Kagamiiwa Zenshirō (born Zenshirō Sasaki, 4 May 1902 – 5 August 1950) was a

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 from

Aomori Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the east, ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. His highest rank was '' ōzeki.''

Career

Making his debut in 1921, he won his first championship in the ''

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 May 1922. He achieved 6 straight winning records and was promoted to ''

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. For ...

'' in 1925. He then won the ''

'' championship in May 1927 and was promoted to ''

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 on ...

'' in 1928. He secured his first ''

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 b ...

'' or gold star in January 1930 with a win over

Miyagiyama was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Ichinoseki, Iwate, Ichinoseki, Iwate Prefecture. He was the sport's 29th ''Yokozuna (sumo), yokozuna'', and the last ''yokozuna'' in Osaka sumo. Career He was born . In the fall of 1909, he joined ...

, the first tournament in which the system was introduced. During the January 1931 tournament, he was runner up for the championship. He did not wrestle in 1932, but returned in 1933 and reached his highest rank of ''

komusubi , 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 ...

'' in May 1934. He was runner up for the championship a second time in January 1935 and reached the rank of ''

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 ...

'' in January 1936. In January 1937, he was promoted to his final rank of '' ōzeki,'' simultaneously with

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

. At the age of 34 he was the oldest ever to be promoted to ''ōzeki''. In January 1939 he had a bout with Banjaku that went on so long a rest break (''mizu-iri'') was called. Kagamiiwa chose to forfeit the re-match and so was given a loss by default (''fusenpai'') but his opponent sportingly refused to accept a default win, so both wrestlers were marked with a loss.

Retirement from sumo

He retired in May 1939. He had become head coach of Kumegawa

stable A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...

while still active. He recruited and trained ''

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 ...

Kagamisato was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Aomori Prefecture. He was the sport's 42nd ''yokozuna''. Career He was born in a small fishing village in Sannohe District. He came from a poor family as his father had died when he was very you ...

. In 1941 when Futabayama started his own stable, Kagamiiwa wound up his Kumegawa stable and merged it with Futabayama's (it became

Tokitsukaze stable The is a stable of sumo wrestlers in Japan, one of the Tokitsukaze group of stables. It was founded in 1769 and was dominant during the Taishō period. In its modern form it dates from 1941 when it was established by Futabayama, who was still an ...

in 1945). He continued to work as a coach there until his death in 1950 at the age of 48.

Career record

*''In 1927 Tokyo and Osaka sumo merged and four tournaments a year in Tokyo and other locations began to be held.''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kagamiiwa Zenshiro 1902 births 1950 deaths Japanese sumo wrestlers Sumo people from Aomori Prefecture Ōzeki

Career

Retirement from sumo

Career record

See also

References