Onogawa Kisaburo
Encyclopedia
Onogawa Kisaburō was a sumo
wrestler from Otsu
, Shiga Prefecture
, Japan
. He was the sport's 5th Yokozuna. Along with Tanikaze he was the first to be given a yokozuna licence by the House of Yoshida Tsukasa and the first to perform the dohyō-iri to promote sumo tournaments.
division in March 1781. He defeated ozeki Tanikaze Kajinosuke
in February 1782. The victory surprised people in Edo as it brought to an end Tanikaze's run of 63 consecutive victories. Onogawa became a rival of Tanikaze and was popular with the public, although in reality he was quite far behind his rival and won only seven tournament titles to Tanikaze's 21. Onogawa was much shorter than Tanikaze at only but he had a speedy, crowd pleasing sumo style which helped him overcome his small physique.
Yoshida Oikaze certified both Onogawa and Tanikaze Kajinosuke
as holders of the yokozuna rank in November 1789, in a ceremony which was also featured the introduction of the dohyō-iri display and the first appearance of the yokozuna's traditional ornaments: a thick girdle of white rope, supporting white paper gohei
. He won 144 bouts and lost only 13 bouts, achieving a winning percentage of 91.7. Onogawa retired in 1798 to become a coach in Osaka
sumo, but the next yokozuna, Ōnomatsu Midorinosuke
, was not appointed for another thirty years. Fortunately for sumo's popularity, during that time the immensely powerful wrestler Raiden
emerged.
A popular story holds that Onogawa studied jujutsu
with renowned Kyushin Ryu Sōke Inugami Gunbei after being thrown down twice in a casual match with that master outside a teahouse.
*Championships from this period were unofficial
*Yokozuna were not listed as such on the ranking sheets until 1890
*There was no fusensho system until March 1927
*All top division wrestlers were usually absent on the 10th day until 1909
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 120%"
|-
!
!First
!Second
|-
|1781
|East Maegashira #3 (5-1-3-1hold)
|East Juryo #5 (6-2)
|-
|1782
|East Juryo #3 (5-1)
|East Maegashira #4 (7-1-1-1draw)
|-
|1783
|East Maegashira #4 (5-0-3-1hold-1nodecision)
|East Maegashira #2 (6-0-2-1draw-1hold)
|-
|1784
|East Komusubi (6-2-2holds)
|bgcolor=#66FF00|East Sekiwake (9-0-1)
|-
|1785
|no tournament held
|no tournament held
|-
|1786
|bgcolor=gray|Unenrolled
|bgcolor=#66FF00|East Sekiwake (7-0-3)
|-
|1787
|tournament called off due to bad harvest
|East Sekiwake (7-1-2)
|-
|1788
|East Sekiwake (7-2-1)
|East Sekiwake (7-1-1-1hold)
|-
|1789
|bgcolor=#66FF00|East Sekiwake (10-0)
|bgcolor=#66FF00|East Sekiwake (8-0-1draw-1hold)
|-
|1790
|bgcolor=#66FF00|East Ōzeki (8-0-1nodecision)
|East Ōzeki (6-1-2-1hold)
|-
|1791
|bgcolor=#66FF00|East Ōzeki (8-0-1-1nodecision)
|bgcolor=#66FF00|East Ōzeki (8-0-1-1hold)
|-
|1792
|bgcolor=gray|Unenrolled
|bgcolor=gray|Unenrolled
|-
|1793
|bgcolor=gray|Unenrolled
|East Ōzeki (8-1-1draw)
|-
|1794
|East Ōzeki (3-0-7)
|bgcolor=gray|Sat out
|-
|1795
|East Ōzeki (4-0-1)
|bgcolor=gray|Unenrolled
|-
|1796
|bgcolor=gray|Unenrolled
|East Ōzeki (7-2-1)
|-
|1797
|bgcolor=gray|Unenrolled
|East Ōzeki (8-1-1)
|-
{|
| Green Box=Tournament Championship
|}
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 from Otsu
Otsu, Shiga
is the capital city of Shiga, Japan. The city was founded on October 1, 1898. As of October 1, 2010, the city has an estimated population of 338,629 with an average age of 40.7 years and a population density of 905.28 persons per km²...
, Shiga Prefecture
Shiga Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan, which forms part of the Kansai region on Honshu Island. The capital is the city of Ōtsu.- History :Shiga was known as Ōmi Province or Gōshū before the prefectural system was established...
, 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 was the sport's 5th Yokozuna. Along with Tanikaze he was the first to be given a yokozuna licence by the House of Yoshida Tsukasa and the first to perform the dohyō-iri to promote sumo tournaments.
Career
Onogawa was promoted to the top makuuchiMakuuchi
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 in March 1781. He defeated ozeki Tanikaze Kajinosuke
Tanikaze Kajinosuke
was a sumo wrestler in Japan in the Tokugawa era, and the first to be awarded the title of Yokozuna within his own lifetime. He achieved great fame and won 21 tournament championships. He was also the coach of Raiden Tameemon.- Early career :...
in February 1782. The victory surprised people in Edo as it brought to an end Tanikaze's run of 63 consecutive victories. Onogawa became a rival of Tanikaze and was popular with the public, although in reality he was quite far behind his rival and won only seven tournament titles to Tanikaze's 21. Onogawa was much shorter than Tanikaze at only but he had a speedy, crowd pleasing sumo style which helped him overcome his small physique.
Yoshida Oikaze certified both Onogawa and Tanikaze Kajinosuke
Tanikaze Kajinosuke
was a sumo wrestler in Japan in the Tokugawa era, and the first to be awarded the title of Yokozuna within his own lifetime. He achieved great fame and won 21 tournament championships. He was also the coach of Raiden Tameemon.- Early career :...
as holders of the yokozuna rank in November 1789, in a ceremony which was also featured the introduction of the dohyō-iri display and the first appearance of the yokozuna's traditional ornaments: a thick girdle of white rope, supporting white paper gohei
Gohei
, or are wooden wands, decorated with two shide used in Shinto rituals.The streamers are usually white, although they can also be gold, silver, or a mixture of several colors...
. He won 144 bouts and lost only 13 bouts, achieving a winning percentage of 91.7. Onogawa retired in 1798 to become a coach in Osaka
Osaka
is 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...
sumo, but the next yokozuna, Ōnomatsu Midorinosuke
Onomatsu Midorinosuke
Ōnomatsu Midorinosuke was a sumo wrestler from Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. He was the sport's 6th Yokozuna. He trained ozeki Tsurugizan Taniemon.-Early career:...
, was not appointed for another thirty years. Fortunately for sumo's popularity, during that time the immensely powerful wrestler Raiden
Raiden Tameimon
Raiden Tameemon , born Seki Tarokichi is considered one of the greatest sumo wrestlers in history, although he was never formally promoted to Yokozuna.- Early life :...
emerged.
A popular story holds that Onogawa studied jujutsu
Jujutsu
Jujutsu , also known as jujitsu, ju-jitsu, or Japanese jiu-jitsu, is a Japanese martial art and a method of close combat for defeating an armed and armored opponent in which one uses no weapon, or only a short weapon....
with renowned Kyushin Ryu Sōke Inugami Gunbei after being thrown down twice in a casual match with that master outside a teahouse.
Top division record
*1-2 tournaments were held yearly in this period, though the actual time they were held was often erratic*Championships from this period were unofficial
*Yokozuna were not listed as such on the ranking sheets until 1890
*There was no fusensho system until March 1927
*All top division wrestlers were usually absent on the 10th day until 1909
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 120%"
|-
!
!First
!Second
|-
|1781
|East Maegashira #3 (5-1-3-1hold)
|East Juryo #5 (6-2)
|-
|1782
|East Juryo #3 (5-1)
|East Maegashira #4 (7-1-1-1draw)
|-
|1783
|East Maegashira #4 (5-0-3-1hold-1nodecision)
|East Maegashira #2 (6-0-2-1draw-1hold)
|-
|1784
|East Komusubi (6-2-2holds)
|bgcolor=#66FF00|East Sekiwake (9-0-1)
|-
|1785
|no tournament held
|no tournament held
|-
|1786
|bgcolor=gray|Unenrolled
|bgcolor=#66FF00|East Sekiwake (7-0-3)
|-
|1787
|tournament called off due to bad harvest
|East Sekiwake (7-1-2)
|-
|1788
|East Sekiwake (7-2-1)
|East Sekiwake (7-1-1-1hold)
|-
|1789
|bgcolor=#66FF00|East Sekiwake (10-0)
|bgcolor=#66FF00|East Sekiwake (8-0-1draw-1hold)
|-
|1790
|bgcolor=#66FF00|East Ōzeki (8-0-1nodecision)
|East Ōzeki (6-1-2-1hold)
|-
|1791
|bgcolor=#66FF00|East Ōzeki (8-0-1-1nodecision)
|bgcolor=#66FF00|East Ōzeki (8-0-1-1hold)
|-
|1792
|bgcolor=gray|Unenrolled
|bgcolor=gray|Unenrolled
|-
|1793
|bgcolor=gray|Unenrolled
|East Ōzeki (8-1-1draw)
|-
|1794
|East Ōzeki (3-0-7)
|bgcolor=gray|Sat out
|-
|1795
|East Ōzeki (4-0-1)
|bgcolor=gray|Unenrolled
|-
|1796
|bgcolor=gray|Unenrolled
|East Ōzeki (7-2-1)
|-
|1797
|bgcolor=gray|Unenrolled
|East Ōzeki (8-1-1)
|-
- The wrestler's East/West designation, rank, and win/loss record are listed for each tournament.
- A third figure in win-loss records represents matches sat-out during the tournament
{|
| Green Box=Tournament Championship
|}
See also
- List of Yokozuna
- List of past sumo wrestlers
- 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...