Kitanoumi Toshimitsu
Encyclopedia
Kitanoumi Toshimitsu is a former sumo
wrestler and former Chairman of the Japan Sumo Association
. He was the dominant yokozuna in sumo during the 1970s. Toshimitsu was promoted to yokozuna at age 21, becoming the youngest ever to achieve sumo's top rank, and he remained a yokozuna for a record 63 tournaments. He won 24 tournament championships during his career and was one of a series of truly great yokozuna who came from Hokkaidō
, the most northerly of the four main islands of Japan
. He is currently the head coach of Kitanoumi stable
.
, Usu District
, Kitanoumi began his professional career in January 1967 at 13, whilst still in middle school. He joined Mihogaseki stable
, and was promoted to sumo's second highest juryo division in May 1971 and the top makuuchi
division a year later. He won his first top division yusho
or tournament championship in January 1974 and was promoted to ozeki immediately afterwards. He secured promotion to yokozuna just three tournaments after that. At 21 years 2 months, he was the youngest ever yokozuna, beating the previous record held by Taihō
by one month.
Kitanoumi was the most successful wrestler in sumo for the rest of the 1970s. His dominance meant that he was not that popular with the general public. When he was defeated by underdog Takanohana
in a playoff for the championship in September 1975, the audience threw so many zabuton-- or cushions-- into the ring in delight, that Kitanoumi said he could "hardly see the ceiling." His best year was 1978, when he won 5 of the 6 tournaments and won 82 out of a possible 90 bouts, a record that stood until 2005.
His chief rival during these years was Wajima
, but Kitanoumi was much more consistent. He was heavy at 169 kg, was extremely strong and had excellent balance. He was also remarkably injury free and never seemed to miss a tournament. Indeed, from July 1973 until September 1981 he chalked up fifty consecutive kachikoshi, or tournament records of at least 8 wins out of 15, which is a record for the top division.
However, by the beginning of the 1980s he had a new rival, Chiyonofuji, who earned promotion to ozeki and then yokozuna by defeating him in decisive matches in January and July 1981. In November 1981 Kitanoumi withdrew from a tournament for the first time. After that his record was patchy, with many absences. His 24th and final title came in May 1984, with a perfect 15-0 record. This was seen by many as a fitting end to a great career and he wanted to retire after that tournament, but was persuaded by the Sumo Association to carry on until the opening of the new Ryōgoku Kokugikan
stadium in January 1985. Three days into the tournament, without winning a match, he announced his retirement. He had been ranked as a yokozuna on the banzuke
in 63 tournaments, more than any other wrestler. During his career he had won 951 matches, the most in history at the time (he was overtaken by Oshio
in 1987, Chiyonofuji in 1989 and Kaio
in 2009). 804 of those victories came in the top division, behind only Kaio and Chiyonofuji.
without having to purchase a share. He was the second rikishi after Taiho to be given this honour. As a result, he was able to keep his sumo name after retirement. He opened up his own training stable, Kitanoumi-beya, taking several wrestlers from Mihogaseki stable who had been already been under his wing. Kitanoumi stable is one of the largest in sumo, and has produced a handful of top division wrestlers over the years, such as maegashira Ganyu, Kitazakura and Kitataiki. He also inherited Russian wrestler Hakurozan, who joined the stable in 2006.
In 2002 Kitanoumi became head of the Sumo Association. He was the first chairman under the age of 50 in half a century, and his appointment was widely welcomed. However, he came under pressure after a series of scandals hit sumo. These included the behaviour of yokozuna Asashōryū
, who was suspended for two tournaments in 2007 but then allowed to return to Mongolia
, the death of junior wrestler Tokitaizan at Tokitsukaze stable
, and the dismissal of several top wrestlers for using cannabis
. When it became clear that one of them was his own wrestler Hakurozan, whom he had previously backed, Kitanoumi resigned his post on September 8, 2008. He remained on the board of directors, in charge of running the Osaka tournament, but had to resign from that position in April 2011 after another of his wrestlers, Kiyoseumi, was found guilty of match-fixing and forced to retire from sumo.
or techniques were hidari-yotsu (a right hand outside, left hand inside grip on the opponent's mawashi
), yorikiri (force out) and uwatenage (overarm throw).
Sumo
is a competitive full-contact sport where a wrestler attempts to force another wrestler out of a circular ring or to touch the ground with anything other than the soles of the feet. The sport originated in Japan, the only country where it is practiced professionally...
wrestler and former Chairman of the Japan Sumo Association
Japan Sumo Association
The 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...
. He was the dominant yokozuna in sumo during the 1970s. Toshimitsu was promoted to yokozuna at age 21, becoming the youngest ever to achieve sumo's top rank, and he remained a yokozuna for a record 63 tournaments. He won 24 tournament championships during his career and was one of a series of truly great yokozuna who came from Hokkaidō
Hokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
, the most northerly of the four main islands of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. He is currently the head coach of Kitanoumi stable
Kitanoumi stable
is a stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Dewanoumi ichimon or group of stables. It was set up in 1985 by former yokozuna Kitanoumi, who branched off from Mihogaseki stable. It absorbed Hatachiyama stable in 2006, following the death of its head coach, former ozeki Hokuten'yū...
.
Career
Born in SōbetsuSobetsu, Hokkaido
is a town located in Usu District, Iburi, Hokkaidō, Japan.As of 2007, the town has an estimated population of 3,046 and a density of 17.93 persons per km². The total area is 205.04 km².Sōbetsu has been twinned with Kemijärvi, in Finland since 1993....
, Usu District
Usu District, Hokkaido
is a district located in Iburi Subprefecture, Hokkaidō. As of March, 2008, the district has an estimated Population of 3,009 and a Density of 14.7 persons/km². The total area is 205.04 km².The district has only one town.*Sōbetsu-Timeline:...
, Kitanoumi began his professional career in January 1967 at 13, whilst still in middle school. He joined Mihogaseki stable
Mihogaseki stable
The is a stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Dewanoumi ichimon or group of stables. Its current head coach, former ozeki Masuiyama Daishiro II took charge in November 1984. He is the son of the previous head, also an ozeki under the name Masuiyama, making it one of only three current stables...
, and was promoted to sumo's second highest juryo division in May 1971 and the top makuuchi
Makuuchi
or 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....
division a year later. He won his first top division yusho
Yusho
A 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...
or tournament championship in January 1974 and was promoted to ozeki immediately afterwards. He secured promotion to yokozuna just three tournaments after that. At 21 years 2 months, he was the youngest ever yokozuna, beating the previous record held by Taihō
Taiho Koki
Taihō 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...
by one month.
Kitanoumi was the most successful wrestler in sumo for the rest of the 1970s. His dominance meant that he was not that popular with the general public. When he was defeated by underdog Takanohana
Takanohana Kenshi
Takanohana Kenshi 貴ノ花健士 was a sumo wrestler from Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, Japan. His highest rank was ozeki, which he held for fifty tournaments. As an active rikishi he was extremely popular and was nicknamed the "prince of sumo" due to his good looks and relatively slim build...
in a playoff for the championship in September 1975, the audience threw so many zabuton-- or cushions-- into the ring in delight, that Kitanoumi said he could "hardly see the ceiling." His best year was 1978, when he won 5 of the 6 tournaments and won 82 out of a possible 90 bouts, a record that stood until 2005.
His chief rival during these years was Wajima
Wajima Hiroshi
is a former sumo wrestler and professional wrestler from Nanao, Ishikawa, Japan. He was sumo's 54th Yokozuna. He won a total of 14 tournament championships or yusho during his career and retired in March 1981....
, but Kitanoumi was much more consistent. He was heavy at 169 kg, was extremely strong and had excellent balance. He was also remarkably injury free and never seemed to miss a tournament. Indeed, from July 1973 until September 1981 he chalked up fifty consecutive kachikoshi, or tournament records of at least 8 wins out of 15, which is a record for the top division.
However, by the beginning of the 1980s he had a new rival, Chiyonofuji, who earned promotion to ozeki and then yokozuna by defeating him in decisive matches in January and July 1981. In November 1981 Kitanoumi withdrew from a tournament for the first time. After that his record was patchy, with many absences. His 24th and final title came in May 1984, with a perfect 15-0 record. This was seen by many as a fitting end to a great career and he wanted to retire after that tournament, but was persuaded by the Sumo Association to carry on until the opening of the new Ryōgoku Kokugikan
Ryogoku 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...
stadium in January 1985. Three days into the tournament, without winning a match, he announced his retirement. He had been ranked as a yokozuna on the banzuke
Banzuke
This article is about the banzuke document, for a list of wrestlers as ranked on an actual banzuke see List of active sumo wrestlersA , officially called is a document listing the rankings of professional sumo wrestlers published before each official tournament or honbasho. The term can also...
in 63 tournaments, more than any other wrestler. During his career he had won 951 matches, the most in history at the time (he was overtaken by Oshio
Oshio Kenji
Ōshio Kenji is a former sumo wrestler from Kitakyushu, Japan. His highest rank was komusubi. His career lasted twenty six years, from 1962 until 1988, and he holds the record for the most bouts contested in professional sumo.-Career:He was born in Yahata Higashi ward...
in 1987, Chiyonofuji in 1989 and Kaio
Kaio Hiroyuki
Kaiō 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...
in 2009). 804 of those victories came in the top division, behind only Kaio and Chiyonofuji.
After retirement
Kitanoumi was honoured for his great achievements by being offered membership of the Japan Sumo AssociationJapan Sumo Association
The 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...
without having to purchase a share. He was the second rikishi after Taiho to be given this honour. As a result, he was able to keep his sumo name after retirement. He opened up his own training stable, Kitanoumi-beya, taking several wrestlers from Mihogaseki stable who had been already been under his wing. Kitanoumi stable is one of the largest in sumo, and has produced a handful of top division wrestlers over the years, such as maegashira Ganyu, Kitazakura and Kitataiki. He also inherited Russian wrestler Hakurozan, who joined the stable in 2006.
In 2002 Kitanoumi became head of the Sumo Association. He was the first chairman under the age of 50 in half a century, and his appointment was widely welcomed. However, he came under pressure after a series of scandals hit sumo. These included the behaviour of yokozuna Asashōryū
Asashōryū Akinori
is a former sumo wrestler from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. He was the 68th yokozuna in the history of the sport in Japan and became the first Mongol to reach sumo's highest rank in January 2003. He was one of the most successful yokozuna ever. In 2005 he became the first man to win all six official...
, who was suspended for two tournaments in 2007 but then allowed to return to Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
, the death of junior wrestler Tokitaizan at Tokitsukaze stable
Tokitsukaze stable
The is a stable of sumo wrestlers, one of the Tokitsukaze group of stables. It was originally founded in 1769 and was dominant during the Taishō period. In its modern form it dates from 1941 when it was established by Futabayama, who was still an active wrestler at the time. Initially known as...
, and the dismissal of several top wrestlers for using cannabis
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
. When it became clear that one of them was his own wrestler Hakurozan, whom he had previously backed, Kitanoumi resigned his post on September 8, 2008. He remained on the board of directors, in charge of running the Osaka tournament, but had to resign from that position in April 2011 after another of his wrestlers, Kiyoseumi, was found guilty of match-fixing and forced to retire from sumo.
Fighting style
Kitanoumi's favourite kimariteKimarite
Kimarite are winning techniques in a sumo bout. For each bout in a Grand Sumo tournament , a sumo referee, or gyoji, will decide and announce the type of kimarite used by the winner...
or techniques were hidari-yotsu (a right hand outside, left hand inside grip on the opponent's mawashi
Mawashi
In sumo, a mawashi is the belt that the rikishi wears during training or in competition. Upper ranked professional wrestlers wear a keshō-mawashi as part of the ring entry ceremony or dohyo-iri.-Mawashi:...
), yorikiri (force out) and uwatenage (overarm throw).
Top division record
- "P" designates a win or loss of additional playoff bout(s) for the championship because two or more wrestlers finished with identical records
See also
- Glossary of sumo termsGlossary of sumo termsThe following words are terms used in sumo wrestling in Japan. azukari : Hold. A kind of draw. After a mono-ii, the gyōji or the shimpan "holds" the result if it was too close to call...
- List of past sumo wrestlers
- List of sumo record holders
- List of sumo tournament winners
- List of yokozuna