is a

stable A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...

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 t ...

wrestlers, one of the Nishonoseki group of stables. It was set up in 1971, as Taihō stable, by the 48th ''yokozuna''

Taihō Kōki , ''Ivan Boryshko''; May 29, 1940 – January 19, 2013, lead=yes was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler. He became the 48th '' yokozuna'' in 1961 at the age of 21, the youngest ever at the time. Kōki won 32 tournament championships be ...

on his retirement from wrestling. The first ''

sekitori A ''sekitori'' (関取) is a '' rikishi'' (力士, sumo wrestler) who is ranked in one of the top two professional divisions: '' makuuchi'' and ''jūryō''. The name literally translates to having taken the barrier, as only a relatively small fra ...

'' he produced was Shishihō in 1977. His most successful wrestler was Ōzutsu, who reached the rank of ''

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 ...

.'' In May 1981 Taihō was persuaded by the editor of the English language sumo magazine '' Sumo World'' to accept a foreign wrestler, Philip Smoak of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, who was with the stable for just two months. Taihō passed control of the stable on to his son-in-law Ōtake (former ''

'' Takatōriki) in 2003, as he was approaching the age for mandatory retirement from the

Japan 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'' (active ...

. As the name of Taihō was an ''ichidai-toshiyori'' (one-generation

elder An elder is someone with a degree of seniority or authority. Elder or elders may refer to: Positions Administrative * Elder (administrative title), a position of authority Cultural * North American Indigenous elder, a person who has and ...

name) it could not be passed on, so the stable was re-named Ōtake. In 2004 the Russian Rohō reached the top division, but was dismissed from sumo in September 2008 after failing a test for

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: '' Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternative ...

. In January 2010 the stable, along with the Takanohana, Ōnomatsu and

Magaki stable was a stable of sumo wrestlers, formerly one of the Nishonoseki group of stables. Wakanohana Kanji II, the 56th ''yokozuna'' in sumo history, re-established the stable in 1983. Its first wrestler to reach the top ''makuuchi'' division was the Ha ...

, was forced to leave the Nishonoseki ''

ichimon The following words are terms used in sumo wrestling in Japan. A B C D E F G H ...

'' after Takanohana declared his intention to run as an unofficial candidate in the elections to 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 ...

's board of directors. The ejected stables formed their own group, which gained ''ichimon'' status in 2014. In 2018 the stable joined the Nishonoseki group. Following the dismissal of the former Takatōriki for his involvement in a scandal over illegal betting, in July 2010 the stable was taken over by the former ''

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. F ...

'' wrestler Dairyū, who had been working as a coach at the stable under the name Futagoyama. Its most famous recent wrestler is Ōsunaarashi, who was forced to retire in March 2018 after being caught driving without a license. As of January 2022, the stable had 17 active wrestlers. The stable still displays the red tsuna that Taihō Oyakata wore while performing his '' kanreki dohyo-iri'' ceremony in 2000. In January 2018 the grandson of Taihō, Naya Konosuke, joined the stable. Another grandson, Kosei, joined in November 2019. Naya was promoted to ''jūryō'' for the January 2021 tournament and changed his name to Ōhō. He is the second member of the stable to reach ''jūryō'' since the former Dairyū took over as head coach, following Ōsunaarashi.

Ring name conventions

Many wrestlers at this stable take ring names or ''

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'' ...

'' that include the character 大 (read: ō or dai), which is used in the first character of the stable's name and also is in deference to the last two owners, whose former ''shikona'' also included this character. Examples of wrestlers who have incorporated this include Ōsunaarashi, Ōsuzuki, Daiseiryu and Dairyuki.

Owners

*2010-present: 17th Ōtake (''Iin'' former ''jūryō'' Dairyū) *2003 - 2010: 16th Ōtake (former ''sekiwake'' Takatōriki) *1971 - 2003: Taihō Kōki ( the 48th ''yokozuna'', Taihō)

Notable active wrestlers

* Ōhō (best rank, ''maegashira'')

Notable former members

* Ōzutsu (former ''sekiwake'') * Rohō (former ''

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 ...

'') * Shishihō (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 ...

'') * Ōnohana (former ''maegashira'') * Ōsunaarashi (former ''maegashira'') * Ōwakamatsu (former ''maegashira'')

Ushers

*Shirō (''

san'yaku The following words are terms used in sumo wrestling in Japan. A B C D E F G H ...

'' ''

yobidashi A is an announcer who calls a professional sumo wrestler, or ''rikishi'', to the ''dohyō'' (wrestling ring) immediately prior to his bout. He does this by calling the name of each wrestler fighting in turn while holding a traditional folding fa ...

'', real name Yoshikazu Shimada) *Gorō (''

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 ...

'' ''yobidashi'', real name Masaharu Akayama) *Takahiro (''

sandanme 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 ...

'' ''yobidashi'', real name Takahiro Shimamura)

Hairdresser

*Tokonao (3rd class ''

tokoyama A is a hairdresser employed by the Japan Sumo Association to cut and prepare sumo wrestlers' hair, which is done in the style. The Sumo Association ranks them according to experience and ability and only the most senior are entitled to prepar ...

'')

Location and access

Tokyo, Kotō ward, Kiyosumi 2-8-3
3 minutes from Kiyosumi-shirakawa Station on the

Toei Ōedo Line The is a subway line in Tokyo, Japan, operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation (Toei). It commenced full operations on December 12, 2000; using the Japanese calendar this reads "12/12/12" as the year 2000 equals Heisei 12. T ...

and Hanzōmon Line

References

External links

Official site (Japanese)Japan Sumo Association profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Otake stable Active sumo stables