(1911–2013) was a stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Nishonoseki group of stables (''

ichimon The following words are terms used in sumo wrestling in Japan. A B C D E F G H ...

'') named after it. It first appeared in the late eighteenth century and was re-established in 1935 by the 32nd ''yokozuna'' Tamanishiki while still active. The former ''ōzeki'' Saganohana produced the stable's greatest wrestler, ''yokozuna'' Taihō, who won a record for the time of 32 ''

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. ''Y� ...

'' or tournament championships between 1961 and 1971. The stable's last head coach, 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 o ...

'' Kongō, took charge in 1976, when he was adopted by the widow of the previous head. He was also on the board of directors 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 ...

. The stable's fortunes declined in later years. It had no ''

sekitori A ''sekitori'' (関取) is a '' rikishi'' (力士, sumo wrestler) who is ranked in one of the top two professional divisions: '' makuuchi'' and ''jūryō''. The name literally translates to having taken the barrier, as only a relatively small fra ...

'' wrestlers after the retirement of Daizen in 2003 and at the end had just three active wrestlers, all in ''

sandanme 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 ...

'' or below (and one of whom, Kasachikara, was 41 years old, and the second oldest active wrestler in sumo). The

naturalisation Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...

of a Chinese born

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 ...

, Ryūtei, opened up another spot in the stable for a foreigner, and a Mongolian wrestler was recruited in March 2010,

Kengo ''Kengo'' (剣豪) is a series of video games developed by Genki. ''Kengo'' is considered a spiritual successor to the '' Bushido Blade'' game series for the PlayStation. Games ''Kengo: Master of Bushido'' ''Kengo 2: Legacy of the Blade'' T ...

, but he retired in May 2011 having missed several tournaments due to suffering a traumatic brain injury. In February 2010 general affairs manager Yoshiyuki Inoguchi, a former wrestler for the stable from 1975 to 1993 under the ''

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'' ...

'' of Nijodake, was found hanged in an apparent suicide. The stable closed after the January 2013 tournament, due to the ill health of the stablemaster and the lack of a suitable successor to him. All three of its wrestlers retired, with the rest of the personnel (except Fujigane-''oyakata'') moving to

Matsugane stable , formerly known as Matsugane stable and Nishonoseki stable, is a stable of sumo wrestlers. It was founded in 1990 as Matsugane stable by Wakashimazu who branched out from the Futagoyama stable. It has produced five top ''makuuchi'' division ...

. The name of the stable was written in three-storey-high characters down the front of the building. It has since been demolished to make way for apartment blocks.

Owners

*1976-2013: 10th Nishonoseki (former ''sekiwake'' Kongō Masahiro) *1975-1976: 9th Nishonoseki interim *1952-1975: 8th Nishonoseki (former ''ōzeki'' Saganohana Katsumi) *1938-1952: 7th Nishonoseki (former ''sekiwake'' Tamanoumi Umekichi) * 1935-1938: 6th Nishonoseki ( the 32nd ''yokozuna''

Tamanishiki San'emon was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Kōchi. He was the sport's 32nd ''yokozuna''. He won a total of nine top division ''yūshō'' or tournament championships from 1929 to 1936, and was the dominant wrestler in sumo until the emerge ...

)

Coaches

*Kitajin (former ''sekiwake'' Kirinji) *Minatogawa (former ''komusubi''

Daitetsu is a former sumo wrestler from Ōno, Fukui, Japan. He made his professional debut in July 1971, and reached the top division in November, 1983. His highest rank was ''komusubi''. He retired in September 1990, and has worked as a coach at both ...

) *Fujigane (former ''komusubi'' Daizen)

Notable members

* Tamanishiki ( the 32nd ''yokozuna'') * Taihō ( the 48th ''yokozuna'') *

Daikirin Daikirin Takayoshi (大麒麟將能) (20 June 1942 – 4 August 2010), born Masakatsu Tsutsumi, was a sumo wrestler from Saga Prefecture, Japan. He began his professional career in 1958 and reached his highest rank of '' ōzeki'' twelve years l ...

(former ''ōzeki'') * Saganohana (former ''ōzeki'') *

Rikidōzan (born Kim Sin-rak; ; November 14, 1924 – December 15, 1963), better known as Rikidōzan (), was a Korean-born Japanese wrestler who competed in sumo and professional wrestling. He was known as The Father of Puroresu, and one of the most in ...

(former ''sekiwake'') * Tamanoumi (former ''sekiwake'') * Kongō (former ''sekiwake'') *

Kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending t ...

(former ''sekiwake'')

Referee

*Shinnosuke Shikimori (Hiromitsu Oshida) - ''jūryō'' referee

References

{{Reflist

External links