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 th ...

wrestler from

Inzai 260px, Inzai City Hall is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 111,266 in 45,717 households and a population density of 900 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Inzai is loca ...

Chiba Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Chiba Prefecture has a population of 6,278,060 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Chiba Prefecture borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north, Saitama ...

. He was the sport's 24th ''

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 o ...

''.

Career

Early life and career

His real name was . Son to a former professional sumo wrestler, he however had to appeal to his father to become a sumo wrestler. He joined Miyagino stable because the head coach of that time (former ''ōzeki''

Hōō ''Fenghuang'' () are mythological birds featuring in traditions throughout the Sinosphere. ''Fenghuang'' are understood to reign over all other birds: males and females were originally termed ''feng'' and ''huang'' respectively, but a gender ...

) was also from Chiba Prefecture. Takita Akira made his debut in the '' jonokuchi'' division in May 1903, with his ''

shikona A is a sumo wrestler's ring name. The tradition of ring names in sumo dates back to the Muromachi period and established itself during the Edo period, where they were used as a means to hide the identities of the . Given by the master to his di ...

'' name spelled . In May 1908, he was given the former ring name of his master, . He quickly gained popularity because of his style and his famed beauty, calling back ''yokozuna''

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

''Makuuchi'' career

At the time of his ''makuuchi'' debut in 1909, he was one of the last ''

rikishi A , or, more colloquially, , is a sumo wrestler. Although used to define all wrestlers participating in sumo wrestling matches, the term is more commonly used to refer to professional wrestlers, employed by the Japan Sumo Association, who par ...

'' to compete in the

Ekō-in , also known as Honjo Ekō-in, is a Jōdo-shū Buddhist temple in Ryōgoku, Tokyo. The formal name of the temple is , reflecting its founding principle of Pariṇāmanā, or the spreading of Amida Buddha's benevolence to all souls of all living cr ...

temple before the opening of the old

Ryōgoku Kokugikan , also known as Ryōgoku Sumo Hall or Kokugikan Arena, is the name bestowed to two different indoor sporting arenas located in Tokyo. The first ''Ryōgoku Kokugikan'' opened its doors in 1909 and was located on the premises of the Ekōin temple i ...

. During his first ''makuuchi'' tournament he was surprisingly paired against ''ōzeki'' Komagatake but managed to score a surprise victory. Ōtori knew a rapid ascent. He was promoted to san'yaku twice (in 1910 and 1911), but was rebuffed both times. In 1913 he was promoted to the second highest rank in professional sumo, '' ōzeki'', becoming the first wrestler from Chiba Prefecture to be promoted at that rank since the promotion of his master Hōō in 1897. Ōtori won his first tournament championship in his debut tournament at the rank of ''ōzeki'' in January 1913. He was undefeated in that tournament, recording seven wins, one draw and one no decision. His second championship in January 1915, which he took with ten straight wins, saw him promoted to ''yokozuna''. His promotion was subject to debate within the

Japan Sumo Association The , officially the ; sometimes abbreviated JSA or NSK, and more usually called Sumo Kyōkai, is the governing body that operates and controls Professional sports, professional sumo wrestling, called , in Japan under the jurisdiction of the Min ...

as the Yoshida family refused him the promotion, arguing it was premature and that the promotion should be put on hold for one more tournament, but the Association pushed through, and Ōtori was given a ''yokozuna'' license.

Ōkuma Shigenobu Marquess was a Japanese politician who served as the prime minister of Japan in 1898, and from 1914 to 1916. Born in the Saga Domain, Ōkuma was appointed minister of finance soon after the Meiji Restoration of 1868, aided by his friendship w ...

presented him a ''

tachi A is a type of sabre-like traditionally made Japanese sword (''nihonto'') worn by the samurai class of feudal Japan. ''Tachi'' and '' uchigatana'' ("''katana''") generally differ in length, degree of curvature, and how they were worn when she ...

'', or long sword, to use during his ''

yokozuna dohyō-iri , 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 ...

''.
However, due to injuries to his legs and diabetes, his record at sumo's highest rank was very patchy and he did not manage to win any further championships. He was the first ''yokozuna'' in history to lose all of his matches in a single tournament. His record as ''yokozuna'' was 35 wins against 24 defeats, compared with 36 wins and only four defeats at ''ōzeki''. He retired in May 1920, after the death of his patron Yoshimizu Shigemune (president of

Meidensha is a Japanese, Tokyo-based company, engaged in the manufacturing and selling of water treatment equipment, electronic equipment, and information equipment. It is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the Nikkei 225. The c ...

). In ''makuuchi'', Ōtori won 108 bouts and lost 49, recording a winning percentage of 68.8.

Fighting style

Ōtori was known for his speedy and flamboyant modern sumo, frequently using techniques such as '' kakenage'' or '' katasukashi''. He became popular for his distinctive style and brilliant moves amid the strict and old-fashioned top rankers of the time. His techniques earned him the nickname of ''Ōtori no kenken'' (鳳のケンケン), "hopping Ōtori". His style was however regarded as unacceptable by some, as ''yokozuna'' Hitachiyama, sumo's top performer of the time, style was regarded as both traditional and efficient.

Retirement from sumo

He was head coach of Miyagino stable from 1916 until his death in 1956, succeeding in this to the former ''maegashira'' . At the time, active wrestlers could both compete and train junior wrestlers under a double licence system. There was also no mandatory retirement age for elder at that time. During his coaching career, he raised ''maegashira'' who later became his son in law. He also served as a director on the Association's board of directors.
In 1944, Ōtori fell into alcoholism and moved back in his home prefecture of Chiba, leaving his apprentices to train in Tatsunami stable. After stepping back from his duties as an elder, he insisted that his successor had to be a ''yokozuna'', so the Miyagino stable became inactive for a while, its wrestlers joining ''yokozuna'' Yoshibayama dojo. Eventually Yoshibayama revived the stable and assumed the Miyagino name in 1960.

Death and homage

During the

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

, he was confined to Chiba-city because of a chronic

gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of pain in a red, tender, hot, and Joint effusion, swollen joint, caused by the deposition of needle-like crystals of uric acid known as monosodium urate crysta ...

. He died on November 16, 1956. On November 11, 2006, a

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...

to Ōtori was established in his home city of Inzai. On February 16, 2014, a one meter high

cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty grave, tomb or a monument erected in honor of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere or have been lost. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although t ...

was erected and an official ceremony was held to honor him in his hometown temple of the Chokaru-ji,

. His remains were still in the Takita family vault at the Enju-ji temple in Yanaka, Tokyo. A number of Japanese public figures can today trace a family link with Ōtori, including Japanese actor , who is his elder brother's grandson, and Japanese baseball player , who is his great-grandson.

Career

Early life and career

''Makuuchi'' career

Fighting style

Retirement from sumo

Death and homage

Top division record

References

See also