was a Japanese professional
sumo wrestler. He was the sport's 26th ''
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 ...
''. On November 2, 1922, he became the first ''yokozuna'' to perform the ''
yokozuna dohyō-iri'' at the
Meiji Shrine
, is a Shinto shrine in Shibuya, Tokyo, that is dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shōken. The shrine does not contain the emperor's grave, which is located at Fushimi-momoyama, south of Kyoto.
History
A ...
.
Biography
He was born , in
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 ...
on November 25, 1891.
Ōnishiki trained under former ''yokozuna''
Hitachiyama Taniemon
was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture. He was the sport's 19th ''yokozuna'' from 1903 till 1914. His great rivalry with Umegatani Tōtarō II created the "Ume-Hitachi Era" and did much to popularise sumo. He i ...
, joining his
Dewanoumi stable
is a stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Dewanoumi '' ichimon'' or group of stables. It has a long, prestigious history. Its current head coach is former ''maegashira'' Oginohana. As of January 2022 it had 15 wrestlers.
History
The stable's ...
. 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 in January 1915. After finishing the May 1915 tournament with a 9–1 record at the ''
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 ...
'' rank, he was promoted to ''
ōzeki''. He won his first ''
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 with a perfect 10–0 record in the January 1917 tournament and was promoted to ''yokozuna''. He reached the top ''yokozuna'' rank after only five tournaments, which is the all-time record.
He lost only 16 bouts in his entire career. He won five top division tournament championships and was runner-up in four others. He was very smart in comparison with most sumo wrestlers of his era, and so he was very strong and recorded the high winning percentage of 88.1. He also recorded only three draws.
However, his career suddenly ended. In January 1923, sumo wrestlers went on strike against the Tokyo Sumo Association. The walkout is called the . Ōnishiki attempted to mediate, but failed.
After police intervention, the striking wrestlers achieved their demands of better retirement pay. Because he felt responsibility for the incident, Ōnishiki retired from being an active sumo wrestler and left the sumo world. He was critical about tradition in the sumo world.
After his retirement, he entered
Waseda University
, mottoeng = Independence of scholarship
, established = 21 October 1882
, type = Private
, endowment =
, president = Aiji Tanaka
, city = Shinjuku
, state = Tokyo
, country = Japan
, students = 47,959
, undergrad = 39,382
, postgrad ...
. After the graduation, he worked at the ''
Hochi Shimbun
, previously known as , is a Japanese-language daily sports newspaper. In 2002, it had a circulation of a million copies a day.
It is an affiliate newspaper of ''Yomiuri Shimbun''.
Reports 19 September 1939: SS Scharnhorst
The Hochi Shimbu ...
'' as a sumo essayist. He died on May 13, 1941.
Top Division Record
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 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 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 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 me ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Onishiki Uichiro
1891 births
1941 deaths
Japanese sumo wrestlers
Yokozuna
People from Osaka
Sumo people from Osaka Prefecture
Waseda University alumni
Place of death missing