Daijuyama Tadaaki (太寿山忠明, born 8 April 1959 as ) is a former

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 ...

wrestler from Niitsu,

Niigata Prefecture is a prefecture in the Chūbu region of Honshu of Japan. Niigata Prefecture has a population of 2,227,496 (1 July 2019) and is the fifth-largest prefecture of Japan by geographic area at . Niigata Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture and ...

, Japan. He made his professional debut in 1975, reaching 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 1980. He was ranked in makuuchi for 64 tournaments, winning four special prizes, and seven 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 ...

. He was a runner-up to

Chiyonofuji , born , was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler and the 58th ''yokozuna'' of the sport. Following his retirement as a wrestler, he was the stable master of Kokonoe stable until the time of his death. Chiyonofuji was considered one of the gre ...

in the July 1982 tournament. 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 retired in 1991 and became an

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 ...

of 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 ...

. He re-established the

Hanakago stable , formerly known as Shibatayama stable from September 1952 to May 1953, was a stable of sumo wrestlers, one of the Nishonoseki '' ichimon'' or group of stables. Founded by former ''maegashira'' Ōnoumi Hisamitsu. It closed in 1985 with all wrestl ...

in 1992 and produced his first top division wrestler Kōryū in 2008. The stable folded in 2012 and he moved to Minezaki stable to work as an assistant coach.

Career

He joined

Futagoyama stable was a stable of sumo wrestlers, created in 2004 when Takanohana Kōji took over the running of Futagoyama stable from his father Takanohana Kenshi. Formerly of the Nishonoseki '' ichimon'' or group of stables, it became the leader of a breaka ...

in March 1975 at the age of 16, recruited by the former yokozuna Wakanohana I. Joining the stable at the same time as him was future ozeki

Wakashimazu (born 12 January 1957 as Mutsuo Hidaka) is a Japanese former sumo wrestler from Nakatane, Kagoshima, Japan. His highest rank was '' ōzeki''. He won two top division ''yūshō'' or tournament championships. He retired in 1987 and founded Matsug ...

. It took him about five years to make the

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 ...

ranks, climbing the divisions steadily without picking up any yusho or championships along the way. In January 1980 he broke into 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. F ...

division, and after four

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

winning scores he was promoted to the top

division that September. He fell back to ''jūryō'' after only two tournaments, but returned in March 1981. In September of that year he scored an impressive ten wins, defeating yokozuna

Kitanoumi , born , was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler. He was the dominant wrestler in the sport during the 1970s. Kitanoumi was promoted to '' yokozuna'' at the age of 21, becoming the youngest ever to achieve sumo's top rank. He won 24 tournament ...

to earn his first

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 ...

. He was rewarded with his first special prize, for Fighting Spirit, and promotion to the

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

ranks at sekiwake, which was to be the highest rank he was to achieve. In November 1982 he was runner-up in a tournament for the first time, finishing alongside Wakanohana II, Kotokaze and Koboyama on 11-4, one win behind tournament winner

on 12-3. In the following tournament he defeated Kitanoumi and Chiyonofuji in the first two days, winning the Outstanding Performance prize and promotion back to sekiwake. After fighting at

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 ...

in March 1983 he was injured and although he recovered, he did not manage to make the sanyaku ranks again until May 1988. In July 1989, at the age of 30, he produced a strong 11-4 record and won the Fighting Spirit prize for the third time, earning one last promotion to the titled ranks in the following September tournament. He defeated yokozuna Onokuni in this tournament, but fell short with a 5-10 record. In May 1991 he announced his retirement after scoring only 3-12 at maegashira 14, rather than face demotion to ''jūryō''. His nickname amongst Japanese sumo fans was "

Moomin The Moomins ( sv, Mumintroll) are the central characters in a series of novels, short stories, and a comic strip by Finnish writer and illustrator Tove Jansson, originally published in Swedish by Schildts in Finland. They are a family of white ...

", because of his facial resemblance to the hippo-like cartoon characters.

Retirement from sumo

He remained in the sumo world as a coach, initially at his old stable, but in late 1992 he branched out and re-established the

, the previous incarnation of which had been wound up in 1985 when the previous owner of the Hanakago stock, former yokozuna Wajima, resigned from 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 ...

. He recruited the Mongolian wrestler Kōryū in 2000, and he became the stable's first sekitori after the November 2006 tournament, and reached the top division in July 2008. However, he was forced to retire in April 2011 after being found guilty of match-fixing. Another Mongolian,

Arawashi is a former professional sumo wrestler from Ulan Bator, Mongolia. He made his professional debut in November 2002. He is the 21st Mongolian to reach the top ''makuuchi'' division, which he achieved in May 2014. His 68-tournament rise through the ...

, was inherited from

Araiso stable was a stable of sumo wrestlers, one of the Nishonoseki group of stables. It was founded in 1993 by former ''komusubi'' Futagodake of the Futagoyama stable. It was one of the smallest of all the sumo stables, with just three sumo wrestlers. The ...

and reached juryo in July 2011. Hanakago closed down the stable after the May 2012 tournament because of financial problems, and he moved with his wrestlers and staff to Minezaki stable. When that stable closed in March 2021 he moved to Takadagawa stable.

Fighting style

Daijuyama's favoured ''

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 ...

'' or techniques were ''migi-yotsu'' (a left arm outside, right hand inside grip on his opponent's ''

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 ...

''), ''uwatenage'' (overarm throw) and ''utchari'' (ring edge throw). His most common winning move by far was ''yori-kiri'' (force out), which accounted for nearly half his victories.

Personal life

He is married, with three daughters.

Career record

References