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 25th ''

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

His real name was , but he later changed his surname to . He entered sumo in January 1900, using 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 ...

'' name . He changed it to in May 1905, and was promoted to the top ''

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 ...

'' division in May 1906. A month later he changed his ring name again, this time to . He changed his ''shikona'' for the last time in January 1914, when he took the given name Kajirō. Nishinoumi was awarded a ''yokozuna'' licence by the house of ''Yoshida Tsukasa'' in February 1916 after winning a championship at the January 1916 tournament. He was 36 years old at the time of his promotion, making him the oldest wrestler to be promoted to ''yokozuna'' in the 20th century. In the top ''makuuchi'' division, he won 106 bouts and lost 38 bouts, recording a winning percentage of 73.6. He was the only wrestler to defeat

Tachiyama was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Toyama, Toyama, Toyama City, Toyama Prefecture. He was the sport's 22nd ''Yokozuna (sumo), yokozuna''. He was well known for his extreme strength and skill. He won 99 out of 100 matches from 1909 t ...

between 1909 and 1916, his victory in January 1912 preventing Tachiyama from recording 100 straight wins (he had a winning streak of 43 before, and 56 after their bout). Tachiyama claimed many years later that Nishinoumi's win over him had been '' yaocho'' (fixed), but there is little evidence for this. He favoured the ''

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 ...

'' (''yokozuna'' ring-entering ceremony) style that has come to be known as ''Unryū ''. After his retirement, he was an elder known as Izutsu and produced many top division wrestlers, such as ''yokozuna'' Nishinoumi Kajirō III. During his tenure Izutsu's influence in 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 ...

increased, but he was accused of using his position unfairly by his opponents after he added a director to the Sumo Association's board from his own ''

ichimon The following words are terms used in sumo wrestling in Japan. A B C D E F G H ...

'' or stable group. He eventually committed suicide by

hanging Hanging is killing a person by suspending them from the neck with a noose or ligature strangulation, ligature. Hanging has been a standard method of capital punishment since the Middle Ages, and has been the primary execution method in numerou ...

on January 27, 1931. His adopted daughter's grandsons are Sakahoko Akihiro and

Terao Tsunefumi was a Japanese sumo wrestler. He was born in Tokyo, but brought up in Kajiki, Aira District, Kagoshima, Japan. He fought out of Izutsu stable. The highest rank he reached was '' sekiwake.'' Despite his relatively light weight he had an extre ...

Career

Top division record

References

See also