Kiyonomori Masao (8 April 1935 – 20 April 2019, real name Masao Sasaki) 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 t ...

wrestler from

Ōmori is a district located a few kilometres south of Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan accessed by rail via the Keihin Tohoku line, or by road via Dai Ichi Keihin. Ōmorikaigan, the eastern area of Ōmori, can be reached via the Keikyu line. Ōmori is one o ...

Akita is a Japanese name and may refer to: Places * 8182 Akita, a main-belt asteroid * Akita Castle, a Nara period fortified settlement in Akita, Japan * Akita Domain, also known as Kubota Domain, feudal domain in Edo period Japan * Akita, Kumamoto ...

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 n ...

. He made his professional debut in January 1953 and reached the top division in March 1959. His highest rank was ''

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 ...

'' 9. Upon retirement from active competition he 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 ...

in 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 took charge of

Kise stable , also known as Kimura Sehei stable, was a heya or stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Tatsunami '' ichimon'' or affiliated group of stables. History The original Kise stable (which had no connection to the current incarnation founded by the f ...

from his father-in-law Katsuragawa. He reached the Sumo Association's mandatory retirement age in April 2000. He died of pneumonia in April 2019 at the age of 84.

Career record

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

References

1935 births 2019 deaths Japanese sumo wrestlers Sumo people from Akita Prefecture {{sumo-bio-stub

Career record

See also

References