Tsurugamine Akio (26 April 1929 – 29 May 2006), real name Akio Fukuzono, was a sumo wrestler from

Aira ''Aira'' is a genus of Old World plants in the grass family, native to western and southern Europe, central and southwest Asia, plus Africa. The common name, shared with the similar related genera '' Deschampsia'' and ''Koeleria'', is hair-g ...

Kagoshima , abbreviated to , is the capital city of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Located at the southwestern tip of the island of Kyushu, Kagoshima is the largest city in the prefecture by some margin. It has been nicknamed the "Naples of the Eastern wor ...

, Japan. His highest rank was ''

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 ...

.'' He was twice runner-up in a tournament and won 14 special prizes, including a record ten for Technique, and earned ten gold stars for defeating ''

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 ...

.'' After his retirement he was the head 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' ...

and coached two of his sons,

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 ...

and

Terao is a Japanese former sumo wrestler. He was born in Tokyo, but brought up in Kajiki, Aira District, Kagoshima, Japan. He fought out of Izutsu stable. The highest rank he reached was ''sekiwake.'' Despite his relatively light weight he had an ...

, to the top division.

Career

Fukuzono was in the navy during World War II, but had an interest in joining sumo. He began his professional career in June 1947, recruited by a fellow Kagoshima Prefecture native, 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 o ...

'' Tsurugamine Michiyoshi, who had just retired and become Izutsu Oyakata. He began under his own surname of Fukuzono but in his first official tournament 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 ...

'' he switched to Kakureizan. He won the ''

jonokuchi 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 ...

'' ''

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 championship in this tournament. In November 1947 he followed Izutsu Oyakata in leaving

Tokitsukaze stable The is a stable of sumo wrestlers in Japan, one of the Tokitsukaze group of stables. It was founded in 1769 and was dominant during the Taishō period. In its modern form it dates from 1941 when it was established by Futabayama, who was still ...

to a newly re-established

. After winning the ''

jūryō 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. Fo ...

'' championship in September 1952 and following up with a 9–6 record in January 1953, 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 o ...

'' division. To mark the occasion he adopted his stablemaster's old ''

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 Tsurugamine. He had an exceptionally long top division career, which lasted fourteen years from March 1953 to his retirement in July 1967 at the age of thirty eight. He fought in the top division for 77 tournaments and won 550 bouts there. Both were records at the time, although his ''makuuchi'' wins record was surpassed by Taiho (who had fought all of his bouts in the six tournaments per year system) in the following September 1967 tournament and his ''makuuchi'' tournaments record was surpassed by Takamiyama in November 1980. His best result was in January 1956 when he lost only one bout and took part in a playoff for the tournament championship with ''yokozuna''

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 ...

. He was also runner-up in the July 1962 tournament. He earned ten ''

kinboshi is a notation used in professional sumo wrestling to record a lower-ranked (''maegashira'') wrestler's victory over a ''yokozuna''. It is believed that the term stems from the usage of the terms ''shiroboshi'' (lit: white star) to designate a bo ...

'' (gold stars) for defeating ''yokozuna'', four over

Tochinishiki was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Tokyo. He was the sport's 44th ''yokozuna''. He won ten top division ''yūshō'' or tournament championships and was a rival of fellow ''yokozuna'' Wakanohana I. He became the head coach of Kasug ...

, three over Wakanohana and three over Asashio. His highest rank was ''

,'' which he held twice in May 1956 and September 1962.

Retirement from sumo

Following his retirement from active competition Tsurugamine became an elder of the

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'' (activ ...

under the ''

toshiyori A is a sumo elder of the Japan Sumo Association (JSA). Also known as , former wrestlers who reached a sufficiently high rank are the only people eligible. The benefits are considerable, as only ''toshiyori'' are allowed to run and coach in su ...

'' name of Kimigahama, and set up his own Kimigahama stable. However, he really coveted the stock of his old

, but was unable to come to agreement with the widow of his old boss, who had died in March 1972. In 1977 he was able to purchase the stock from former ''yokozuna''

Kitanofuji is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Asahikawa, Hokkaidō. He made his professional debut in 1957, reaching the top '' makuuchi'' division in 1964. He was the sport's 52nd '' yokozuna'', a rank he attained in 1970. He won ten to ...

and became head coach of the renamed Izutsu stable. He was well-known for insisting on intense training or ''keiko''. His wife was the adopted daughter of the adopted daughter of the 25th ''yokozuna'' Nishinoumi II, who had founded Izutsu stable in 1909, and all three of his sons joined the stable as new recruits. Two of them,

and

, emulated their father by having successful top division careers. He also oversaw the promotion of Kirishima to '' ōzeki'' in 1990. In 1994 he reached the mandatory retirement age and passed on ownership of the stable to his middle son Sakahoko. Terao founded his own

Shikoroyama stable is a stable of sumo wrestlers, formerly part of the Tokitsukaze ''ichimon'' or group of stables. It was established in its current form in February 2004 by former ''sekiwake'' Terao Tsunefumi, who branched off from the Izutsu stable. He did no ...

in 2004. His oldest son, who used three different ''

'' in his career (Fukuzono, and Tsurunofuji) never got beyond the ''

juryo 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. F ...

'' division and did not qualify to become an elder. Instead he ran a

chankonabe is a Japanese stew (a type of nabemono or one-pot dish) commonly eaten in vast quantity by sumo wrestlers as part of a weight-gain diet. Ingredients and consumption The dish contains a ''dashi'' or chicken broth soup base with sake or ''m ...

restaurant after his retirement in 1990.

Death

Tsurugamine died of

sepsis Sepsis, formerly known as septicemia (septicaemia in British English) or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage is follo ...

in May 2006 at the age of seventy seven.

Fighting style

Tsurugamine was a light but extremely skilful wrestler. His ten '' sanshō'' (special prizes) for Technique remain a record to this day. He specialized in ''morozashi'', or getting a ''

mawashi In sumo, a is the loincloth that (sumo wrestlers) wear during training or in competition. Upper ranked professional wrestlers wear a as part of the ring entry ceremony or . For top ranked professional , it is made of silk and comes in a v ...

'' grip with both hands inside his opponent's. (This technique was also a favourite of his son Sakahoko.) His most common winning ''

kimarite ''Kimarite'' ( ja, 決まり手) is the technique used in sumo by a '' rikishi'' (wrestler) to win a match. It is officially decided or announced by the '' gyōji'' (referee) at the end of the match, though judges can modify this decision. The r ...

'' were ''yori-kiri'' (force out), ''yori-taoshi'' (force out and down) and soto-gake (outer leg trip).

Career record

''The New Year tournament began and the Spring tournament returned to Osaka in 1953.''

Modern top division record

*''Since the addition of the Kyushu tournament in 1957 and the Nagoya tournament in 1958, the yearly schedule has remained unchanged.''