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was a Japanese sumo wrestler from
After his retirement in February 1865, he remained in the sumo world as an elder. He was the chairman (''fudegashira'') of Tokyo sumo in the early
Unryu Hisakichi tournament result
{{DEFAULTSORT:Unryu Kyukichi 1822 births 1890 deaths Japanese sumo wrestlers Yokozuna People from Yanagawa, Fukuoka Sumo people from Fukuoka Prefecture
Yanagawa
is a city located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.
As of April 30, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 71,848, with 24,507 households and a population density of 934.55 persons per km². The total area is 76.88 km².
On March 21, ...
, Chikugo Province
is the name of a former province of Japan in the area that is today the southern part of Fukuoka Prefecture on Kyūshū. It was sometimes called or , with Chikuzen Province. Chikugo was bordered by Hizen, Chikuzen, Bungo, and Higo Provin ...
. He was the sport's 10th ''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 ...
''.
Career
He was born in Yanagawa, Fukuoka, but would later change his name to . He lost his parents and grandmother in 1833. He made his debut in Osaka sumo in May 1846. He moved to Edo in 1847. He was promoted to 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 February 1852.
Unryū was a strong wrestler at the beginning of his career. He had the equivalent of four consecutive championships upon entering the top ''makuuchi'' division (those this was before the championship system established in 1909). On the occasion of Matthew C. Perry
Matthew Calbraith Perry (April 10, 1794 – March 4, 1858) was a commodore of the United States Navy who commanded ships in several wars, including the War of 1812 and the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). He played a leading role in the o ...
's visit to Japan, he had an opportunity to display his wrestling prowess in a tournament Perry and his military advisors attended. He was promoted to '' ōzeki'' in January 1858.
He was awarded a ''yokozuna'' licence in September 1861, but by that time he had already passed his peak and was unable to win a significant number of bouts after that. In the top ''makuuchi'' division, he won 127 bouts and lost 32 bouts, recording a winning percentage of 79.9.
Retirement from sumo
After his retirement in February 1865, he remained in the sumo world as an elder. He was the chairman (''fudegashira'') of Tokyo sumo in the early Meiji period
The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912.
The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...
, and he acquired a reputation for honesty.
The name of one style of ''yokozuna dohyō-iri
The following words are terms used in sumo wrestling in Japan.
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'' (ring entering ceremony) came from him. His ritual dance was said to be beautiful but it isn't proven that he performed the ritual dance in the Unryū style. His style is said to have been imitated by Tachiyama Mineemon
was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Toyama City, Toyama Prefecture. He was the sport's 22nd '' yokozuna''. He was well known for his extreme strength and skill. He won 99 out of 100 matches from 1909 to 1916 (not counting draws), and ...
, but Tachiyama's style is called ''shiranui'' style now. This was due to sumo scholar Kozo Hikoyama, who without researching properly, labelled Tachiyama's style as being that of Shiranui Kōemon, whereas it was in fact created by Unryū. Hikoyama was such an authority that no one contradicted him, and the Shiranui name has stuck.
Top division record
*''The actual time the tournaments were held during the year in this period often varied.'' ''*Championships for the best record in a tournament were not recognized or awarded before the 1909 summer tournament and the above unofficial championships are historically conferred. For more information seeyūshō
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 ...
.''
See also
*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 ...
*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 ...
*Glossary of sumo terms
The following words are terms used in sumo wrestling in Japan.
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References
External links
Unryu Hisakichi tournament result
{{DEFAULTSORT:Unryu Kyukichi 1822 births 1890 deaths Japanese sumo wrestlers Yokozuna People from Yanagawa, Fukuoka Sumo people from Fukuoka Prefecture