was a Japanese professional

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 Taitō, Tokyo. He was the sport's 40th ''

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 ...

'', and later a

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

Sumo career

Azumafuji's real name was . He made professional debut in January 1936, joining

Takasago stable is a stable of sumo wrestlers, one of the Takasago group of stables. It is correctly written in Japanese as "髙砂部屋", but the first of these ''kanji'' is rare, and is more commonly written as "高砂部屋". History The stable was establ ...

. He was promoted to 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 in May 1943. On the sixth day of the November 1944 tournament, he defeated ''yokozuna''

Futabayama was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Oita Prefecture. Entering sumo in 1927, he was the sport's 35th ''Yokozuna (sumo), yokozuna'' from 1937 until his retirement in 1945. He won twelve ''yūshō'' or top division championships and had ...

, the last wrestler ever to do so as Futabayama pulled out of the tournament the next day and only fought one more bout before his retirement. Azumafuji was promoted to '' ōzeki'' in June 1945 on the strength of two runner-up performances. He won his first top division championship in May 1948, and was promoted to the top ''yokozuna'' rank in October of that year after finishing as runner-up. Going against historical trends, he managed to win his debut ''yokozuna'' tournament, in January 1949. On the 12th day of the September 1951 tournament, Azumafuji recorded an '' azukari'', or hold, a rare result. On that day, he had come down with acute

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

but he forced himself to continue in the tournament as he had only one loss. Azumafuji fought with then ''ōzeki'' Yoshibayama twice, but the outcome still could not be determined. After the second bout, Azumafuji could not stand up any more and conceded defeat, but the gentlemanly Yoshibayama insisted that the fairest result was to declare a hold, which was confirmed by the officials. Azumafuji went on to win the tournament, his fourth championship. Azumafuji handprint

Azumafuji won his sixth and final championship in September 1953, and struggled with injuries after that. In September 1954, ''ōzeki''

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 ...

seemed certain to win his second consecutive championship. Azumafuji suddenly announced his retirement at that tournament, not wishing to hinder Tochinshiki's promotion to ''yokozuna''. Had he remained, Tochinishiki would have become the fifth active ''yokozuna'', an unprecedented situation. Tochinishiki reportedly asked Azumafuji to reconsider his decision, but to no avail.

Professional wrestling career

Azumafuji was the first ''yokozuna'' to turn to Western-style

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

, in 1955. This occurred after a dispute 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 ...

between two other elders, Takasago and Tatsunami, which he wished to escape. In April 1955 he won the NWA Hawaii Tag Team Championship in

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

alongside another former sumo wrestler turned professional wrestler,

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 (professional wrestling ...

. In 1956 he defeated former

judoka is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

Toshio Yamaguchi to win the Japanese Heavyweight tournament.History of Puroresu : The Rikidozan Era
/ref> This tournament was supposed to give him a shot at Rikidozan, at the time the Japanese Heavyweight Champion, but the match never took place.

Championships and accomplishments

* Mid-Pacific Promotions :* NWA Hawaii Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) - with

Sumo top division record

*''From 1953 a New Year tournament was added and the Spring tournament began to be held in Osaka.'' ''*d = draw (引分) / h = hold (預り)''

References

External links

Japan Sumo Association profile

Article on Azumafuji
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Azumafuji, Kinichi 1921 births 1973 deaths Japanese sumo wrestlers Yokozuna Japanese male professional wrestlers People from Taitō Sumo people from Tokyo 20th-century Japanese sportsmen