is a former 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 thr ...
wrestler, who was active from 1989 until 1990. The highest rank he reached was ''
jonidan
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 ...
'' 89. He was the first, and so far only, professional sumo wrestler from the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
.
Career
A former photographic printer from
Edgware
Edgware () is a suburban town in northern Greater London, mostly in the London Borough of Barnet but with small parts falling in the London Borough of Harrow and in the London Borough of Brent. Edgware is centred north-northwest of Charing Cros ...
, London, he was inspired to join sumo after seeing broadcasts on
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
.
After months of training in martial arts techniques with
Syd Hoare
Syd Hoare (18 July 1939 – 12 September 2017) was an English judoka who competed for Great Britain in the 1964 Summer Olympics. Hoare was also a silver medalist in the 1965 European Judo Championships
The 1965 European Judo Championships wer ...
of the
British Sumo Association,
he went to Japan and joined the
Azumazeki stable
was a stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Takasago group of stables. It was founded in February 1986 by the Hawaiian born Takamiyama of the Takasago stable in Higashi–Komagata, Sumida, Tokyo. It was the first stable ever to be run by a fo ...
run by former ''
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 on ...
''
Takamiyama, who had already taken on a number of foreign recruits from
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
. Strange had written a number of letters to Azumazeki Oyakata asking to join.
The name Hidenokuni was chosen to acknowledge his pioneering status as the first ever ''
rikishi
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 t ...
'' from the United Kingdom: the first and last characters of ''Hidenokuni'' together mean ''England''. ''Hajime'' is a common given name in Japan, and can be taken to mean ''start'' or ''beginning''. He found it difficult to adjust to the sumo diet of ''
chankonabe
is a Japanese stew (a type of nabemono or one-pot dish) commonly eaten in vast quantity by sumo wrestlers as part of a weight-gain diet.
Ingredients and consumption
The dish contains a ''dashi'' or chicken broth soup base with sake or ''m ...
'' and instead of gaining weight, he lost in his first two months in Japan.
Hidenokuni's sumo career was short. After coming though ''maezumō'' (pre-sumo) in September 1989, he fought his first tournament in the bottom ''
jonokuchi
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. For ...
'' division in November 1989. In his second ever bout he fought future
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 on ...
Musashimaru, who had joined sumo at the same time as him.
Recording a 5-2 score, Hidenokuni had performed sufficiently well to be promoted to ''
jonidan
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 ...
'' for the January 1990 tournament. He celebrated by going out to a disco with ''
ōzeki''
Konishiki
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 secon ...
, who had just won the top division title.
He again achieved ''
kachi-koshi
The following words are terms used in sumo wrestling in Japan.
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
...
'' in January, meaning he had won 12 of his first 18 bouts.
He had gained quite a lot of attention due to his status as the first ever European in sumo, and even started to receive fan mail. However, he also received very harsh treatment in training from his stablemates, who were not pleased at the attention he was getting,
and this influenced his decision to return to England. He quit immediately after the March 1990 tournament,
although he remained on 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 w ...
'' for the next tournament in May.
Career record
See also
*
*
List of non-Japanese sumo wrestlers
This is a list of foreign-born professional sumo wrestlers by country and/or ethnicity of origin, along with original name, years active in sumo wrestling, and highest rank attained. Names in bold indicate a still-active wrestler.
There are 186 w ...
*
List of past sumo wrestlers
This is a list of prominent past wrestlers (either retired or deceased) in the sport of professional sumo. They are listed in order of the year and tournament month that they made their professional debuts. The information listed below was gleaned ...
References
External links
Hidenokuni
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hidenokuni, Hajime
1971 births
Living people
English sumo wrestlers
Sportspeople from London