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

Ogachi, Akita was a town located in Ogachi District, Akita Prefecture, Japan. In 2003, the town had an estimated population of 9,041 and a density of 29.54 persons per km². The total area was 306.02 km². On March 22, 2005, Ogachi, along with the town of I ...

. He was the sport's 38th ''

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 ...

''. He was promoted to ''yokozuna'' without any top division tournament titles to his name, although he later attained two.

Career

Born , he later changed his name to . In the summer of 1930, he was scouted by Isegahama, 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 on ...

'' Kiyosegawa Keinosuke, his distant relative. However, he was largely forgotten due to the disruption caused by the Shunjuen Incident of 1932, in which a large number of wrestlers went on strike. After the dispute was settled, he joined

Isegahama stable Isegahama stable was a heya or stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Tatsunami-Isegahama ''ichimon,'' or group of stables. It was founded in 1859 by former ''komusubi'' Arakuma. It was led from 1929 by former ''sekiwake'' Kiyosegawa. His dau ...

in 1934, making his debut in January 1935 with the Terukuni Manzō ''

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. 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 May 1939, and reached the '' ōzeki'' rank in May 1941. After two tournaments at ''ōzeki'', he finished in a three way tie for the championship in May 1942 with

Futabayama was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Oita Prefecture. Entering sumo in 1927, he was the sport's 35th ''yokozuna'' from 1937 until his retirement in 1945. He won twelve ''yūshō'' or top division championships and had a winning streak ...

and

Akinoumi , born , was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Hiroshima. He was the sport's 37th ''yokozuna''. Career Akinoumi made his professional debut in February 1932 and reached the top ''makuuchi'' division in January 1938. He was the man wh ...

, on 13-2. The championship was awarded to Futabayama (whom Terukuni had defeated in their individual match) simply because he was of a higher rank, as was the rule at the time. Nevertheless, after the tournament both Terukuni and Akinoumi were promoted to ''yokozuna''. At 23 years of age, Terukuni was the youngest wrestler to reach the ''yokozuna'' rank until the promotion of Taihō in 1961. He did well in his ''yokozuna'' debut, scoring 14–1, although he finished one win behind Futabayama, who won his last match by default. Terukuni was a heavy wrestler for his time, weighing over . During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, his weight declined due to the food shortages. He changed the spelling of his ''shikona'' given name to in May 1945, but changed it back in October 1949. Having been a runner-up on five previous occasions, Terukuni finally won his first championship in September 1950, about eight years after his promotion. He won his second championship in the very next tournament with a perfect 15–0 record. Three days into the January 1953 tournament, he announced his retirement. After the tournament,

Kagamisato was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Aomori Prefecture. He was the sport's 42nd ''yokozuna''. Career He was born in a small fishing village in Sannohe District. He came from a poor family as his father had died when he was very you ...

was promoted to ''yokozuna'', and a photograph was taken of Terukuni and Kagamisato alongside the other grand champions

Chiyonoyama was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Fukushima, Hokkaidō. He was the sport's 41st ''yokozuna'' from 1951 until 1959. He is regarded as the first "modern" ''yokozuna'' in that he was promoted by the Japan Sumo Association itself and n ...

Azumafuji was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Taitō, Tokyo. He was the sport's 40th ''yokozuna'', and later a professional wrestler. Sumo career His real name was . He made professional debut in January 1936, joining Takasago stable. He w ...

and Haguroyama. As Terukuni had not yet had his official retirement ceremony, some regard January 1953 as being the only occasion on which there were five ''yokozuna'' at the same time.

Retirement from sumo

After his retirement, Terukuni became head coach of

and produced ''ōzeki'' Kiyokuni Katsuo. He had already made arrangements to pass control over the stable over to Kiyokuni at the time of his death in 1977 at the age of 58.

Career record

*''Through most of the 1940s only two tournaments were held a year, and in 1946 only one was held. The New Year tournament began and the Spring tournament moved to Osaka in 1953.''

References

External links

Japan Sumo Association profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Terukuni, Manzo 1919 births 1977 deaths Japanese sumo wrestlers Sumo people from Akita Prefecture Yokozuna

Career

Retirement from sumo

Career record

See also

References

External links