Wakanami Jun (born Jun Tomiyama, 1 March 1941 – 17 April 2007) was a
sumo wrestler from
Iwai,
Ibaraki,
Japan. His highest rank was ''
komusubi
, 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 won a top division tournament championship in March 1968. He was also a sumo coach.
Career
He joined the
Tatsunami stable
Asahiyutaka Katsuteru (born 10 September 1968) is a former sumo wrestler from Kasugai, Aichi, Japan. His highest rank was ''komusubi''. He is now the head coach of Tatsunami stable.
Career
He joined Ōshima stable and made his professional debu ...
in March 1957 and reached 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 in May 1963. He was small, at just 178 cm and 103 kg, but he was very popular with sumo fans. In July 1964 he reached his highest rank of ''komusubi'', which he was to hold on three occasions with a combined record of only 10 wins against 35 losses. He was runner-up to
Kashiwado in the July 1967 tournament.
In March 1968, ranked as a ''
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 ...
'', he won the championship ''(
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 ...
)'' in the top division with a 13–2 record, finishing ahead of ''
ōzeki''
Yutakayama and
Tamanoshima
Tamanoshima Arata (born September 15, 1977, as Arata Okabe) is a former sumo wrestler from Izumizaki, Fukushima, Izumizaki, Fukushima Prefecture, Fukushima, Japan. A former amateur champion, he made his professional debut in 1998, reaching the to ...
. ''
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 ...
''
Taihō was out through injury and
Sadanoyama
was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Nagasaki Prefecture. He was the sport's 50th ''yokozuna''. After his retirement he was the head coach of Dewanoumi stable and served as head of the Japan Sumo Association.
Career
Born in Arikawa, ...
announced his retirement, and Wakanami did not have to face anyone ranked higher than ''
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 ...
'' during the tournament. It was not a popular victory, as the public had wanted the well-liked Yutakayama to finally win his first ''yūshō'' (which he never managed to achieve), and it led to demands that low ranking ''maegashira'' challenging for the ''yūshō'' be matched against all the other contenders in the crucial final days of the tournament, now a standard practice. He was promoted to ''komusubi'' for the following tournament but could manage only two wins there.
He fought in the ''makuuchi'' division for 52 tournaments in total. He won four
special prizes, two for Fighting Spirit and two for Technique. He earned three ''
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 ...
'' or gold stars for defeating ''yokozuna''. He fell briefly to 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 ...
'' division in 1969 and won the second division championship, becoming the first wrestler to do this ''after'' winning the top division championship. He retired in March 1972.
Fighting style
Although small by sumo standards, Wakanami was very strong in his arms and back, and liked to try ''tsuri'' (lifts) even on very heavy opponents like
Takamiyama. He was also known for his agility, and his ability to spin on the edge of the ''
dohyō
A ''dohyō'' (, ) is the space in which a sumo wrestling bout occurs. A typical ''dohyō'' is a circle made of partially buried rice-straw bales 4.55 meters in diameter. In official professional tournaments (''honbasho''), it is mounted on a squa ...
.''
During his tournament victory he won five of his matches by ''utchari'' (ring edge throw). One of his chief rivals 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 ...
''
Myōbudani with whom he had several spirited matches.
Retirement from sumo
He stayed in the sumo world after retirement as a coach at his stable, and was known as Onaruto and then Tamagaki Oyakata. Wakanami left the Sumo Association upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 65 in March 2006, although he had been hospitalized since December 2004 after suffering a
cerebral hemorrhage. His nephew was also a sumo wrestler in the Tatsunami stable, and reached a highest rank of ''
makushita
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 ...
'' 2 before retiring in March 2010. He was known as Wakainami for most of his career, but was told he could drop the "i" and use his uncle's ''
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'' ...
'' if he reached the ''jūryō'' division. He never did, but after visiting his uncle in hospital in September 2005, was given permission to use the Wakanami ''shikona'' before his uncle retired.
Wakanami died in a
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
hospital following complications from
pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...
on 17 April 2007.
Career record
*''The Nagoya tournament was first held in 1958.''
See also
*
*
List of sumo tournament top division champions
This is a list of wrestlers who have won the top division (''makuuchi'') championship in professional sumo since 1909, when the current championship system was established. These official tournaments are held exclusively in Japan.
1958 to prese ...
*
List of sumo tournament top division runners-up
The table below lists the runners up ('' jun-yusho'') in the top '' makuuchi'' division at official sumo
is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a '' rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring ...
*
List of sumo tournament second division champions
This is a list of wrestlers who have won the sumo second division ''jūryō'' championship since 1909, when the current championship system was established. These official tournaments are held exclusively in Japan.
The wrestler who has won the ...
*
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 komusubi
This is a list of all sumo wrestlers whose pinnacle in the sport has been the fourth highest rank of ''komusubi'' and who held the rank in the modern era of sumo since the 1927 merger of the Tokyo and Osaka organizations. There are usually two ac ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wakanami, Jun
1941 births
2007 deaths
Japanese sumo wrestlers
Sumo people from Ibaraki Prefecture
Komusubi