Umegatani Tōtarō I

was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from the town of Haki, Chikuzen Province, now Shiwa, Fukuoka Prefecture. He was the sport's 15th ''yokozuna''. He was generally regarded as the strongest wrestler to emerge since the era of Tanikaze and Raiden.

Career

His real name was . A myth attributes to him the great consumption of sake instead of mother's milk. From around the age of 12, he attended a temple school and began to wrestle, and by the time he was 16, he was known as "Chikuzen Muteki" (筑前無敵, 'invincible'). At 16, he was taken in by the Osaka Sumo Association and took the ''shikona'', or ring name, . After some time, he joined Minato stable and changed his ring name to in honor of his hometown, Umegaya in Shiwa Village. After the Meiji Restoration of 1868, he entered the Osaka Sumo Tournament in March 1869 and was promoted to ''komusubi''. Umegatani was not a particularly large wrestler but was remarkably strong and reached the rank of ''ōzeki'' in Osaka-sumo. Umegatani felt he wasn't content with the rank and so gave it up. He transferred to Tokyo-sumo in December 1870, and began his career over again from the bottom of the rankings. There, he was recruited into Tamagaki stable. Having deserted Osaka-sumo, he became very unpopular with the ''rikishi'' of this association. However, no one in Osaka could rival him and, in the joint tournament of December 1874, he won eight matches in a row and claimed the championship.
In 1876, while performing in Fukuoka Prefecture, he encountered rebels, which resulted in a brawl between wrestlers and rebels. Umegaya, however, remained calm and stayed in the prefecture to play an active role in pacifying the conflict.
Between 1876 and 1881, Umegatani started a period of dominance over Tokyo-sumo, winning 58 consecutive bouts, a streak only stopped once when he lost to fellow-''ōzeki'' Wakashima. This streak is the fourth best record of consecutive victories behind Futabayama, Tanikaze and Hakuhō. Umegatani continued to win 35 consecutive bouts until the May 1884 tournament.

''Yokozuna''

In February 1884, Umegaya received a ''yokozuna'' license from both the Yoshida (Tokyo-sumo) and (Osaka-sumo) families. Umegatani preferred the Yoshida license, which is said to have determined the outcome of the competition between the Yoshida and Gojō families' struggle for dominance in the sumo world.
After his promotion, he was given a set of three keshō-mawashi by Itō Hirobumi.
At the request of the Emperor Meiji, he was permitted to perform his ring-entering ceremony and fight in front of the emperor. The bout was against ''maegashira'' Ōdate, which ended in a draw after a heated battle that is said to have delighted the Emperor, and boosted sumo's popularity, which had declined after the Meiji Restoration.

Retirement from sumo and death

Umegatani won 116 bouts and lost only 6 bouts in the top ''makuuchi'' division. He achieved a winning average of 95.1, the highest record among ''yokozuna'', though could not surpass ''ōzeki'' Raiden. After his retirement, he served for a long time as a director in the Tokyo Sumo Association under the elder name of Ikazuchi. During his coaching career, he raised ''yokozuna'' Umegatani Tōtarō II, who later became his son-in-law.
He helped to raise funds for the building of the first Ryōgoku Kokugikan stadium in 1909. It is said that when asked by a potential backer what he had in the way of collateral, simply showing his muscles was enough to clinch the deal. When Umegatani II retired during the June 1915 tournament, Umegatani I transmitted his stable and his elder name to him. The Association however gave him the honorary title "Ōrai" (大雷, 'Great Thunderbolt') and treated him as an advisor. Umegatani lived until the age of eighty-three, making him the longest-lived ''yokozuna'' of all time. He outlived Umegatani Totaro II by nine months, and is one of very few ''yokozuna'' to have died of old age. He is buried in the Jisso-ji temple in Ōta, Tokyo.

Top division record

*''The actual time the tournaments were held during the year in this period often varied. The spring tournament recorded for 1878 was actually held in December of the previous year.''

''*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.''

See also

*Glossary of sumo terms
*List of past sumo wrestlers
*List of yokozuna

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Umegatani Totaro
1845 births
1928 deaths
Japanese sumo wrestlers
Sumo people from Fukuoka Prefecture
Yokozuna
19th-century wrestlers