Kitabayama Hidetoshi (17 May 1935 – 20 July 2010) was a former sumo wrestler and coach from

Muroran is a city and port located in Iburi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Iburi Subprefecture. As of February 29, 2012, the city has an estimated population of 93,716, with 47,868 households and a population density of . The ...

, Hokkaidō, Japan. His highest rank was '' ōzeki''.

Career

Kitabayama entered sumo in May 1954, joining

Tokitsukaze stable The is a stable of sumo wrestlers in Japan, one of the Tokitsukaze group of stables. It was founded in 1769 and was dominant during the Taishō period. In its modern form it dates from 1941 when it was established by Futabayama, who was still ...

. He was recruited by the legendary former ''

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 ...

Futabayama was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Oita Prefecture. Entering sumo in 1927, he was the sport's 35th ''yokozuna'' from 1937 until his retirement in 1945. He won twelve ''yūshō'' or top division championships and had a winning streak ...

. He was 173 cm tall and weighed 119 kg, which would make him extremely small by today's sumo standards. After winning 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 ...

'' championship in September 1958 with a 14–1 record he entered 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 November 1958. He was a runner-up in only his second top division tournament and quickly made the ''

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

'' ranks, reaching ''

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 November 1959. He was to remain at ''sekiwake'' rank for nine of the next ten tournaments. After finishing runner-up to ''

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 ...

Sadanoyama was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Nagasaki Prefecture. He was the sport's 50th ''yokozuna''. After his retirement he was the head coach of Dewanoumi stable and served as head of the Japan Sumo Association. Career Born in Arikawa, ...

in the May 1961 tournament with an 11–4 record he was promoted to ''ōzeki''. He had won 28 bouts over the previous three tournaments, not normally enough for ''ōzeki'' promotion, but there were only two ''ōzeki'' at the time, and two ageing ''yokozuna'' ( Asashio and Wakanohana) and so the standard was lowered slightly. In an era dominated by Taihō he was only able to win one tournament championship, in July 1963, when he defeated Sadanoyama in a playoff. He was also runner-up for a third time in the May 1964 tournament. He held his ''ōzeki'' rank for a total of 30 tournaments over a period of five years. This was the first time a sumo wrestler has competed as ''ozeki'' for thirty or more tournaments.

Retirement from sumo

Kitabayama retired from active competition in May 1966, following two losing scores in his last two tournaments (a third would have seen him demoted from the ''ōzeki'' rank). He remained in the sumo world as an elder under the ''

toshiyori A is a sumo elder of the Japan Sumo Association (JSA). Also known as , former wrestlers who reached a sufficiently high rank are the only people eligible. The benefits are considerable, as only ''toshiyori'' are allowed to run and coach in su ...

'' name Edagawa and worked as a coach at Tokitsukaze stable. He was also on the board of Directors 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 ...

and worked as a judge of tournament bouts. He left the Sumo Association in 2000 upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of sixty-five. He died in 2010 from cancer of the liver.

Fighting style

Kitabayama's favoured techniques were ''hidari-yotsu'' (a right hand outside, left hand inside grip on his opponent's ''mawashi''), ''yori kiri'' (force out) and ''utchari'' (ring edge throw). Other ''

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 regularly used were ''uwatenage'' (overarm throw) and ''tsuridashi'' (lift out).

Career record

*''The Kyushu tournament was first held in 1957, and the Nagoya tournament in 1958.''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kitabayama Hidetoshi 1935 births 2010 deaths Japanese sumo wrestlers Deaths from liver cancer Sumo people from Hokkaido Ōzeki People from Muroran, Hokkaido

Career

Retirement from sumo

Fighting style

Career record

See also

References