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 Shiwa,
Chikuzen Province
was an old province of Japan in the area that is today part of Fukuoka Prefecture in Kyūshū. It was sometimes called or , with Chikugo Province. Chikuzen bordered Buzen, Bungo, Chikugo, and Hizen Provinces.
History
The original provincial ...
. He was the sport's 15th ''
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 generally regarded as the strongest wrestler to emerge since the era of
Tanikaze and
Raiden.
Career
His real name was . Umegatani entered
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 in 1863 and was promoted to ''
ōzeki'' in 1870. He wasn't content with the rank and so gave it up. He transferred to
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 December 1870, and began his career over again from the bottom of the rankings. Umegatani won 58 bouts in a row from January 1876 to January 1881. It is the fourth best record of consecutive victories behind
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 ...
,
Tanikaze and
Hakuhō. He was awarded a ''yokozuna'' licence in February 1884, receiving it simultaneously from both the Osaka and Tokyo based organisations.
Emperor Meiji
, also called or , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession. Reigning from 13 February 1867 to his death, he was the first monarch of the Empire of Japan and presided over the Meiji era. He was the figur ...
took pleasure in seeing his bout on March 10, 1884. The event helped to make sumo more famous among the people of Japan. He won 116 bouts and lost only 6 bouts in 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.
He achieved a winning average of 95.1, the highest record among ''yokozuna'',
though could not surpass ''ōzeki''
Raiden. He was not a particularly large wrestler but was remarkably strong.
Retirement from sumo
After his retirement he remained in the sumo world as a coach under the name Ikazuchi Oyakata. He helped to raise funds for the building of the first
Ryōgoku Kokugikan
, also known as Ryōgoku Sumo Hall or Kokugikan Arena, is the name bestowed to two different indoor sporting arenas located in Tokyo. The fist ''Ryōgoku Kokugikan'' opened its doors in 1909 and was located on the lands of the Ekōin temple in Ry ...
stadium in 1909. It is said that when asked by a potential backer what he had in the way of
collateral
Collateral may refer to:
Business and finance
* Collateral (finance), a borrower's pledge of specific property to a lender, to secure repayment of a loan
* Marketing collateral, in marketing and sales
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Collate ...
, simply showing his muscles was enough to clinch the deal.
He lived until the age of eighty-three, making him the longest-lived ''yokozuna'' of all time. He outlived his son-in-law
Umegatani II, and is one of very few ''yokozuna'' to have died of old age.
Top division record
*''The actual time the tournaments were held during the year in this period often varied. The spring tournament recorded for 1878 was actually held in December of the previous year.''
''*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
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 ...
.''
See also
*
*
List of past sumo wrestlers
This is a list of prominent past wrestlers (either retired or deceased) in the sport of professional sumo. They are listed in order of the year and tournament month that they made their professional debuts. The information listed below was gleaned ...
*
List of yokozuna
This is a list of all sumo wrestlers who have reached the sport's highest rank of ''yokozuna''. It was not recorded on the ''banzuke'' until 1890 and was not officially recognised as sumo's highest rank until 1909. Until then, ''yokozuna'' was mer ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Umegatani Totaro
1845 births
1928 deaths
Japanese sumo wrestlers
Sumo people from Fukuoka Prefecture
Yokozuna