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 Ogachi, Akita. He was the sport's 38th ''

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 ...

''. He was promoted to ''yokozuna'' without any top division tournament titles to his name, although he later attained two.

Career

Born , he later changed his name to . In the summer of 1930, he was scouted by Isegahama, 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 ...

'' Kiyosegawa Keinosuke, his distant relative. However, he was largely forgotten due to the disruption caused by the

Shunjuen Incident The Shunjuen Incident (春秋園事件, ''Shunshūen jiken''), also known as the 'Tenryū Incident' or 'Tenryū-Ōnosato Incident' (after the ring name of its ringleaders), was an unprecedented strike launched by professional sumo wrestlers that o ...

of 1932, in which a large number of wrestlers went on strike. After the dispute was settled, he joined

Isegahama stable Isegahama stable was a heya (sumo), heya or stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Tatsunami-Isegahama ''ichimon,'' or group of stables. It was founded in 1859 by former ''komusubi'' Arakuma. It was led from 1929 by former ''sekiwake'' Kiyosegawa ...

in 1934, making his debut in January 1935 with the Terukuni Manzō ''

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. He 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 1939, and reached the '' ōzeki'' rank in May 1941. After two tournaments at ''ōzeki'', he finished in a three-way tie for the championship in May 1942 with

Futabayama was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Oita Prefecture. Entering sumo in 1927, he was the sport's 35th ''Yokozuna (sumo), yokozuna'' from 1937 until his retirement in 1945. He won twelve ''yūshō'' or top division championships and had ...

and Akinoumi, on 13–2. The championship was awarded to Futabayama (whom Terukuni had defeated in their individual match) simply because he was of a higher rank, as was the rule at the time. Nevertheless, after the tournament both Terukuni and Akinoumi were promoted to ''yokozuna''. At 23 years of age, Terukuni was the youngest wrestler to reach the ''yokozuna'' rank until the promotion of Taihō in 1961. He did well in his ''yokozuna'' debut, scoring 14–1, although he finished one win behind Futabayama, who won his last match by default. Terukuni was a heavy wrestler for his time, weighing over . During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, his weight declined due to food shortages. He changed the spelling of his ''shikona'' given name to in May 1945, but changed it back in October 1949. Having been a runner-up on five previous occasions, Terukuni finally won his first championship in September 1950, about eight years after his promotion. He won his second championship in the very next tournament with a perfect 15–0 record. Three days into the January 1953 tournament, he announced his retirement. After the tournament, Kagamisato was promoted to ''yokozuna'', and a photograph was taken of Terukuni and Kagamisato alongside the other grand champions

Chiyonoyama was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Fukushima, Hokkaidō. He was the sport's 41st ''yokozuna'' from 1951 until 1959. He is regarded as the first "modern" ''yokozuna'' in that he was promoted by the Japan Sumo Association itself and n ...

, Azumafuji and Haguroyama. As Terukuni had not yet had his official retirement ceremony, some regard January 1953 as being the only occasion on which there were five ''yokozuna'' at the same time.

Retirement from sumo

After his retirement, Terukuni became the head coach of

and produced ''ōzeki''

Kiyokuni Katsuo Kiyokuni Katsuo (born 20 November 1941 as Tadao Sato) is a former sumo wrestler from Ogachi, Akita, Ogachi, Akita Prefecture, Akita, Japan. His highest rank was ''Makuuchi#Ōzeki, ōzeki'', which he held from 1969 to 1974. He won one top division ...

. He had already made arrangements to pass control of the stable over to Kiyokuni at the time of his death in 1977 at the age of 58.

Career record

*''Through most of the 1940s only two tournaments were held a year, and in 1946 only one was held. The New Year tournament began and the Spring tournament moved to Osaka in 1953.''

References

External links

Japan Sumo Association profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Terukuni, Manzo 1919 births 1977 deaths Japanese sumo wrestlers Sumo people from Akita Prefecture Yokozuna

Career

Retirement from sumo

Career record

See also

References

External links