Wakashima Gonshirō was a sumo

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 Ichikawa

Ichikawa, Chiba

is a city located in northwest Chiba, Japan, approximately 20 kilometers from the center of Tokyo. The city was founded on November 3, 1934. As of January 1, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 474,586 and a density of 8,259.42 persons per km². The total area is 57.46 km²...

, Chiba Prefecture

Chiba Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region and the Greater Tokyo Area. Its capital is Chiba City.- History :Chiba Prefecture was established on June 15, 1873 with the merger of Kisarazu Prefecture and Inba Prefecture...

, 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 21st Yokozuna.

Career

Wakashima is the first official yokozuna from 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. He began his career in Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; 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...

 sumo at the Tomozuna stable

Tomozuna stable

The is a stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Tatsunami ichimon or group of stables. It has a long and prestigious history. Its current head coach is former sekiwake Kaiki, who is also a director of the Japan Sumo Association...

, joining in May 1891 at the age of 15. He reached 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 in 1896, peaking at maegashira 7. He was very popular with geisha

Geisha

, Geiko or Geigi are traditional, female Japanese entertainers whose skills include performing various Japanese arts such as classical music and dance.-Terms:...

, but it caused his slackening in growth. In addition, he suffered from smallpox

Smallpox

Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...

. He left in January 1898, joining 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. He entered Nakamura stable

Nakamura Stable

is a stable of sumo wrestlers, one of the Takasago group of stables. It was established in its modern incarnation in May 1986 by Fujizakura of the Takasago stable. The stable's first sekitori was Saigo in November 1995. It has yet to produce any makuuchi wrestlers. As of December 2007 had 14 sumo...

. He was awarded the Osaka sumo yokozuna licence by the Gojo

Gojo

- Names :—a Japanese kuge family descended from the Sugawara clan* Gojo Takeshi, a character in Kodocha—see List of Kodocha characters- Places :...

 family in January 1903. In June 1903, he fought against wrestlers in Tokyo sumo. He was so strong that he defeated yokozuna Umegatani Tōtarō II

Umegatani Totaro II

Umegatani Tōtarō II was a sumo wrestler from Toyama City, Toyama Prefecture, Japan. He was the sport's 20th Yokozuna. Umegatani had a great rivalry with yokozuna Hitachiyama Taniemon...

 and emerged as a threat to the dominance of the strongest yokozuna in Tokyo sumo, Hitachiyama. His strength was acknowledged when, after a series of meetings between the Osaka and Tokyo sumo associations, he was awarded a yokozuna licence by the Yoshida

Yoshida

-People:Yoshida is the 12th most common Japanese surname.*Akihiko Yoshida , game artist*Ami Yoshida , vocalist*Bungo Yoshida , bunraku puppeteer*Hidehiko Yoshida , judoka and MMA fighter...

 family in April 1905. He retired at the early age of 31 in January 1907 owing to an injury suffered in a cycling

Cycling

Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...

 accident in September 1905, Yamaguchi Prefecture

Yamaguchi Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan in the Chūgoku region on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Yamaguchi, in the center of the prefecture. The largest city, however, is Shimonoseki.- History :...

.

Top division record

*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%"
|-
!
!January
!May
|-
|1896
|West Maegashira #12 (4-2-1-3draws)
|West Maegashira #7 (1-7-1-1hold)
|-
|1897
|West Maegashira #12 (1-7-2)
|West Maegashira #14 (4-5-1)
|-
|1898
|West Maegashira #13 (3-5-1-1draw)
|bgcolor=gray|Sat out
|-

• 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
|}

Record in Osaka sumo

*1-2 tournaments were held yearly in this period, though the actual time they were held was often erratic

*Championships from Osaka sumo were unofficial

*His promotion to yokozuna by the Gojo family is obscure because there is no proof

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 120%"
|-
!
!First
!Second
|-
|1898
|Outsider to the list (4-1-3-1draw)
|West maegashira #12 (7-2)
|-
|1899
|West maegashira #8 (7-1-1)
|no tournament held
|-
|1900
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Komusubi (7-0-1draw-1hold)
|no tournament held
|-
|1901
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Ōzeki (7-0-1-1hold)
|no tournament held
|-
|1902
|bgcolor=#66FF00|East Ōzeki (8-0-1hold)
|no tournament held
|-
|1903
|East Yokozuna (8-1-0)
|East Yokozuna (4-0-4-1draw)
|-
|1904
|East Yokozuna (6-1-2)
|East Yokozuna (7-1-1-1draw)
|-
|1905
|bgcolor=gray|Sat out
|bgcolor=#66FF00|East Yokozuna (8-0-1-1draw)
|-
|1906
|bgcolor=gray|Sat out
|bgcolor=gray|Sat out
|-
|1907
|bgcolor=gray|Retired
!x
|-

• 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
• an X signifies the wrestler had yet to reach the top division at that point in his career or a tournament after he retired

{|
| Green Box=Tournament Championship
|}

External links

his record list of championship winners in Osaka sumo