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
Higashimurayama District,
Dewa Province
was a province of Japan comprising modern-day Yamagata Prefecture and Akita Prefecture, except for the city of Kazuno and the town of Kosaka. Dewa bordered on Mutsu and Echigō Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was .
History
Early per ...
(now
Tendō,
Yamagata Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. It has a population of 1,005,926 (1 February 2025) and an area of 9,325 Square kilometre, km2 (3,600 Square mile, sq mi). Its neighbours are Akita Prefectu ...
). His highest rank was ''
ōzeki''. He is the third wrestler from Yamagata Prefecture to have been promoted to this rank, the first since Ichinokami Asaemon in 1802, 23 years earlier, and the last until the promotion of
Asahidake
is a mountain located near the town of Higashikawa, Hokkaido and the tallest mountain on the Japanese island of Hokkaido. It is part of the Daisetsuzan Volcanic Group of the Ishikari Mountains, located in the northern part of the Daisetsuzan Na ...
in 1877, 52 years later.
Career
Genjiyama was born the second son of his family. He made his professional debut within Hidenoyama stable under the tutelage of former ''
komusubi
, 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 ...
'' in November 1807. He was given the ''
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 ...
'', or ring name, and reached sumo's highest division, ''
makuuchi
, or , is the top division of Professional sumo divisions, 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 ...
'', in November 1814. Upon promotion, he received the patronage of the
Hirosaki Domain
file:Hirosakijo.jpg, Hirosaki Castle, the seat of the Hirosaki Domain
, also known as , was a ''tozama'' Han (Japan), feudal domain of Edo period JapanRavina, Mark. (1998) ''Land and Lordship in Early Modern Japan,'' p. 222 It is located in Muts ...
. He made his ''
san'yaku
The following words are terms used in sumo wrestling in Japan.
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
...
'' debut as a ''komusubi'' in February 1818. Upon promotion to ''
sekiwake
, 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 ...
'' in 1819 he was given the ring name by his patron because this name is associated with them.
Genjiyama remained in the junior ''san'yaku'' ranks for seven years, although he won the equivalent of a tournament in 1823. In October 1825, he was promoted to ''ōzeki'', taking advantage of the retirement of the dominant
Kashiwado, which left the
ranking
A ranking is a relationship between a set of items, often recorded in a list, such that, for any two items, the first is either "ranked higher than", "ranked lower than", or "ranked equal to" the second. In mathematics, this is known as a weak ...
unbalanced.
His ''ōzeki'' career was mixed, however, winning a sufficient number of victories without being able to establish himself as a dominant wrestler. He was eventually demoted in the rankings in favour of
Ōnomatsu (then called Koyanagi), a dominant wrestler who had already won the equivalent of two tournaments. He retired shortly after his demotion, in March 1828.
After retiring, he assumed the name Hidenoyama and ran the eponymous
stable
A stable is a building in which working animals are kept, especially horses or oxen. The building is usually divided into stalls, and may include storage for equipment and feed.
Styles
There are many different types of stables in use tod ...
as its second generation master. As a coach, he raised
Hidenoyama, sumo's 9th ''
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 ...
'', who later inherited his stable because Genjiyama adopted him.
In December 2001, a bronze statue of him was erected in his home town near the Terazu locality. The inauguration ceremony was attended by wrestlers from the prefecture such as
Kotonowaka I.
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 championships that are labelled "unofficial" 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 ...
.''
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 ōzeki
53 sumo wrestlers have reached the second highest in the sport, the rank of '' ōzeki'', but have failed to rise to the top rank since the modern era of sumo began in 1927 with the merger of the Tokyo and Osaka organizations. By 2020, over 250 wre ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tsunagoro, Genjiyama
1786 births
Japanese sumo wrestlers
Ōzeki
People from Tendō, Yamagata
Sumo people from Yamagata Prefecture
1844 deaths