was a Japanese professional
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
Kōchi. He was the sport's 32nd ''
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 won a total of nine top division ''
yūshō
is the term for a championship in Japanese. This article focuses on championships in the sport of professional sumo.
It is awarded in each of the six annual '' honbasho'' or official tournaments, to the wrestler who wins the most bouts. ''Y ...
'' or tournament championships from 1929 to 1936, and was the dominant wrestler in sumo until the emergence of
Futabayama. He died whilst still an active wrestler.
Career
He was born . He joined
Nishonoseki stable but the stable was very small at that time. Therefore, he often visited
Dewanoumi stable and was trained by ''yokozuna''
Tochigiyama Moriya
was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler. He was the sport's 27th ''yokozuna'' from 1918 until 1925. Generally he is considered one of the pioneers of modern sumo. He remains the lightest ''yokozuna'' in the history of the sport with a weight ...
. He later became head coach of Nishonoseki stable whilst still active in the ring, and under his leadership the stable enjoyed one of its most successful periods in its history.
Tamanishiki won three consecutive championships from October 1930 to March 1931, but he was not promoted to ''yokozuna''. In January 1932, the broke out. The incident was the biggest walkout in sumo history. He was one of eleven top division wrestlers who remained in sumo and became the first head of , or the association of active sumo wrestlers. He won his fifth top division championship in May 1932 and was finally awarded a ''yokozuna'' licence in November 1932. He was the first ''yokozuna'' in sumo since the retirement of
Miyagiyama a year and a half earlier. His promotion was seen as a reward for staying with 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 ...
and helping them through the Shunjuen Incident.
Tamanishiki often went to
Tatsunami stable
Asahiyutaka Katsuteru (born 10 September 1968) is a former sumo wrestler from Kasugai, Aichi, Japan. His highest rank was ''komusubi''. He is now the head coach of Tatsunami stable.
Career
He joined Ōshima stable and made his professional debu ...
and trained wrestlers, such as later ''yokozuna''
Futabayama Sadaji
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 strea ...
. Tatsunami stable was small at that time, but the stable became stronger in the sumo world later on. Tamanishiki defeated Futabayama the first six times they met in competition, but he was never able to beat him again after Futabayama began his record winning run in 1936.
Tamanishiki was the first ''yokozuna'' to raise one leg high while performing ''
yokozuna dohyō-iri'' (the yokozuna ring-entering ceremony). His style was said to have been beautiful and when Futabayama was promoted to yokozuna he emulated this style. This style is very popular now in ''yokozuna'' ceremonies.
In 1938, Tamanishiki died while an active sumo wrestler, following a delayed
appendectomy
An appendectomy, also termed appendicectomy, is a surgical operation in which the vermiform appendix (a portion of the intestine) is removed. Appendectomy is normally performed as an urgent or emergency procedure to treat complicated acute appe ...
.
Career Record
*''In 1927 Tokyo and Osaka sumo merged and four tournaments a year in Tokyo and other locations began to be held.''
References
See also
*
*
List of past sumo wrestlers
This is a list of prominent past wrestlers (either retired or deceased) in the sport of professional sumo. They are listed in order of the year and tournament month that they made their professional debuts. The information listed below was gleaned ...
*
List of sumo tournament top division champions
*
List of yokozuna
This is a list of all sumo wrestlers who have reached the sport's highest rank of '' yokozuna''. It was not recorded on the ''banzuke'' until 1890 and was not officially recognised as sumo's highest rank until 1909. Until then, ''yokozuna'' was me ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tamanishiki Sanemon
1903 births
1938 deaths
Japanese sumo wrestlers
Yokozuna
Sumo people from Kōchi Prefecture
Sumo wrestlers who died while active