–but sometimes called "Zōgabana" or "Sōgahana" because of the Japanese phonological tendency called ''

rendaku is a pronunciation change seen in some compound words in Japanese. When rendaku occurs, a voiceless consonant (such as ) is replaced with a voiced consonant (such as ) at the start of the second (or later) part of the compound. For example, t ...

''–was a Japanese

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 Tateyama, Awa Province (now Tateyama,

Chiba Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Chiba Prefecture has a population of 6,278,060 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Chiba Prefecture borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north, Saitama ...

). His highest rank was '' ōzeki''. He is the fifth wrestler from the prefecture to have been promoted to this rank in total. He was promoted roughly at the same time as Sakaigawa, who became an ''ōzeki'' the year before. He was also the last to hold the title until

Konishiki Saleva'a Fuauli Atisano'e (born December 31, 1963), better known by his stage name, , is an American-born Japanese former professional sumo wrestler. Franz LidzMeat Bomb, 05.18.92 - ''Sports Illustrated'' He was the first non-Japanese-born wrest ...

's promotion in 1890, 25 years later.

Career

Zōgahana began wrestling in Tanigawa stable. He first wrestled 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, but later changed it for . In 1866, he was recruited to serve the

Marugame Domain file:Kyōgoku Akiyuki.jpg, 270px, Kyōgoku Akiyuki file:香川県丸亀市丸亀城 - panoramio (45).jpg, 270px, Marugame Castle was a Han (Japan), feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, in what is now Kagawa Prefecture ...

. Just before his promotion to the ''

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, he changed his ''shikona'' to , another name essentially meaning "elephant's () trunk ()", an unusual choice. In 1871, he was promoted to ''ōzeki'', professional sumo's second highest rank, because at the time Kimenzan, one of the leading wrestler of that time, just retired the year before, leaving the

rankings A ranking is a relationship between a set of items, often recorded in a list, such that, for any two items, the first is either "ranked higher than", "ranked lower than", or "ranked equal to" the second. In mathematics, this is known as a weak ...

unbalanced. His promotion to this rank, in just six tournaments since joining the ''makuuchi'' division, sets a precedent for extremely rapid ascent in the promotion system of the time. Zōgahana retired in April 1872 after only three tournaments at the rank of ''ōzeki''. Since he retired at the rank of ''ōzeki'', he was the first wrestler to retire at that rank in 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 ...

. He remained in the

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 sumo wrestling, called , in Japan under the jurisdiction of the Japanese Ministry of Ed ...

for some times as an elder under the name Shiratama. However, in 1873

Takasago Uragorō was a Japanese sumo wrestler from , Kazusa Province (now Tōgane, Chiba Prefecture). His highest rank was ''maegashira'' 1. Although he never reached a high rank in professional sumo, Takasago is a personality known for having led the first so ...

launched his own group for reform of the sumo association, creating a parallel association and breaching out of the traditional system with some dissatisfied wrestlers. Zōgahana decided to join the group, resulting in his formal expulsion from the association. When the Takasago group was disbanded he returned to his home without charge and in disgrace. He died on March 18, 1890, at the age of 55. His tomb is located in the grounds of the Fudō-in Henshōji temple in his hometown of Tateyama.

Top division record

*''The actual time the tournaments were held during the year in this period often varied.''

Career

Top division record

See also

References

Further reading