Hitachiyama Taniemon
Hitachiyama Taniemon | |
---|---|
常陸山 谷右衞門 | |
Ibaragi, Japan | |
Died | June 19, 1922 | (aged 48)
Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 8+1⁄2 in) |
Weight | 146 kg (322 lb) |
Career | |
Stable | Dewanoumi |
Record | 150-15-131 22draws-2holds(Makuuchi) |
Debut | June, 1892 |
Highest rank | Yokozuna (June, 1903) |
Retired | May, 1914 |
Championships | 1 (Makuuchi, official) 7 (Makuuchi, unofficial) |
* Up to date as of September 2007. |
Hitachiyama Taniemon (常陸山 谷右衞門, January 19, 1874 – June 19, 1922) was a Japanese professional
Early career
Hitachiyama was born as Ichige Tani (市毛 谷), on January 19, 1874, to a
He made his professional debut in June 1892. However, he fell in love with his head coach's niece; and when he was refused permission to wed her, he ran away from Tokyo sumo in the summer of 1894.[2] He moved to Nagoya sumo and then Osaka sumo. He returned to Tokyo sumo in the spring of 1896. He had become much stronger during his absence and won 32 consecutive bouts upon his return.[2] In January 1899, he won a championship at his first tournament in the top makuuchi division. In January 1901 he was promoted to ōzeki. He fought against fellow ōzeki Umegatani Tōtarō II on the final day of May 1903 tournament. He defeated Umegatani and his own promotion to yokozuna was confirmed. Hitachiyama, however, insisted that his rival be promoted as well. Hitachiyama got his wish and he and Umegatani were promoted to yokozuna together in June 1903. With Ōzutsu Man'emon also holding the rank, it was the first occasion that three yokozuna were active at the same time.[3]
Yokozuna
Hitachiyama once won 27 bouts in a row, lost one to
In the top
Later years
After his retirement in May 1914, he became the stablemaster of Dewanoumi stable. It had been a minor heya when he had first joined it, but even while still an active wrestler Hitachiyama had trained many wrestlers, such as later yokozuna Tachiyama Mineemon, even though they were not members of his stable. He was a masterful recruiter and coach.[6] He had such charisma and personality that he was able to tempt many wrestlers away from the less successful Osaka and Kyoto based sumo associations, which caused friction between the rival organisations.[7] As head coach he produced many top division wrestlers, including no fewer than three yokozuna: Ōnishiki Uichirō, Tochigiyama Moriya and Tsunenohana Kan'ichi. At the stable's peak he was in charge of two hundred wrestlers. To feed them, he devised the chankonabe style of food preparation which still prevails in sumo today.[8]
He died suddenly in 1922 at the age of 48. As a much respected figure in the sumo world, he was the first yokozuna for whom the Japan Sumo Association organised a formal funeral.[3] His funeral procession was reportedly 6 kilometres long.[3]
Top Division Record
- | Spring | Summer | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1899 | East Maegashira #4 8–0–1 1d Unofficial |
Sat out | ||||
1900 | East Maegashira #1 7–1–1 1d |
East Sekiwake 7–1–1 1d |
||||
1901 | East Sekiwake 8–0–1 1d Unofficial |
West Ōzeki 7–2–1 |
||||
1902 | West Ōzeki 7–1–2 |
West Ōzeki 6–0–4 |
||||
1903 | West Ōzeki 8–0–1 1d Unofficial |
West Ōzeki 9–0–1 Unofficial |
||||
1904 | West Yokozuna 7–1–2 Unofficial |
Sat out | ||||
1905 | West Yokozuna 2–0–8 |
West Yokozuna 5–0–2 2d 1h |
||||
1906 | West Yokozuna 9–0–1 Unofficial |
West Yokozuna 8–0–2 Unofficial |
||||
1907 | Sat out | West Yokozuna 6–2–1 1d |
||||
1908 | Sat out for a world tour | West Yokozuna 5–0–5 |
||||
1909 | East Yokozuna 6–0–4 |
East Yokozuna 7–1 2d |
||||
1910 | East Yokozuna 7–0–1 2d |
East Yokozuna 2–0–8 |
||||
1911 | East Yokozuna 5–2 3d |
Sat out | ||||
1912 | West Yokozuna 5–1 4d |
Sat out | ||||
1913 | East Yokozuna 6–1 3d |
West Yokozuna 2–0–7 1h |
||||
1914 | West Yokozuna 1–2–7 |
East Yokozuna Retired 0–0–10 |
||||
Record given as win-loss-absent Top Division Champion Top Division Runner-up Retired Lower Divisions Key:d=Draw(s) (引分); h=Hold(s) (預り) Jonokuchi Makuuchi ranks: Maegashira |
*Championships for the best record in a tournament were not recognized or awarded before the 1909 summer tournament and the above championships that are labelled "unofficial" are historically conferred. For more information see yūshō.
See also
- Glossary of sumo terms
- List of past sumo wrestlers
- List of sumo tournament top division champions
- List of yokozuna
References
- ^ a b Kuroda, Joe (February 2006). "A Shot At the Impossible-Yokozuna Comparison Through The Ages". sumofanmag.com. Retrieved 2008-07-06.
- ^ a b c Kuroda, Joe (December 2007). "Hitachiyama Taniemon (1874–1922)". Sumo Fan Magazine. Retrieved 2008-04-29.
- ^ a b c d e f g Kuroda, Joe (February 2008). "Hitachiyama Taniemon (1874–1922) Part #2". Sumo Fan Magazine. Retrieved 2008-04-29.
- ^ 横綱一覧 (in Japanese). Grand Sumo Tournament Records. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
- ^ "Hitachiyama Taniemon". National Diet Library. 2004. Retrieved 2008-07-06.
- ISBN 4-7890-0725-1.
- ISBN 4-7700-1802-9.
- ^ 巴潟のちゃんこ鍋 (in Japanese). Chanko Tomoegata. Retrieved 2008-05-29.
- ^ "Hitachiyama Taniemon Rikishi Information". Sumo Reference. Retrieved 2007-09-25.
External links