1998 in sumo
Encyclopedia
Tournaments
- Hatsu bashoHonbashoA is an official professional sumo tournament. There are six held each year, a system established in 1958. Only honbasho results matter in determining promotion and relegation for rikishi ....
, Ryogoku KokugikanRyogoku Kokugikan, also known as Sumo Hall, is an indoor sporting arena located in the Ryōgoku neighborhood of Sumida, one of the 23 wards of Tokyo in Japan, next to the Edo-Tokyo Museum. It is the third building built in Tokyo associated with the name kokugikan. The current building was opened in 1985 and has a...
, TokyoTokyo, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, January 11 - January 25 - Haru basho, Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium, OsakaOsakais a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
, March 8 - March 22 - Natsu basho, Tokyo, May 10 - May 24
- Nagoya basho, Aichi Prefectural GymnasiumAichi Prefectural GymnasiumThe is an all purpose gymnasium in Aichi, Japan, built in 1964. Located on the site of the secondary enclosure of Nagoya Castle, it is host to numerous concerts and events...
, July 5 - July 19 - Aki basho, Tokyo, September 13 - September 27
- KyushuKyushuis the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....
basho, Fukuoka International Center, November 8 - November 22
January
- At the Hatsu tournament in Tokyo, Ozeki Musashimaru wins his third top divisionMakuuchior is the top division of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers , ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments....
championship or yushoYushoA Yūshō is a tournament championship in sumo. It is awarded in each of the six annual honbasho or official tournaments, to the wrestler who wins the most number of bouts. Yūshō are awarded in all six professional sumo divisions...
, his first since November 1996, with a 12-3 record. He finishes one win ahead of sekiwake Tochiazuma who wins the Outstanding Performance Prize. The other sekiwake Musoyama gets the Fighting Spirit Award, and komusubi Kotonishiki receives his seventh Technique Prize. Yokozuna Takanohana loses three in a row from 8-1 and then withdraws. In the juryo division, Kinkaiyama wins the yusho in his first tournament in the division. Announcing their retirements are former maegashira Asahisato and former juryo Daiki, from HawaiiHawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
.
February
- In the Japan Sumo AssociationJapan Sumo AssociationThe is the body that operates and controls professional sumo wrestling in Japan under the jurisdiction of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Rikishi , gyōji , tokoyama , and yobidashi , are all on the Association's payroll, but the organisation is run...
board elections, Tokitsukaze Oyakata (former ozeki YutakayamaYutakayama KatsuoYutakayama Katsuo is a former sumo wrestler from Niigata, Japan. His highest rank was ozeki. Although he never managed to win a top division tournament championship he was a runner-up on eight occasions...
) becomes the new chairman or rijicho, replacing Sakaigawa (the former yokozuna Sadanoyama) , who had held the post since 1992. The elections prove controversial for the Takasago ichimon, with Jinmaku (former yokozuna Kitanofuji) leaving the Association altogether after failing to receive enough support from his fellow directors, and the Takadagawa stableTakadagawa Stableis a stable of sumo wrestlers, one of the Nishonoseki ichimon or group of stables. It was formed in 1974 by former ozeki Maenoyama, and was originally in the Takasago group of stables, but was excommunicated from that group in 1998 due to disagreement over group nominations to the Japan Sumo...
thrown out of the ichimon after its head coach (former ozeki Maenoyama) runs as an independent candidate.
March
- In Osaka, ozeki WakanohanaWakanohana Masaruis a former sumo wrestler from Tokyo, Japan. As an active wrestler he was known as Wakanohana III Masaru , and his rise through the ranks alongside his younger brother Takanohana Koji saw a boom in sumo's popularity in the early 1990s...
wins his fourth yusho with a 14-1 score. He finishes one win ahead of yokozuna AkebonoAkebono Tarois a retired American born-Japanese sumo wrestler from Waimānalo, Hawaii. Joining the professional sport in Japan in 1988, he was trained by pioneering Hawaiian sumo wrestler Takamiyama and rose swiftly up the rankings, reaching the top division in 1990...
, who drops his first two bouts but then wins thirteen in a row. Takanohana drops out after five days with a liver disorder. Chiyotaikai wins the Technique prize and KaioKaio HiroyukiKaiō Hiroyuki is a former professional sumo wrestler from Nōgata, Fukuoka, Japan.He made his debut in 1988, reaching the top makuuchi division in 1993. He held the second highest rank of ōzeki or champion for eleven years from 2000 to 2011, and is the longest-serving ozeki of all time in terms of...
the Outstanding Performance award. The Fighting Spirit prize is shared between Tosanoumi and Aogiyama. The juryo championship is won by veteran Kushimaumi after a playoff with TokiToki SusumuTōki Susumu is a former sumo wrestler from Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. His highest rank was komusubi. He is now a sumo coach.-Career:Tōki began his career in January 1991 after joining the Takasago stable...
.
May
- The first day of a Tokyo tournament fails to sell out for the first time since 1970.
- Wakanohana wins his second consecutive championship, and earns promotion to yokozuna, creating the first ever sibling grand champions. He defeats Musashimaru on the final day to finish on 12-3. Runners-up are Takanonami and Kotonishiki on 11-4. Musashimaru, Takanohana, and Akebono all score 10-5. There are six special prize winners: Akinoshima (Technique), Kotonishiki and Oginishiki (Outstanding Performance), DejimaDejima TakeharuDejima Takeharu is a former sumo wrestler from Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan. A former amateur champion, he made his professional debut in 1996, reaching the top makuuchi division the following year...
and Wakanosato (Fighting Spirit). Dejima wins 10 bouts after being out for two tournaments. The juryo championship is won by Oikari after a three way playoff.
July
- In Nagoya, Takanohana returns from illness to win his 19th championship with a 14-1 score. Musashimaru is runner-up, two wins behind. New sekiwake Chiyotaikai wins eleven and the Technique Prize. Kotonowaka also wins eleven and gets the Fighting Spirit Award. Dejima defeats two yokozuna and wins the Outstanding Performance prize. Wakanohana finishes on 10-5 in his debut yokozuna tournament. In the juryo division, two former makuuchi veterans, maegashira Oginohana and komusubi Misugisato, retire after winning only one and three bouts respectively. The championship is won by Akinoshu, his first yusho after 14 years in sumo.
September
- Takanohana becomes only the fourth man, after TaihoTaiho KokiTaihō Kōki is the 48th Yokozuna in the Japanese sport of sumo wrestling. He is generally regarded as the greatest sumo wrestler of the post-war period. He became a yokozuna in 1961 at the age of 21, the youngest ever at the time, and he won a record 32 tournaments between 1960 and 1971...
, Kitanoumi, and Chiyonofuji, to reach twenty top division championships. He finishes on 13-2, one win ahead of his brother. Kotonowaka wins the Outstanding Performance prize, and Chiyotaikai the Technique Award. Chiyotenzan wins the juryo championship. Former maegashira YamatoYamato GoYamato Go is a former sumo wrestler from Oahu, Hawaii, United States. His highest rank was maegashira 12.-Career:...
from Hawaii, now in makushita, and former komusubi Tomoefuji, who has fallen to sandanme, announce their retirements.
November
- Kotonishiki becomes the first wrestler ever to win two championships as a maegashira after winning in Kyushu with a 14-1 score, seven years after his first yusho in September 1991. He finishes two wins ahead of Takanohana and Tosanoumi, and is awarded Technique and Outstanding Performance prizes. Tochiazuma shares the Technique Prize, and Tosanoumi gets the Fighting Spirit award. Wakanohana can score only 9-6, and Akebono sits the tournament out through injury. The juryo yusho goes to former amateur champion Miyabiyama. Kushimaumi retires, having fallen into the makushita division.
Deaths
- 10 March: Former komusubi KenkoKenko SatoshiKenkō Satoshi was a sumo wrestler from Osaka, Japan. His highest rank was komusubi.-Career:Debuting in November 1984, he reached the second highest jūryō division in March 1991. His first tournament in the top makuuchi division was in July 1992...
, aged 30, of leukemiaLeukemiaLeukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
. - 26 September: Former maegashira Toyonishiki, first Japanese AmericanJapanese Americanare American people of Japanese heritage. Japanese Americans have historically been among the three largest Asian American communities, but in recent decades have become the sixth largest group at roughly 1,204,205, including those of mixed-race or mixed-ethnicity...
to reach makuuchi, aged 78. - 4 November: Former sekiwake Maedagawa, aged 61.