was a
stable
A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...
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 ...
wrestlers, part of the
Dewanoumi ''
ichimon
The following words are terms used in sumo wrestling in Japan.
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
...
'' or group of stables. It was established in February 2000 by former ''
maegashira
, 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 ...
''
Kushimaumi
Kushimaumi Keita (久島海 啓太; 6 August 1965 – 13 February 2012), born as Keita Kushima (久嶋 啓太), was a sumo wrestler from Shingū, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. A successful amateur, his highest rank in professional sumo was '' ...
,
who branched off from Dewanoumi stable. It was located in the
Koto ward
Koto may refer to:
* Koto (band), an Italian synth pop group
* Koto (instrument), a Japanese musical instrument
* Koto (kana), a ligature of two Japanese katakana
* Koto (traditional clothing), a traditional dress made by Afro-Surinamese women
* K ...
of
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 ...
. In 2012 it had eight sumo wrestlers.
Tagonoura did not recruit any wrestlers from
Nihon University
, abbreviated as , is a private university, private research university in Japan. Its predecessor, Nihon Law School (currently the Department of Law), was founded by Yamada Akiyoshi, the Minister of Justice (Japan), Minister of Justice, in 1889. ...
, despite his own amateur sumo background there, and though he did recruit foreigners he avoided the most common sources such as
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
and
Mongolia
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...
, instead taking in the
Tonga
Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...
n
Hisanoumi in 2001, and later the
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
n
Aoiyama (Daniel Ivanov) who became the stable's first ''
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 fract ...
'' and reached the rank of ''maegashira'' 7 in January 2012.
The stable suffered a number of setbacks, including Tagonoura's heart attack in 2003, the death of a 17-year-old ''
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 ...
'' wrestler in 2004 and the death of a ''
yobidashi
A is an announcer who calls a professional sumo wrestler, or ''rikishi'', to the ''dohyō'' (wrestling ring) immediately prior to his bout. He does this by calling the name of each wrestler fighting in turn while holding a traditional folding fa ...
'' in 2008. Following the death of Tagonoura in February 2012 the stable was dissolved, with half the wrestlers going to Dewanoumi stable and the other half, including Aoiyama, going to
Kasugano stable
is a Heya (sumo), stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Dewanoumi ''Glossary of sumo terms#ichimon, ichimon'' or group of stables. As of January 2022 it had 18 wrestlers. It has been led by former ''sekiwake'' Tochinowaka Kiyotaka since 2003. It w ...
.
Ring name conventions
Many wrestlers from this stable took ''
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 ...
'' that begin with the character 碧 (read: aoi), meaning blue. Examples include Aoiyama, Aokishin and Aozora.
Owner
*2000-2012: 14th: Tagonoura Keihito (former ''maegashira'' Kushimaumi)
Notable wrestlers
*
Aoiyama
*
Aotsurugi
Aotsurugi Kenta (born 16 December 1982 as Tevita Lato Taufa) is a former professional sumo wrestler from Tongatapu, Tonga. He made his debut in 2001 but had many injury problems. In 2006, he obtained Japanese citizenship, adopting the official name ...
(aka Hisanoumi)
See also
*
List of sumo stables
The following is an alphabetical list of ''heya'' or training stables in professional sumo. All belong to one of five groups, called ''ichimon''. These groups, led by the stable by which each group is named, are in order of size: Dewanoumi ''ichi ...
References
{{Reflist
External links
Official websiteTagonoura stable at the Japan Sumo Association
Defunct sumo stables