was a legendary figure in Japanese history, regarded as the founder of

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 ...

wrestling. He was the founder of the

Haji Hajji ( ar, الحجّي; sometimes spelled Hadji, Haji, Alhaji, Al-Hadj, Al-Haj or El-Hajj) is an honorific title which is given to a Muslim who has successfully completed the Hajj to Mecca. It is also often used to refer to an elder, since it ...

Muraji (from Old Japanese: ''muraⁿzi'' < *''mura-nusi'' "village master") was an ancient Japanese hereditary title denoting rank and political standing (a ''

clan.

Life

Nomi no Sukune Wrestling with Taima no Kehaya LACMA M

Sukune is said to have lived during the reign of

Emperor Suinin , also known as was the 11th legendary Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Less is known about ''Suinin'' than his father, and likewise he is also considered to be a "legendary emperor". Both the ''Kojiki'', and t ...

(29 BC – 70). Allegedly, in 23 B.C., the Emperor instructed Nomi no Sukune to deal with after he boasted that he was the strongest man "''under the heavens''". Nomi no Sukune engaged Taima no Kuyahaya in hand-to-hand combat and broke his ribs with one kick and his back with another, killing Taima no Kehaya. It was not modern sumo, but he is regarded as the creator of sumo. He was an ancestor of

Sugawara no Michizane was a scholar, poet, and politician of the Heian Period of Japan. He is regarded as an excellent poet, particularly in Kanshi poetry, and is today revered in Shinto as the god of learning, . In the poem anthology ''Hyakunin Isshu'', he is known ...

, great-grandfather to Haji no Mino and was the founder of the Haji clan after his creation of ''

haniwa The are terracotta clay figures that were made for ritual use and buried with the dead as funerary objects during the Kofun period (3rd to 6th centuries AD) of the history of Japan. ''Haniwa'' were created according to the ''wazumi'' technique, ...

.''

Legacy

A mural of him, removed from the old National Olympic Stadium in 2014, will be put on display at the new stadium in 2019.

References

People of Yayoi-period Japan Japanese sumo wrestlers Japanese jujutsuka Deified Japanese people

External links

Nomi no Sukune
- ''History of Japan Website.'' {{japan-sport-bio-stub Deified Japanese people in the Kiki