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

Sendai is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Miyagi Prefecture, the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,091,407 in 525,828 households, and is one of Japan's 20 Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, desig ...

Satsuma Province was an old province of Japan that is now the western half of Kagoshima Prefecture on the island of Kyūshū. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Satsuma" in . Its abbreviation is . History Satsuma's provincial capital was Satsumasendai. Durin ...

. He was the sport's 16th ''

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 ...

'', and the first to be officially listed as such on the ''

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 ...

'' ranking sheets, an act which strengthened the prestige of ''yokozuna'' as the highest level of achievement in professional sumo.

Early career

His real name was . He began his career in

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

sumo, joining Tokinokoe stable in 1873. He was promoted to 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 1879, and made

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 on ...

in September 1879, a tournament which was held under the joint auspices of the Kyoto and

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 organisations. He was persuaded by Uragoro Takasago, formerly of Osaka sumo, to join

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

sumo in his newly founded

Takasago stable is a stable of sumo wrestlers, one of the Takasago group of stables. It is correctly written in Japanese as "髙砂部屋", but the first of these ''kanji'' is rare, and is more commonly written as "高砂部屋". History The stable was establi ...

. He made his debut in a special ''makuuchi'' division rank in January 1882. He had a rapid rise, making '' ōzeki'' just seven tournaments later in January 1885. His rivals included

stablemates ''Stablemates'' is a 1938 American sports drama film directed by Sam Wood and starring Wallace Beery and Mickey Rooney. Plot Aspiring jockey Mickey idolizes hard-drinking former veterinarian Tom Terry, who shares advice about horses with Mickey ...

Odate, Ichinoya and

Konishiki 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- ...

. Nishinoumi fell to ''sekiwake'' in January 1886, despite recording a ''

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

'' winning score, as at the time a ''

'' on the east side of the ''banzuke'' with a better record could overtake an ''ōzeki'' on the same side. After winning a ''

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 ...

'' equivalent with an unbeaten 9–0 score in May 1889 he returned to ''ōzeki'', and after another good 7–2 score in the next tournament he was awarded a ''yokozuna'' licence in March 1890.

''Yokozuna''

However, Nishinoumi's promotion caused a problem. Although he had been made a ''yokozuna'', his rank was listed as ''haridashi ōzeki'', below his rival ''ōzeki''

Konishiki Yasokichi I was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Musha District, Kazusa Province. He was the sport's 17th ''yokozuna''. Career His real name was . Konishiki made his professional debut in May 1883 and reached the top ''makuuchi'' division in M ...

on the ''

'' (the sumo wrestlers' hierarchy) for the May 1890 tournament. This was because of Konishiki's 8–0 unbeaten score in the previous tournament. Nishinoumi's name was literally shunted out to the side on the ''banzuke'', and he complained about this to those in authority. To placate him, ''yokozuna'' was written on the ''banzuke'' for the first time in sumo history. It was a compromise specifically for him, but because of this the name ''yokozuna'' became an official rank for the first time after this dispute. In the top ''makuuchi'' division, he won 127 bouts and lost 37 bouts, recording a winning percentage of 77.4.

Retirement from sumo

Nishinoumi became an elder known as

Izutsu ' is a classic Noh play written by Zeami, the dominant figure in the early history of Noh theatre. ''Izutsu'' is based on an old story, ''Tsutsu-Izutsu'' (筒井筒), from the ''Ise monogatari'', a 10th-century collection of stories, many of wh ...

after his retirement in January 1896, and became head coach of

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' ...

. He produced several top wrestlers from Kagoshima Prefecture, amongst them 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 ...

(the great-grandfather of current Izutsu head

Sakahoko Sakahoko Nobushige (born Yoshiaki Fukuzono; 18 June 1961 – 16 September 2019) was a Japanese sumo wrestler. The son of Tsurugamine, he made his professional debut in 1978, reaching the top ''makuuchi'' division in 1982. His highest rank w ...

) who succeeded him upon his death from heart failure in 1908.

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

.''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nishinoumi Kajiro 1855 births 1908 deaths Japanese sumo wrestlers Yokozuna Sumo people from Kagoshima Prefecture

Early career

''Yokozuna''

Retirement from sumo

Top division record

See also

References