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 thr ...
wrestler from
Musha District,
Kazusa Province
was a province of Japan in the area of modern Chiba Prefecture. The province was located in the middle of the Bōsō Peninsula, whose name takes its first ''kanji'' from the name of Awa Province and its second from Kazusa and Shimōsa province ...
. He was the sport's 17th ''
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 ...
''.
Career
His real name was . Konishiki made his professional debut in May 1883 and reached the top ''
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 ...
'' division in May 1888. He won 39 bouts in a row after his ''makuuchi'' debut. Konishiki was promoted to ''
ōzeki'' in May 1890, and awarded a ''yokozuna'' licence by the house of ''Yoshida Tsukasa'' in March 1896. He was somewhat weak on technical skills, but had great speed.
Around the time of his promotion to ''yokozuna'', his stablemaster
Takasago Uragoro suffered an illness, and so Konishiki took care of him. In spite of his amazing debut, he did not have the best record in any tournaments as ''yokozuna''. On April 8, 1900, his stablemaster died. Konishiki was absent from the next tournament and retired in January 1901. In the top makuuchi division, he won 119 bouts and lost 24 bouts, recording a winning percentage of 83.2.
The
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 ...
an-born ''ōzeki''
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- ...
was named after him. ''Ōzeki'' Konishiki was actually the 6th Konishiki, and three wrestlers named Konishiki have been promoted to the top ''makuuchi'' division.
Top division record
''*Championships for the best record in a tournament were not recognized or awarded before the 1909 summer tournament and the above unofficial championships are historically conferred. For more information see
yūshō
is the term for a championship in Japanese. This article focuses on championships in the sport of professional sumo.
It is awarded in each of the six annual ''honbasho'' or official tournaments, to the wrestler who wins the most bouts. ''Yūs ...
.''
See also
*
*
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 ...
*
List of yokozuna
This is a list of all sumo wrestlers who have reached the sport's highest rank of ''yokozuna''. It was not recorded on the ''banzuke'' until 1890 and was not officially recognised as sumo's highest rank until 1909. Until then, ''yokozuna'' was mer ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Konishiki, Yasokichi
1866 births
1914 deaths
Japanese sumo wrestlers
Yokozuna
Sumo people from Chiba Prefecture