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. He was the sport's 13th ''

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 ...

'' and the first to be promoted during the

Meiji era The was an Japanese era name, era of History of Japan, 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 feu ...

Career

Kimenzan was born in Washizu District,

Mino Province was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today southern Gifu Prefecture. Mino was bordered by Ōmi to the west, Echizen and Hida to the north, Shinano to the east, and Ise, Mikawa, and Owari to the south. Its abbreviated fo ...

(now Yōrō,

Gifu Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Gifu Prefecture has a population of 1,910,511 () and has a geographic area of . Gifu Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to the north; Ishikawa Prefecture ...

). His real name was . He was born to a family that ran a farm. While serving as a stone-carrier, he grew in strength and decided to enter Takekuma stable at age 13, under the tutelage of former Edo-sumo '' ōzeki'' Kotōzan.
In the February 1852 tournament, he stepped in the ring for the first time under 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, before changing it to . At this time, he was known as one of the "Four Heavenly Kings of Awa" along with Jinmaku, and , all of whom were ''

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 ...

'' in the Tokushima domain. A the time, wrestlers were appointed as vassals of feudal lords, having a status similar to that of a

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

as well as being the champions of the feudal domain to which they were linked. However, because Jinmaku later switched to the Matsue Domain and then

Satsuma Domain The , briefly known as the , was a Han system, domain (''han'') of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1600 to 1871. The Satsuma Domain was based at Kagoshima Castle in Satsuma Province, the core of the modern city of ...

, it is said that Kimenzan and Jinmaku developed a strong rivalry which resulted in several "grudge matches".
He was promoted to '' ōzeki'' in November 1865. However, he was unenrolled in the November 1866 '' banzuke''. It was reportedly because he had a quarrel with sumo elders. He was promoted to ''ōzeki'' again in June 1868. In the February 1869 tournament, he was the first wrestler of the

to be granted a ''yokozuna'' license by the Yoshida family. He was already 43 years old, making him the oldest ''yokozuna'' to be promoted in the history of sumo. Because of his age, he did not have a long career as a ''yokozuna'', and retired from the ring only in November 1870. He was known for his strong offensive attack from a solid right-hand stance, but even when he established a solid position, his attack itself sometimes seemed forced, and thus he was often left behind. His record since his license was 17 wins, 3 losses, 2 draws, 14 holds. In the top ''makuuchi'' division, he won 143 bouts and lost 24 bouts, recording a winning percentage of 85.6. Because of his rank of ''yokozuna'', he was given the privilege of being an '' ichidai-toshiyori'' under his ''shikona''. He died on September 7, 1871, less than a year after his retirement, at the age of 46. His grave can be found in the Tokurin-ji temple, in his hometown of

Yōrō, Gifu is a List of towns in Japan, town located in Yōrō District, Gifu, Yōrō District, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 29,309 in 10,356 households and a population density of 405 persons per km2. The total area of ...

Homage

There is a monument to him in

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 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

External links

Kimenzan Tanigoro tournament results
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kimenzan, Tanigoro 1820s births 1871 deaths Japanese sumo wrestlers Yokozuna Sumo people from Gifu Prefecture 19th-century wrestlers

Career

Homage

Top division record

See also

References

External links