Asashio Tarō I (朝汐太郎, November 28, 1864 – August 26, 1920) 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 th ...

wrestler from

Ehime Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Ehime Prefecture has a population of 1,334,841 and a geographic area of 5,676 km2 (2,191 sq mi). Ehime Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the northeast, Toku ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. His highest rank was ozeki.

Career

In 1881, at the age of 17, he entered Osaka sumo's Oshiogawa stable, and took part to his first tournament in 1883 under the name of ''Asashio''. Unsatisfied, Tarokichi moved to Tokyo in 1889 and was recruited by the

Takasago stable is a stable of sumo wrestlers, one of the Takasago group of stables. It is correctly written in Japanese as "髙砂部屋", but the first of these ''kanji'' is rare, and is more commonly written as "高砂部屋". History The stable was establ ...

to join Tokyo sumo . In Tokyo sumo, he debuted in January 1890 as a Juryo. He was promoted to sekiwake in January 1893 and served as such for 11 consecutive tournaments (five years), when the tournaments were dominated by Nishinoumi and

Konishiki Saleva'a Fuauli Atisano'e (born December 31, 1963), better known by his stage name, , is an American-born Japanese former professional sumo wrestler. Franz LidzMeat Bomb, 05.18.92 - ''Sports Illustrated'' He was the first non-Japanese-born wrest ...

. He was finally promoted to ozeki in May 1898 and was given a kesho-mawashi decorated with the Date family crest, "Bamboo and Sparrow," by

Date Munenari __NOTOC__ was the eighth head of the Uwajima Domain during the Late Tokugawa shogunate and a politician of the early Meiji era. Early life Munenari was born in Edo, the 4th son of the hatamoto Yamaguchi Naokatsu. Munenari, then known as Kamesab ...

, the former lord of the

Uwajima Domain file:Date Munenari coloured.jpg, 270px, Date Munenari file:Uwajima Date Museum 1.jpg, 270px, Uwajima Date Museum was a Han (Japan), feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, in what is now western Ehime Prefecture on the is ...

. Asashio served as an ōzeki for 5 years (10 tournaments) until January 1903. In 1900, he participated in a local tour in Ehime Prefecture, and a performance was also held in his hometown of

Yawatahama is a Cities of Japan, city located in of Ehime Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 31,385 in 15,638 households and a population density of 240 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Yawatahama i ...

. He participated in the cooperation of wealthy local merchants to build an earthen bridge. The bridge came to be called "Asashio Bridge" and although the river and bridge are gone, the name of the place is still associated with Asashio Bridge in current Osaka. In January 1903, Asashio lost his rank of ozeki. In December 1904, he was granted a one-day yokozuna license and permitted to do a dohyo-iri by the Yoshida Tsukasa family, in recognition of his many years of service as an ozeki.

Retirement

He retired at the age of 43. After his retirement, he assumed the

name A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A person ...

of Sanoyama. He first founded his own stable but disbanded it and returned to his original Takasago stable as a coach, where he notably recruited Komota Chokichi and passed down his shikona to him. He died in old age on August 26, 1920.

Top division record

''*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 see

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. ''Yūs ...

.''

References

{{Reflist 1864 births 1920 deaths Japanese sumo wrestlers People from Seiyo, Ehime Sumo people from Ehime Prefecture