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. He was the sport's 30th ''

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

He was born . He joined

Izutsu stable was a stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Tokitsukaze group of stables. Its last incarnation was in existence from 1972 until 2019. The stable was established in the Meiji era by former ''yokozuna'' Nishinoumi Kajirō I, the 16th ''yokozuna' ...

and made a debut in January 1910. His first ''

shikona A is a sumo wrestler's ring name. The tradition of ring names in sumo dates back to the Edo period, where they were used as a means to attract customers and hide the identities of the ''rikishi''. Like standard Japanese names, a ''shikona'' co ...

'' or ring name was . In January 1914, he changed its given name to . He was promoted to the top makuuchi division in January 1916. He was promoted to ''ōzeki'' in January 1922. After

Ōnishiki Uichirō was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler. He was the sport's 26th ''yokozuna''. On November 2, 1922, he became the first ''yokozuna'' to perform the '' yokozuna dohyō-iri'' at the Meiji Shrine. Biography He was born , in Osaka on November 2 ...

left the sumo world, there remained only one ''yokozuna'',

Tochigiyama was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler. He was the sport's 27th ''yokozuna'' from 1918 until 1925. Generally he is considered one of the pioneers of modern sumo. He remains the lightest ''yokozuna'' in the history of the sport with a weight ...

, in Tokyo sumo at that time. The Tokyo Sumo Association wanted to promote one more ''yokozuna''. Although he didn't record significantly superior results, he was awarded a ''yokozuna'' licence in April 1923. He was promoted to that rank without winning any championships in 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. Therefore, his promotion was controversial, although championships (''

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 ...

'') before January 1926 were officially awarded not by the Sumo Association but by a newspaper, the Osaka ''

Mainichi Shimbun The is one of the major newspapers in Japan, published by In addition to the ''Mainichi Shimbun'', which is printed twice a day in several local editions, Mainichi also operates an English language news website called ''The Mainichi'' (previ ...

''. To mark his promotion he changed his ''shikona'' to Nishinoumi Kajirō in January 1924, in honour of his stablemaster who was the 25th ''yokozuna''

Nishinoumi Kajirō II was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler. He was the sport's 25th ''yokozuna''. Career His real name was , but he later changed his surname to . He entered sumo in January 1900, using the ''shikona'' name . He changed it to in May 1905, a ...

. He won his only championship in May 1925. He was stricken by

heart disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, hea ...

in November 1925 and was absent from the next tournament. His strength continued to decline and he retired in October 1928. In the top ''makuuchi'' division, he won 134 bouts and lost 60 bouts, recording a winning percentage of 69.1. Upon his retirement he became an

elder An elder is someone with a degree of seniority or authority. Elder or elders may refer to: Positions Administrative * Elder (administrative title), a position of authority Cultural * North American Indigenous elder, a person who has and tr ...

of the

Japan Sumo Association The is the body that operates and controls professional sumo wrestling (called ''Ōzumō'', 大相撲) in Japan under the jurisdiction of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). ''Rikishi'' (active ...

under the name Asakayama, and in 1929 opened up his own

Asakayama stable is a stable of sumo wrestlers. Previous incarnations with this stable name have existed, with the last being headed by former ''yokozuna'' Nishinoumi, and which folded in 1933. The current incarnation is part of the Isegahama ''ichimon'' or group ...

(unconnected to the stable of the same name established in 2014) which he ran until his death in 1933.

Top division record

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

References

External links

Japan Sumo Association profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nishinoumi, Kajiro, Iii 1890 births 1933 deaths Japanese sumo wrestlers Yokozuna Sumo people from Kagoshima Prefecture

Career

Top division record

See also

References

External links