Tanikaze Kajinosuke
Encyclopedia
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.
with Yoshiro (与四郎) as his infant name. He made his debut in sumo in 1769 when he was 19. With a height of 189 cm and a weight of 169 kg, he was extremely large in comparison with most Japanese men of his era.
He debuted as an ōzeki but it was as a Kanban ōzeki, or Guest ōzeki, due to his size. However, he was promoted to a true ōzeki outright in March 1781. From October 1777 until February 1786, he lost only one bout. This was to Onogawa
in February 1782. He recorded the longest run of consecutive victories in sumo bouts at that time, with 63. This record remained unbroken for about 150 years, until Futabayama
in 1938.
He was still an active wrestler when he died at the age of 44 of influenza
. He was on another winning streak of 35 bouts at his death. In the top makuuchi division, Tanikaze won 258 bouts and lost only 14 bouts, achieving a winning percentage of 94.9.
Tanikaze was a very popular rikishi. Unlike other wrestlers of his day, many nishikie (woodblock print based) portraits and images of him participating in bouts still remain.
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 120%"
|-
!
!First
!Second
|-
|1769
|West (Kanban) Ōzeki (4-0-3)
|West (Kanban) Ōzeki (0-1-7)
|-
|1770
|West (Kanban) Ōzeki (3-0-5)
|West Maegashira #1 (7-1)
|-
|1771
|bgcolor=gray|Sat out
|West Komusubi #1 (5-0-1draw-2holds)
|-
|1772
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Komusubi #1 (6-0-2)
|no tournament held
|-
|1773
|West Maegashira #1 (5-1-1draw-1hold)
|West Maegashira #1 (5-2-1hold)
|-
|1774
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Maegashira #1 (6-0-2)
|West Komusubi (5-0-1-2draws)
|-
|1775
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Komusubi (4-0)
|West Komusubi (5-1-1-2holds)
|-
|1776
|West Maegashira #1 (unknown)
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Komusubi (7-0-1noresult)
|-
|1777
|West Sekiwake (2-1-5)
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Komusubi (5-1-1draw-1hold)
|-
|1778
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Sekiwake (9-0-1)
|bgcolor=gray|Sat out
|-
|1779
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Sekiwake (9-0-1)
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Sekiwake (9-0-1draw)
|-
|1780
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Sekiwake (6-0)
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Sekiwake (8-0-2holds)
|-
|1781
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Ōzeki (9-0-1)
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Sekiwake (9-0-1)
|-
|1782
|West Ōzeki (6-1-3)
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Ōzeki (7-0-1-1hold-1noresult)
|-
|1783
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Ōzeki (5-0-4-1noresult)
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Ōzeki (8-0-1-1draw)
|-
|1784
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Ōzeki (6-0-2-2holds)
|West Ōzeki (3-0-7)
|-
|1785
|no tournament held
|no tournament held
|-
|1786
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Ōzeki (10-0)
|West Ōzeki (3-1-6)
|-
|1787
|tournament called off due to bad harvest
|West Sekiwake (6-1-1-1draw-1hold)
|-
|1788
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Sekiwake (7-0-1-1draw-1hold)
|West Sekiwake (7-0-1-1draw-1hold)
|-
|1789
|West Sekiwake (7-1-1-1draw)
|West Sekiwake (6-0-3-1draw)
|-
|1790
|West Ōzeki (4-0-2-1draw-1hold-1noresult)
|West Ōzeki (7-1-1-1draw)
|-
|1791
|West Ōzeki (6-1-2-1noresult)
|bgcolor=gray|Sat out
|-
|1792
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Ōzeki (8-0-2)
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Ōzeki (3-0)
|-
|1793
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Ōzeki (7-0-2)
|West Ōzeki (5-0-3-2draws)
|-
|1794
|West Ōzeki (5-0-5)
|West Ōzeki (4-0-6)
|-
{|
| 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 in 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...
in the Tokugawa
Edo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
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
He was born in SendaiSendai, Miyagi
is the capital city of Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, and the largest city in the Tōhoku Region. In 2005, the city had a population of one million, and was one of Japan's 19 designated cities...
with Yoshiro (与四郎) as his infant name. He made his debut in sumo in 1769 when he was 19. With a height of 189 cm and a weight of 169 kg, he was extremely large in comparison with most Japanese men of his era.
He debuted as an ōzeki but it was as a Kanban ōzeki, or Guest ōzeki, due to his size. However, he was promoted to a true ōzeki outright in March 1781. From October 1777 until February 1786, he lost only one bout. This was to Onogawa
Onogawa Kisaburo
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.-Career:Onogawa was...
in February 1782. He recorded the longest run of consecutive victories in sumo bouts at that time, with 63. This record remained unbroken for about 150 years, until Futabayama
Futabayama Sadaji
Futabayama Sadaji , born as Akiyoshi Sadaji in Oita Prefecture, Japan, was the 35th Yokozuna in sumo wrestling, from 1937 until 1945. He won twelve top division championships and had a winning streak of 69 consecutive bouts, an all-time record. Despite his dominance he was extremely popular with...
in 1938.
Yokozuna
On November 19, 1789, he became one of the first two sumo wrestlers to be allowed to perform a Yokozuna Dohyo-iri (a special ring entrance ceremony for the yokozuna alone, rather than entering as part of a parade of the top ranked wrestlers). Both he and Onogawa were granted a special so-called Yokozuna license simultaneously in that year. Officially he is recorded as being the 4th Yokozuna in sumo history. However, as the first three (see list of Yokozuna) were awarded the title posthumously, if indeed they existed at all, he can be said to be one of the first two real holders of the title.He was still an active wrestler when he died at the age of 44 of influenza
Influenza
Influenza, commonly referred to as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by RNA viruses of the family Orthomyxoviridae , that affects birds and mammals...
. He was on another winning streak of 35 bouts at his death. In the top makuuchi division, Tanikaze won 258 bouts and lost only 14 bouts, achieving a winning percentage of 94.9.
Tanikaze was a very popular rikishi. Unlike other wrestlers of his day, many nishikie (woodblock print based) portraits and images of him participating in bouts still remain.
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
- Result of the 7th day of the April 1769 tournament is unknown
- 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
|-
|1769
|West (Kanban) Ōzeki (4-0-3)
|West (Kanban) Ōzeki (0-1-7)
|-
|1770
|West (Kanban) Ōzeki (3-0-5)
|West Maegashira #1 (7-1)
|-
|1771
|bgcolor=gray|Sat out
|West Komusubi #1 (5-0-1draw-2holds)
|-
|1772
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Komusubi #1 (6-0-2)
|no tournament held
|-
|1773
|West Maegashira #1 (5-1-1draw-1hold)
|West Maegashira #1 (5-2-1hold)
|-
|1774
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Maegashira #1 (6-0-2)
|West Komusubi (5-0-1-2draws)
|-
|1775
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Komusubi (4-0)
|West Komusubi (5-1-1-2holds)
|-
|1776
|West Maegashira #1 (unknown)
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Komusubi (7-0-1noresult)
|-
|1777
|West Sekiwake (2-1-5)
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Komusubi (5-1-1draw-1hold)
|-
|1778
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Sekiwake (9-0-1)
|bgcolor=gray|Sat out
|-
|1779
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Sekiwake (9-0-1)
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Sekiwake (9-0-1draw)
|-
|1780
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Sekiwake (6-0)
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Sekiwake (8-0-2holds)
|-
|1781
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Ōzeki (9-0-1)
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Sekiwake (9-0-1)
|-
|1782
|West Ōzeki (6-1-3)
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Ōzeki (7-0-1-1hold-1noresult)
|-
|1783
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Ōzeki (5-0-4-1noresult)
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Ōzeki (8-0-1-1draw)
|-
|1784
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Ōzeki (6-0-2-2holds)
|West Ōzeki (3-0-7)
|-
|1785
|no tournament held
|no tournament held
|-
|1786
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Ōzeki (10-0)
|West Ōzeki (3-1-6)
|-
|1787
|tournament called off due to bad harvest
|West Sekiwake (6-1-1-1draw-1hold)
|-
|1788
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Sekiwake (7-0-1-1draw-1hold)
|West Sekiwake (7-0-1-1draw-1hold)
|-
|1789
|West Sekiwake (7-1-1-1draw)
|West Sekiwake (6-0-3-1draw)
|-
|1790
|West Ōzeki (4-0-2-1draw-1hold-1noresult)
|West Ōzeki (7-1-1-1draw)
|-
|1791
|West Ōzeki (6-1-2-1noresult)
|bgcolor=gray|Sat out
|-
|1792
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Ōzeki (8-0-2)
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Ōzeki (3-0)
|-
|1793
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Ōzeki (7-0-2)
|West Ōzeki (5-0-3-2draws)
|-
|1794
|West Ōzeki (5-0-5)
|West Ōzeki (4-0-6)
|-
- 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
- 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 yokozuna