1987 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...
, 11 – 25 January - 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...
, 8 – 22 March - Natsu basho, Ryogoku Kokugikan, Tokyo, 10 – 24 May
- 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...
, Nagoya, 5 – 19 July - Aki basho, Ryogoku Kokugikan, Tokyo, 13 – 27 September
- Kyushu basho, Fukuoka International Centre, 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....
, 6 – 20 November
January
- 25: Chiyonofuji wins his twentieth yūshōYushoA 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...
, becoming the third man after TaihōTaiho 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...
and Kitanoumi to reach this landmark. He defeats fellow yokozuna Futahaguro in a playoff after both men finish on 12–3. Futahaguro had beaten Chiyonofuji in their regulation match but could not do so a second time. Although this is his sixth runner-up performance, his first top division championship continues to elude him. Sekiwake Konishiki scores 10–5 and wins the Outstanding performance prize for his wins over both yokozuna. Masurao wins the Technique Award. Former komusubi Oyutaka, who lost sekitoriSekitoriA sekitori is a sumo wrestler who is ranked in one of the top two professional divisions: makuuchi and juryo.Currently there are 70 rikishi in these divisions...
status in 1985, announces his retirement. He assumes the Arashio toshiyoriToshiyoriA toshiyori is a sumo elder of the Japan Sumo Association. Also known as oyakata, former wrestlers who reached a sufficiently high rank are the only people eligible...
or elder name and stays on as a coach at his stable.
March
- 22: Ōzeki Hokutoumi wins his second championship with a score of 12–3, finishing one win ahead of stablemate Chiyonofuji and Konishiki on 11–4. New komusubi Masurao has a superb tournament, defeating two yokozuna and four ōzeki in the first seven days and is awarded the Outstanding Performance prize. Hananoumi wins the Technique prize and Tochinowaka the Fighting Spirit Award. Futahaguro drops out on the tenth day. In jūryō Takamisugi wins the yūshō while Kaiki announces his retirement. He stays in sumo as Takashima Oyakata.
May
- 24: Ōzeki Onokuni wins his first yūshō with a perfect 15–0 record. He is the first man other than Chiyonofuji to win in the 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...
which opened over two years before in January 1985. Runner-up is Hokutoumi on 13–2, who is promoted to yokozuna after the tournament. Kokonoe stableKokonoe stableis a stable of sumo wrestlers, one of the Takasago group of stables. It was formed in 1967 and is located in Ishiwara, Sumida, Tokyo. As of April 2008 it had 16 sumo wrestlers.-History:...
becomes the first since TakasagoTakasago stableis a stable of sumo wrestlers, one of the Takasago group of stables.It is correctly written in Japanese as "髙砂部屋", but the first of these kanji is rare, and is more commonly written as "高砂部屋"....
in 1949 to have two active yokozuna simultaneously. Konishiki is also promoted to ōzeki after a fine 12–3 score. He wins the fighting spirit prize while the other sekiwake Asahifuji gets the Technique prize. Masurao has another giant-killing tournament and wins another Outstanding performance prize. The jūryō yūshō is won by Onohana; the makushita championship by Akinoshima. Former sekiwake Kaneshiro (also known as Tochihikari) retires rather than face demotion to makushita. Unable to obtain elder stock, he leaves the sumo world.
July
- 19: After an unremarkable 10–5 last time out, Chiyonofuji wins the yūshō in style with a 14–1 record. Onokuni turns in another good performance, finishing runner-up on 12–3. New yokozuna Hokutoumi wins eleven bouts and new Ōzeki Konishiki is on 9–6. Futahaguro can manage only 8–7. Ōzeki Wakashimazu retires, leaving Futagoyama stable without anyone in sanyaku for the first time in 15 years. Also announcing his retirement is Hattori (also known as Fujinokawa), a former amateur champion who was plagued by injuries in his four years as a professional. Special prizes are awarded to Asahifuji for Technique, Tochinowaka for Outstanding Performance and Dewanohana for Fighting Spirit. Veteran former sekiwake Masudayama wins the jūryō championship.
September
- 27: Hokutoumi wins his first championship as a yokozuna with a 14–1 record. His only defeat is to Onokuni, whose 13–2 runner-up performance earns him promotion to yokozuna as well. Asahifuji is simultaneously promoted to ōzeki after scoring 12–3 and winning Technique and Fighting Spirit prizes. Konishiki also finishes in third on 12–3. Sakahoko is awarded the Outstanding Performance prize for his defeat of Chiyonofuji on Day 6. (Chiyonofuji later withdrew from the tournament because of injury.) The lightweight jūryō veteran Hachiya retires and becomes Onogawa Oyakata.
November
- 22: Chiyonofuji returns from injury to win his 22nd yūshō with a perfect 15–0 record (his fourth). Futahaguro has his best performance for some time, finishing runner-up on 13–2 alongside Hokutoumi. Onokuni can manage only 8–7 in his yokozuna debut. Sakahoko wins his second Outstanding performance prize in a row — he had defeated two ōzeki and a yokozuna in the first three days. Tochitsukasa receives the Technique award. Nankairyu from Western Samoa, only the third non-Japanese to reach the top division, scores 8–7 on his debut in makuuchiMakuuchior 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....
. Former sekiwake Hō'ō wins the jūryō division yūshō for the fourth time.
December
- 31: Futahaguro is forced to retire by the Sumo Association after a heated argument with his stablemaster (former sekiwake HaguroyamaOsamu AnnenHaguroyama Sojō is a former sumo wrestler from Hokkaidō, Japan.- Sumo career :As an active wrestler he was first known as Annenyama and reached a highest rank of sekiwake upon winning the top makuuchi division tournament championship in May 1957...
) four days earlier led to him storming out of the stable, allegedly slapping his boss's wife on the way. He becomes the first yokozuna ever to be forced out of the sumo world.