(1911–2013) was a

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 ...

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 ...

wrestlers, part of the Nishonoseki group of stables (''

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

'') named after it. It first appeared in the late eighteenth century and was re-established in 1935 by the 32nd ''yokozuna'' Tamanishiki while still active. The former ''ōzeki'' Saganohana produced the stable's greatest wrestler, ''yokozuna'' Taihō, who won a record for the time of 32 ''

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 ...

'' or tournament championships between 1961 and 1971. The stable's last head coach, former ''

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 ...

'' Kongō, took charge in 1976, when he was adopted by the widow of the previous head. He was also on the board of directors of 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 ...

. The stable's fortunes declined in later years. It had no ''

sekitori A ''sekitori'' (関取) is a '' rikishi'' (力士, sumo wrestler) who is ranked in one of the top two professional divisions: '' makuuchi'' and '' jūryō''. The name literally translates to having taken the barrier, as only a relatively small fr ...

'' wrestlers after the retirement of Daizen in 2003 and at the end had just three active wrestlers, all in '' sandanme'' or below (and one of whom, Kasachikara, was 41 years old, and the second oldest active wrestler in sumo). The

naturalisation Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...

of a Chinese born

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 ...

, Ryūtei, opened up another spot in the stable for a foreigner, and a Mongolian wrestler was recruited in March 2010, Kengo, but he retired in May 2011 having missed several tournaments due to suffering a traumatic brain injury. In February 2010 general affairs manager Yoshiyuki Inoguchi, a former wrestler for the stable from 1975 to 1993 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 ...

'' of Nijodake, was found hanged in an apparent suicide. The stable closed after the January 2013 tournament, due to the ill health of the stablemaster at the time and the lack of a suitable successor to him at the time. All three of its wrestlers retired, with the rest of the personnel (except Fujigane-''oyakata'') moving to Matsugane stable. The name of the stable was written in three-storey-high characters down the front of the building. It has since been demolished to make way for apartment blocks. But was later reformed in 2021 after a 8 year dormancy Nishonoseki stable (2021) in a new place and location.

Owners

*1976-2013: 10th Nishonoseki (former ''sekiwake''

Kongō Masahiro Kongō Masahiro (18 November 1948 - 12 August 2014) was a former sumo wrestler from Hokkaidō, Japan. His highest rank was ''sekiwake'' and he won a top division tournament championship in 1975. He was a sumo coach and head of the Nishonoseki sta ...

) *1975-1976: 9th Nishonoseki interim (former ''maegashira'' Tokachiiwa Yutaka) *1952-1975: 8th Nishonoseki (former ''ōzeki'' Saganohana Katsumi) *1938-1952: 7th Nishonoseki (former ''sekiwake'' Tamanoumi Umekichi) * 1935-1938: 6th Nishonoseki ( the 32nd ''yokozuna''

Tamanishiki San'emon was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Kōchi. He was the sport's 32nd ''yokozuna''. He won a total of nine top division ''yūshō'' or tournament championships from 1929 to 1936, and was the dominant wrestler in sumo until the emerge ...

)

Coaches

*Kitajin (former ''sekiwake'' Kirinji) *Minatogawa (former ''komusubi'' Daitetsu) *Fujigane (former ''komusubi'' Daizen)

Notable members

* Tamanishiki ( the 32nd ''yokozuna'') * Taihō ( the 48th ''yokozuna'') * Daikirin (former ''ōzeki'') * Saganohana (former ''ōzeki'') *

Rikidōzan (born Kim Sin-rak; ; November 14, 1924 – December 15, 1963), better known as Rikidōzan (), was a Korean-born Japanese wrestler who competed in sumo and professional wrestling. He was known as The Father of Puroresu (professional wrestling ...

(former ''sekiwake'') * Tamanoumi (former ''sekiwake'') * Kongō (former ''sekiwake'') *

Kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...

(former ''sekiwake'') * Hasegawa / Junzo Kamiwaka / Yoshinosato

Referee

*Shinnosuke Shikimori (Hiromitsu Oshida) - ''jūryō'' referee

References

External links