Samoa and American Samoa, an unincorporated territory of the United States of America. Though divided by national border, the culture and language are the same. The Samoan people and culture form a vital link and stepping stone in the formation and spread of Polynesian culture, language and religion throughout Eastern Polynesia. Polynesian trade, religion, war, and colonialism are important markers within Polynesian culture that are almost certainly rooted in the Samoan culture. Samoa's colonial history with the kingdom of Tonga, Fiji and French Polynesia form the basis of modern Polynesian culture. Social organization Among the many parts of Samoan society, three are described below: The ''matai'' (chief), the ''a ...
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Konishiki Yasokichi
Saleva'a Fuauli Atisano'e (born December 31, 1963), professionally known as is an American former sumo wrestler.Franz LidzMeat Bomb, 05.18.92 - ''Sports Illustrated'' He was the first non-Japanese-born wrestler to reach '' ōzeki'', the second-highest possible rank in the sport. During his career he won the top division championship on three occasions and came very close to becoming the first foreign-born grand champion, or ''yokozuna'', prompting a social debate in Japan as to whether a foreigner could have the necessary cultural understanding to be deemed acceptable in sumo's ultimate rank. At a peak weight of he was also at the time the heaviest wrestler ever in sumo, earning him the nicknames "Meat Bomb" and, most famously, "The Dump Truck".Franz LidzMeat Bomb, 05.18.92 - ''Sports Illustrated'' Early career Playing truant from school one day, Atisanoe, already 170kg at the age of 18, was spotted on the beach in Hawaii by a sumo talent scout and was offered the chance to go ...
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Takamiyama Daigorō
is a former sumo wrestler, the first foreign-born wrestler to win the top division championship (in 1972). His highest rank was ''sekiwake''. His active career spanned twenty years from 1964 to 1984, and he set a number of longevity list of sumo record holders, records, including most tournaments ranked in the top ''makuuchi'' division, and most consecutive top division appearances. He is also the first foreign-born wrestler ever to take charge of a training heya (sumo), stable, founding Azumazeki stable in 1986. His most successful wrestler was fellow Hawaiian Akebono Taro, Akebono who reached the highest rank of ''yokozuna (sumo), yokozuna'' in 1993. He retired as a coach in 2009 in sumo, 2009. Early life Kuhaulua was born in Happy Valley, Maui to parents who were mostly of Native Hawaiians, Hawaiian descent. Due to his impressive height of 6 foot 2 inches (189 cm) and 280 pounds (127 kg), he was recruited as a tackle for the Henry Perrine Baldwin High School ...
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World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the deadliest conflict in human history; it resulted in 70 to 85 million fatalities, mostly among civilians. Tens of millions died due to genocides (including the Holocaust), starvation, ma ...
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Rikidōzan
(born Kim Sin-rak; ; November 14, 1924 – December 15, 1963), better known as Rikidōzan (), was a Korean-born Japanese wrestler who competed in sumo and professional wrestling. He was known as The Father of Puroresu, and one of the most influential persons in professional wrestling history. Initially, he had moved from his native country Korea to Japan to become a ''rikishi'' (sumo wrestler). He was credited with bringing the sport of professional wrestling to Japan at a time when the Japanese needed a local hero to emulate and was lauded as a national hero. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2017, becoming the first Korean inductee and the third puroresu star to be inducted after Antonio Inoki and Tatsumi Fujinami. He was killed in a street fight with a member of the Sumiyoshi-ikka in 1963. Biography Early years Rikidōzan was born Kim Sin-rak in Kankyō-nan, Chōsen (now South Hamgyong, North Korea), on November 14, 1924. He was the youngest son of Kim ...
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