Haguroyama Masaji
Encyclopedia
Haguroyama Masaji was a sumo
wrestler from Nakanokuchi
, Niigata
, Japan
. He was the sport's 36th yokozuna. He was a yokozuna for a period of twelve years and three months dating from his promotion to that rank in May 1941 until his retirement in September 1953, which is an all-time record. During his career Haguroyama won seven top division championships and was runner-up on six other occasions. However, he was always in the shadow of yokozuna Futabayama, who came from the same stable
. After his retirement he was the head coach of Tatsunami
until his death in 1969.
. His progression was remarkably rapid. He passed through all the lower divisions
in just one tournament each, in every case winning the divisional championship – a feat unlikely ever to be equalled. He made his debut in the top makuuchi
division in May 1937. He was promoted to the ozeki rank after just one tournament at sekiwake. After finishing as runner-up in the January 1941 tournament and winning his first top division title in May 1941 he was promoted to yokozuna. After three more runner-up performances he won his first championship as a yokozuna in May 1944.
Upon the retirement of his great rival Futabayama in November 1945 he became dominant, winning four tournaments in a row. However in November 1947 he severed his Achilles tendon
and was out of action until May 1949. He won his final championship in January 1952 at age 37 with a perfect 15–0 record. It was his first tournament win in over four years. He retired in September 1953, when he was nearly 39.
He was known for his hard training and his great strength, and was said to be "made of steel."
after retiring from the ring. He produced ozeki Wakahaguro and several other top wrestlers. When he died in 1969 the title of Tatsunami Oyakata passed onto his son-in-law, former sekiwake Annenyama.
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 120%"
|-
!
!Spring
!Summer
!Autumn
|-
|1937
!x
|West Maegashira #16 (9–4)
|no tournament held
|-
|1938
|East Maegashira #5 (10–3)
|East Komusubi (7–6)
| no tournament held
|-
|1939
|East Komusubi (8-4-1)
|East Sekiwake (11–4)
| no tournament held
|-
|1940
|East Ōzeki (11–4)
|East Ōzeki (7-5-3)
| no tournament held
|-
|1941
|West Ōzeki (14–1)
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Ōzeki (14–1)
| no tournament held
|-
|1942
|East Yokozuna (13–2)
|East Yokozuna (2-4-9)
| no tournament held
|-
|1943
|West Yokozuna (13–2)
|East Yokozuna (14–1)
|no tournament held
|-
|1944
|West Yokozuna (12–3)
|bgcolor=#66FF00|East Yokozuna (10–0)
|East Yokozuna (7–3)
|-
|1945
|no tournament held
|East Yokozuna (5–2)
|bgcolor=#66FF00|East Yokozuna (10–0)
|-
|1946
|no tournament held
|no tournament held
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Yokozuna (13–0)
|-
|1947
|no tournament held
|bgcolor=#66FF00|East Yokozuna (9–1)
|bgcolor=#66FF00|East Yokozuna (10–1)
|-
|1948
|no tournament held
|bgcolor=gray|sat out due to injury
|bgcolor=gray|sat out due to injury
|-
|1949
|bgcolor=gray|sat out due to injury
|West Yokozuna (11–4)
|West Yokozuna (12–3)
|-
|1950
|East Yokozuna (6-4-5)
|East Yokozuna (12–3)
|West Yokozuna (4-1-10)
|-
|1951
|East Yokozuna (12–3)
|West Yokozuna (10–5)
|East Yokozuna (10–5)
|-
|1952
|bgcolor=#66FF00|East Yokozuna (15–0)
|East Yokozuna (7-3-5)
|East Yokozuna (4-3-8)
|-
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 120%"
|-
!
!New Year
!Spring
!Summer
!Autumn
|-
|1953
|West Yokozuna (9–6)
|bgcolor=gray|sat out due to injury
|West Yokozuna (0-3-12)
|bgcolor=gray|retired
|-
{|
| 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 Nakanokuchi
Nakanokuchi, Niigata
was a village located in Nishikanbara District, Niigata, Japan.On March 21, 2005 Nakanokuchi, along with the towns of Kameda, Kosudo and Yokogoshi, all from Nakakanbara District, the town of Nishikawa, the villages of Ajikata, Iwamuro, Katahigashi and Tsukigata, all from Nishikanbara District, and...
, Niigata
Niigata Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Honshū on the coast of the Sea of Japan. The capital is the city of Niigata. The name "Niigata" literally means "new lagoon".- History :...
, 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 36th yokozuna. He was a yokozuna for a period of twelve years and three months dating from his promotion to that rank in May 1941 until his retirement in September 1953, which is an all-time record. During his career Haguroyama won seven top division championships and was runner-up on six other occasions. However, he was always in the shadow of yokozuna Futabayama, who came from the same stable
Heya
In sumo wrestling, a heya , usually translated into English as stable, is an organization of sumo wrestlers where they train and live. All wrestlers in professional sumo must belong to one. There are currently 49 heya , all but four of which belong to one of five ichimon...
. After his retirement he was the head coach of Tatsunami
Tatsunami stable
is a stable of sumo wrestlers, and the head stable of the Tatsunami ichimon or group.-History:The stable is one of the most prestigious in sumo. It was originally founded in 1876 by Onigazaki, but the current incarnation dates from 1915...
until his death in 1969.
Career
Haguroyama made his professional debut in January 1934 at age 19, joining Tatsunami stableTatsunami stable
is a stable of sumo wrestlers, and the head stable of the Tatsunami ichimon or group.-History:The stable is one of the most prestigious in sumo. It was originally founded in 1876 by Onigazaki, but the current incarnation dates from 1915...
. His progression was remarkably rapid. He passed through all the lower divisions
Professional sumo divisions
Professional sumo is divided into 6 ranked divisions. Wrestlers are promoted and demoted within and between these divisions based on the merit of their win/loss records in official tournaments. For more information see kachikoshi and makekoshi. Wrestlers are also ranked within each division...
in just one tournament each, in every case winning the divisional championship – a feat unlikely ever to be equalled. He made his debut in 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 May 1937. He was promoted to the ozeki rank after just one tournament at sekiwake. After finishing as runner-up in the January 1941 tournament and winning his first top division title in May 1941 he was promoted to yokozuna. After three more runner-up performances he won his first championship as a yokozuna in May 1944.
Upon the retirement of his great rival Futabayama in November 1945 he became dominant, winning four tournaments in a row. However in November 1947 he severed his Achilles tendon
Achilles tendon
The Achilles tendon , also known as the calcaneal tendon or the tendo calcaneus, is a tendon of the posterior leg. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius and soleus muscles to the calcaneus bone.- Anatomy :The Achilles is the tendonous extension of 3 muscles in the lower leg:...
and was out of action until May 1949. He won his final championship in January 1952 at age 37 with a perfect 15–0 record. It was his first tournament win in over four years. He retired in September 1953, when he was nearly 39.
He was known for his hard training and his great strength, and was said to be "made of steel."
Retirement from sumo
Haguroyama married the daughter of his stablemaster, which enabled him to become head coach of Tatsunami stableTatsunami stable
is a stable of sumo wrestlers, and the head stable of the Tatsunami ichimon or group.-History:The stable is one of the most prestigious in sumo. It was originally founded in 1876 by Onigazaki, but the current incarnation dates from 1915...
after retiring from the ring. He produced ozeki Wakahaguro and several other top wrestlers. When he died in 1969 the title of Tatsunami Oyakata passed onto his son-in-law, former sekiwake Annenyama.
Top division record
*Two tables represent a change in the tournament system over the years{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 120%"
|-
!
!Spring
!Summer
!Autumn
|-
|1937
!x
|West Maegashira #16 (9–4)
|no tournament held
|-
|1938
|East Maegashira #5 (10–3)
|East Komusubi (7–6)
| no tournament held
|-
|1939
|East Komusubi (8-4-1)
|East Sekiwake (11–4)
| no tournament held
|-
|1940
|East Ōzeki (11–4)
|East Ōzeki (7-5-3)
| no tournament held
|-
|1941
|West Ōzeki (14–1)
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Ōzeki (14–1)
| no tournament held
|-
|1942
|East Yokozuna (13–2)
|East Yokozuna (2-4-9)
| no tournament held
|-
|1943
|West Yokozuna (13–2)
|East Yokozuna (14–1)
|no tournament held
|-
|1944
|West Yokozuna (12–3)
|bgcolor=#66FF00|East Yokozuna (10–0)
|East Yokozuna (7–3)
|-
|1945
|no tournament held
|East Yokozuna (5–2)
|bgcolor=#66FF00|East Yokozuna (10–0)
|-
|1946
|no tournament held
|no tournament held
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Yokozuna (13–0)
|-
|1947
|no tournament held
|bgcolor=#66FF00|East Yokozuna (9–1)
|bgcolor=#66FF00|East Yokozuna (10–1)
|-
|1948
|no tournament held
|bgcolor=gray|sat out due to injury
|bgcolor=gray|sat out due to injury
|-
|1949
|bgcolor=gray|sat out due to injury
|West Yokozuna (11–4)
|West Yokozuna (12–3)
|-
|1950
|East Yokozuna (6-4-5)
|East Yokozuna (12–3)
|West Yokozuna (4-1-10)
|-
|1951
|East Yokozuna (12–3)
|West Yokozuna (10–5)
|East Yokozuna (10–5)
|-
|1952
|bgcolor=#66FF00|East Yokozuna (15–0)
|East Yokozuna (7-3-5)
|East Yokozuna (4-3-8)
|-
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 120%"
|-
!
!New Year
!Spring
!Summer
!Autumn
|-
|1953
|West Yokozuna (9–6)
|bgcolor=gray|sat out due to injury
|West Yokozuna (0-3-12)
|bgcolor=gray|retired
|-
- 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 (usually due to injury)
- an X signifies the wrestler had yet to reach the top division at that point in his career
{|
| Green Box=Tournament Championship
|}
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 tournament winners
- List of yokozuna