was a Japanese
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 is formally recognised as
the third ''yokozuna''. His real name was . He came from
Mutsu Province
was an old province of Japan in the area of Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate and Aomori Prefectures and the municipalities of Kazuno and Kosaka in Akita Prefecture.
Mutsu Province is also known as or . The term is often used to refer to the comb ...
in the
Sendai Domain
The , also known as the , was a domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1600 to 1871.
The Sendai Domain was based at Aoba Castle in Mutsu Province, in the modern city of Sendai, located in the Tōhoku region of the i ...
(part of what is now
Miyagi Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Miyagi Prefecture has a population of 2,305,596 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Miyagi Prefecture borders Iwate Prefecture to the north, Akita Prefecture to the nort ...
).
Career
Maruyama went to
Edo
Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo.
Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...
(now Tokyo) at the age of just 17, and was trained by . His height was 197 cm and his weight was 166 kg. He left Edo to fight in
Osaka
is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...
sumo. In Osaka, he debuted at west ''
ōzeki'' in 1737. It is said that he lost only two bouts in his career.
He is considered to have been a strong wrestler but it has not been proven that he was awarded a ''yokozuna'' license. In honor of him, the house of ''Yoshida Tsukasa'' allowed him to be their disciple from August 1749 but this did not confer him the status of ''yokozuna''. However, there are tales told that he wore a black-and-white rope. Though it was not a traditional ''
shimenawa
are lengths of laid rice straw or hemp rope used for ritual purification in the Shinto religion.
vary in diameter from a few centimetres to several metres, and are often seen festooned with —traditional paper streamers. A space bound by ty ...
'',
Masahiko Nomi
Masahiko Nomi (能見 正比古 ''Nomi Masahiko'', July 18, 1925 – October 30, 1981) was a Japanese journalist who advocated Takeji Furukawa's idea of an influence of blood type on personality. He was also known as a sumo essayist.
History
No ...
conjectured that it may have been related to the ''shimenawa''.
Maruyama died in Nagasaki while an active sumo wrestler on November 14, 1749 possibly from
dysentery
Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications ...
. His grave lies in
Nagasaki
is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan.
It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...
,
Nagasaki Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Nagasaki Prefecture has a population of 1,314,078 (1 June 2020) and has a geographic area of 4,130 Square kilometre, km2 (1,594 sq mi). Nagasaki Prefecture borders ...
. A statue of him stands in Yoneyama,
Tome, Miyagi
270px, Tome City Hall
is a city located in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 77,897 and a population density of 150 persons per km² in 27,298 households. The total area of the city is . The area is noted for it ...
.
It was not until over 150 years after his death that Maruyama was recognised as the third ''yokozuna'' by later ''yokozuna''
Jinmaku when he was compiling a formal list for a monument.
His life and career predate
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 ...
and tournament records, so no record of his rank and bouts exists.
See also
*
*
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 ...
*
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
Brief biography
1713 births
1749 deaths
Japanese sumo wrestlers
Sumo people from Miyagi Prefecture
Yokozuna
Sumo wrestlers who died while active
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