Jingaku Takashi (born 24 December 1959 as Takashi Nakayama) is a former sumo wrestler from Shibushi,

Kagoshima , abbreviated to , is the capital city of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Located at the southwestern tip of the island of Kyushu, Kagoshima is the largest city in the prefecture by some margin. It has been nicknamed the "Naples of the Eastern wor ...

, Japan. He made his professional debut in May 1977, and reached the top division in January 1983. 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 ...

'' and he earned two ''

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 retired in September 1991.

Career

He came from the same area of Japan as future stable-mates

Sakahoko Sakahoko Nobushige (born Yoshiaki Fukuzono; 18 June 1961 – 16 September 2019) was a Japanese sumo wrestler. The son of Tsurugamine, he made his professional debut in 1978, reaching the top ''makuuchi'' division in 1982. His highest rank w ...

and

Terao is a Japanese former sumo wrestler. He was born in Tokyo, but brought up in Kajiki, Aira District, Kagoshima, Japan. He fought out of Izutsu stable. The highest rank he reached was ''sekiwake.'' Despite his relatively light weight he had an ...

. He was fond of kendo at school. He joined

Izutsu stable was a stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Tokitsukaze group of stables. Its last incarnation was in existence from 1972 until 2019. The stable was established in the Meiji era by former ''yokozuna'' Nishinoumi Kajirō I, the 16th ''yokozuna' ...

in 1977, and first reached a ''

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 ...

'' rank in July 1982 when he was promoted 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. He first made 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 1983 but posted a losing record of 4–11 and so was immediately demoted. He won promotion back to the top division in January 1984, and remained there for virtually all of the rest of his career. In September 1984 he defeated a ''

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 ...

'' for the first time when he upset

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 ...

in one of the latter's final tournaments. He made the ''

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

'' ranks for the first time in November 1987 when he reached ''

,'' but he proved to be out of his depth and scored only two wins against thirteen losses. He made ''komusubi'' once more in September 1990 at the age of 30, but again struggled, winning only three bouts. He suffered from

stage fright Stage fright or performance anxiety is the anxiety, fear, or persistent phobia which may be aroused in an individual by the requirement to perform in front of an audience, real or imagined, whether actually or potentially (for example, when perf ...

, losing weight during tournaments because of stomach upsets. This affected his performance against top ranked wrestlers – he stumbled out 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 ...

'' in a match against

Hokutoumi is a Japanese former professional sumo wrestler from Hokkaidō. He was the sport's 61st ''yokozuna'' and won eight top division championships. He wrestled for Kokonoe stable, as did Chiyonofuji, and the two were the first ''yokozuna'' stablemat ...

in September 1990 with his opponent barely having to touch him. He was restricted by a foot problem as well as digestive illness towards the end of his career. After 46 consecutive tournaments in the top division he was demoted to ''juryo'' after scoring only 4-11 at ''maegashira'' 15 in the July 1991 tournament, and he pulled out of the following tournament with a knee injury after fighting only one match. This brought to an end his streak of 1036 consecutive matches from sumo entry. He announced his retirement shortly afterwards.

Retirement from sumo

Jingaku was for one year an elder 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 ...

under the name Kasugayama-''oyakata'', but he was only borrowing the elder name from his stable-mate Sakahoko, and when Sakahoko retired in September 1992 Jingaku was unable to acquire stock elsewhere and had to leave the sumo world. He subsequently worked at a

fish processing The term fish processing refers to the processes associated with fish and fish products between the time fish are caught or harvested, and the time the final product is delivered to the customer. Although the term refers specifically to fish, in ...

company.

Fighting style

Jingaku was an exponent of ''tsuppari'', a series of rapid thrusts to the opponent's chest, for which his Izutsu stable was famous, and often won by ''tsuki-dashi'' or thrust out. He used a ''migi-yotsu'', or left hand outside, right hand inside grip when fighting 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 ...

'' or belt, and ''yori-kiri'' (force out) was his most common winning ''

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 ...

.'' He was also known for using ''tsuri'' (lifting) techniques, and ''utchari'', the ring edge pivot.

Personal life

Since leaving sumo he has reverted to his birth name, Takashi Nakayama. He is married with two daughters and a son. In his free time he is a keen golfer.

Career record

References