Tomojiro Toda (30 June 1946 – 23 October 2016), known as Haguroiwa Tomomi, was a

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 Nobeoka, Miyazaki,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. He made his professional debut in May 1961, and reached the top division in January 1967. His highest rank was '' komusubi''. He withdrew from active competition in January 1978 and remained in the Japan Sumo Association as 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 tr ...

under the name Ikazuchi. He reached the mandatory retirement age of 65, and left the Sumo Association in June 2011.

Career

He left junior high school and joined Tatsunami stable in May 1961 at the age of 14. He made his debut alongside future '' sekiwake''

Fujinokawa Fujinokawa Takeo (born 26 September 1946 as Takeo Morita) is a former sumo wrestler from Otofuke, Hokkaido, Japan. He made his professional debut in May 1961 and reached a highest rank of ''sekiwake'' in May 1967. He was a runner-up in two top div ...

, and future '' maegashira''

Tochifuji Tochifuji Katsutake (born Haruo Kogure; June 8, 1946 – April 28, 2003) was a sumo wrestler from Kumagaya, Saitama, Japan. He made his professional debut in May 1961, and reached the top division in September 1968. Upon retirement from active co ...

and Wakanoumi. He reached the second highest '' juryo'' division in November 1965, and in January 1967 he became the first wrestler from Miyazaki Prefecture to reach the top division for 116 years, the previous being Tomozuna Ryosuke in 1851. He won his first (and only) special prize in the January 1969 tournament, for Fighting Spirit. Haguroiwa is best remembered for his feat in the March tournament of 1969 when (still competing under his family name of Toda) he ended the 45 bout winning streak of '' yokozuna'' Taihō, which was a postwar record at the time. This was the first '' kinboshi'' of his career. However, it caused controversy because the bout had initially been awarded to Taihō by the

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titl ...

before the

judges A judge is an official who presides over a court. Judge or Judges may also refer to: Roles *Judge, an alternative name for an adjudicator in a competition in theatre, music, sport, etc. *Judge, an alternative name/aviator call sign for a membe ...

intervened and reversed his decision, but photographs published in newspapers the next day suggested that Toda had stepped out first and Taihō should have been given the victory after all. This embarrassment was called the "Error of the Century", and it led to the Sumo Association introducing instant replay to assist judges in future decisions. He had one other victory over a ''yokozuna'', defeating

Kashiwado was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Yamagata Prefecture. He was the sport's 47th yokozuna, fighting at the sport's highest rank from 1961 to 1969. After his retirement he became an elder of the Japan Sumo Association and ran his o ...

in May 1969. He switched to the Haguroiwa '' shikona'' in January 1971. In May 1973 he reached his highest rank of '' komusubi,'' but scored only two wins against thirteen losses. He never reached the ''

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

'' ranks again. He had an excellent record against Takanohana Kenshi, beating him nine times and losing just three times, and even after Takanohana became an ''ozeki'' he beat him three times out of four. He suffered a neck injury in a match against

Masudayama Masudayama Yasuhito (舛田山靖仁, born 10 April 1951 as Shigeru Masuda) is a former sumo wrestler from Nanao, Ishikawa, Japan. He made his professional debut in March 1974, and reached the top division in November 1976. His highest rank wa ...

in July 1977 which led to him dropping to the ''juryo'' division, and he announced his retirement in January 1978. He had fought in the top division for 55 tournaments, with a record of 385 wins, 427 losses and 13 absences.

Retirement from sumo

Following his retirement he became an

in the Japan Sumo Association under the name Ikazuchi Oyakata. He worked as a coach at Tatsunami stable and was also a member of the

judging Judgement (or US spelling judgment) is also known as ''adjudication'', which means the evaluation of evidence to make a decision. Judgement is also the ability to make considered decisions. The term has at least five distinct uses. Aristotle ...

committee. He reached the mandatory retirement age of 65 in June 2011. Tomomi died of kidney failure on 23 October 2016 at the age of 70.

Career record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haguroiwa, Tomomi 1946 births 2016 deaths Japanese sumo wrestlers Sumo people from Miyazaki Prefecture Komusubi

Career

Retirement from sumo

Career record

See also

References