Onishiki Uichiro
Encyclopedia
Ōnishiki Uichirō was a sumo
wrestler. He was the sport's 26th Yokozuna. On November 2, 1922, he became the first yokozuna to perform Yokozuna Dohyo-iri at the Meiji Shrine
.
, he trained under former yokozuna Hitachiyama Taniemon
, joining his Dewanoumi stable
. He was promoted to the top makuuchi
division in January 1915. After finishing the May 1915 tournament with a 9-1 record at the komusubi rank, he was promoted to ozeki. He won his first championship with a perfect 10-0 record in the January 1917 tournament and was promoted to yokozuna. He reached the top yokozuna rank after only 5 tournaments, which is the all-time record.
He lost only 16 bouts in his entire career. He won five top division tournament championships and was runner-up in four others. He was very smart in comparison with most sumo wrestlers of his era, and so he was very strong and recorded the high winning percentage of 88.1. He also recorded only three draws.
However, his career suddenly ended. In January 1923, sumo wrestlers went on strike against the Tokyo Sumo Association. The walkout is called Mikawajima-Incident (三河島事件, Mikawajima-Jiken). Ōnishiki attempted to mediate, but failed. After police intervention, the striking wrestlers achieved their demands of better retirement pay. Because he felt responsibility for the incident, he retired from being an active sumo wrestler and left the sumo world. He was critical about tradition in the sumo world.
After his retirement, he entered Waseda University
. After the graduation, he worked in Hochi Shimbun as a sumo essayist.
|-
!
!January
!May
|-
|1915
|East Maegashira #12 (8-2-1)
|East Komusubi (9-1)
|-
|1916
|East Ōzeki (8-2)
|East Ōzeki (7-3)
|-
|1917
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Ōzeki (10-0)
|West Yokozuna (9-1)
|-
|1918
|East Yokozuna (8-1-1)
|bgcolor=gray|Sat out due to injury
|-
|1919
|East Yokozuna (8-2)
|East Yokozuna (8-2)
|-
|1920
|bgcolor=#66FF00|East Yokozuna (8-1-1draw)
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Yokozuna (9-1)
|-
|1921
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Yokozuna (10-0)
|East Yokozuna (9-0-1draw)
|-
|1922
|bgcolor=gray|Sat out due to injury
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Yokozuna (8-1-1draw)
|-
|1923
|bgcolor=gray|retired
!x
|-
{|
| 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. He was the sport's 26th Yokozuna. On November 2, 1922, he became the first yokozuna to perform Yokozuna Dohyo-iri at the Meiji Shrine
Meiji Shrine
', located in Shibuya, Tokyo, is the Shinto shrine that is dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shōken.-History:...
.
Career
Born in OsakaOsaka
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...
, he trained under former yokozuna Hitachiyama Taniemon
Hitachiyama Taniemon
Hitachiyama Taniemon was a sumo wrestler from Mito, Ibaragi Prefecture, Japan. He was the sport's 19th Yokozuna from 1903 till 1914. His great rivalry with Umegatani Tōtarō II created the "Ume-Hitachi Era" and did much to popularise sumo...
, joining his Dewanoumi stable
Dewanoumi stable
is a stable of sumo wrestlers. It has a long, prestigious history. Its current head coach is former sekiwake Washuyama. As of November 2007 it had 21 wrestlers....
. He was promoted to 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 January 1915. After finishing the May 1915 tournament with a 9-1 record at the komusubi rank, he was promoted to ozeki. He won his first championship with a perfect 10-0 record in the January 1917 tournament and was promoted to yokozuna. He reached the top yokozuna rank after only 5 tournaments, which is the all-time record.
He lost only 16 bouts in his entire career. He won five top division tournament championships and was runner-up in four others. He was very smart in comparison with most sumo wrestlers of his era, and so he was very strong and recorded the high winning percentage of 88.1. He also recorded only three draws.
However, his career suddenly ended. In January 1923, sumo wrestlers went on strike against the Tokyo Sumo Association. The walkout is called Mikawajima-Incident (三河島事件, Mikawajima-Jiken). Ōnishiki attempted to mediate, but failed. After police intervention, the striking wrestlers achieved their demands of better retirement pay. Because he felt responsibility for the incident, he retired from being an active sumo wrestler and left the sumo world. He was critical about tradition in the sumo world.
After his retirement, he entered Waseda University
Waseda University
, abbreviated as , is one of the most prestigious private universities in Japan and Asia. Its main campuses are located in the northern part of Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as Tokyo Senmon Gakko, the institution was renamed "Waseda University" in 1902. It is known for its liberal climate...
. After the graduation, he worked in Hochi Shimbun as a sumo essayist.
Top division record
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 120%"|-
!
!January
!May
|-
|1915
|East Maegashira #12 (8-2-1)
|East Komusubi (9-1)
|-
|1916
|East Ōzeki (8-2)
|East Ōzeki (7-3)
|-
|1917
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Ōzeki (10-0)
|West Yokozuna (9-1)
|-
|1918
|East Yokozuna (8-1-1)
|bgcolor=gray|Sat out due to injury
|-
|1919
|East Yokozuna (8-2)
|East Yokozuna (8-2)
|-
|1920
|bgcolor=#66FF00|East Yokozuna (8-1-1draw)
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Yokozuna (9-1)
|-
|1921
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Yokozuna (10-0)
|East Yokozuna (9-0-1draw)
|-
|1922
|bgcolor=gray|Sat out due to injury
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Yokozuna (8-1-1draw)
|-
|1923
|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 (usually due to injury)
{|
| 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