Tochigiyama Moriya
Encyclopedia
Tochigiyama Moriya was the 27th Yokozuna in sumo
wrestling from 1918 till 1925. Generally he is considered one of the pioneers of modern sumo. He is the lightest yokozuna with a weight of 104 kg. He is known as one of Herculean wrestlers.
didn't expect him to be strong owing to his light weight. However, he lost only 3 bouts on his way to the top makuuchi
division, achieving promotion in January 1915. Tochigiyama defeated Tachiyama Mineemon
, ending his series of 56 victories, on the 8th day of May 1916 tournament.
Tochigiyama was promoted to ozeki in May 1917. After he won both championships on his two tournaments as ozeki without suffering a single defeat, he was promoted to yokozuna in February 1918.
Tochigiyama defeated other wrestlers with his strong oshi, or pushing techniques. He compensated for his lack of weight by training extremely hard. He was nicknamed the "little giant yokozuna". Like Hitachiyama before him, he trained many wrestlers, such as later yokozuna Tamanishiki San'emon
, even though they were not members of the Dewanoumi stable
.
In May 1925, he suddenly retired after winning three consecutive championships between January 1924 and January 1925. Asked about his retirement, he stated that he wanted to retire while still a strong opponent.
Tochigiyama only lost 23 times while an active sumo wrestler in the top makuuchi division, and only eight times during his seven years in the yokozuna rank. His top division winning percentage was 87.8. In addition, his winning percentage as yokozuna reached 93.5, the fourth best in history after Jinmaku
, Tachiyama and Tanikaze.
. He was the adopted son of the previous head coach, referee
Kimura Soshiro. Tochigiyama produced yokozuna Tochinishiki Kiyotaka
.
In June 1931, Tochigiyama took part in the first Dai-Nippon Rikishi Senshuken (大日本角力選手権), one of sumo tournaments. To their surprise, he defeated Tamanishiki and Tenryu, and won the championship. Retired wrestlers can't take part in sumo tournaments now.
His strength hardly declined. It is reported that Tochigiyama in his sixties easily carried a big hibachi which wasn't moved by his pupils' might.
He died suddenly in 1959 whilst still in charge of Kasugano stable. Tochinishiki, who Tochigiyama had in turn adopted as his son, was his successor.
|-
!
!January
!May
|-
|1915
|East Maegashira #16 (8-2)
|East Maegashira #2 (5-4-1draw)☆
|-
|1916
|East Maegashira #1 (7-3)☆
|East Komusubi (6-3-1)
|-
|1917
|West Sekiwake (6-3-1)
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Ōzeki (9-0-1hold)
|-
|1918
|bgcolor=#66FF00|East Ōzeki (10-0)
|bgcolor=#66FF00|East Yokozuna (9-1)
|-
|1919
|bgcolor=#66FF00|East Yokozuna (9-0-1)
|bgcolor=#66FF00|East Yokozuna (10-0)
|-
|1920
|East Yokozuna (8-2)
|West Yokozuna (8-0-1draw-1hold)
|-
|1921
|West Yokozuna (9-0-1hold)
|East Yokozuna (9-1)
|-
|1922
|East Yokozuna (8-1-1hold)
|West Yokozuna (7-1-1-1draw)
|-
|1923
|bgcolor=#66FF00|East Yokozuna (8-1-1draw)
|West Yokozuna (1-0-9-1draw)
|-
|1924
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Yokozuna (9-0-1draw)
|bgcolor=#66FF00|East Yokozuna (10-1)
|-
|1925
|bgcolor=#66FF00|East Yokozuna (10-0-1draw)
|bgcolor=gray|retired
|-
{|
| Green Box=Tournament Championship
| ☆= Number of Kinboshi
.
|}
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...
wrestling from 1918 till 1925. Generally he is considered one of the pioneers of modern sumo. He is the lightest yokozuna with a weight of 104 kg. He is known as one of Herculean wrestlers.
Early career
Tochigiyama entered sumo in February 1911 but his coach Hitachiyama TaniemonHitachiyama 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...
didn't expect him to be strong owing to his light weight. However, he lost only 3 bouts on his way 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, achieving promotion in January 1915. Tochigiyama defeated Tachiyama Mineemon
Tachiyama Mineemon
Tachiyama Mineemon was a sumo wrestler from Toyama City, Toyama Prefecture, Japan. He was the sport's 22nd Yokozuna. He was well known for his extreme strength and skill...
, ending his series of 56 victories, on the 8th day of May 1916 tournament.
Tochigiyama was promoted to ozeki in May 1917. After he won both championships on his two tournaments as ozeki without suffering a single defeat, he was promoted to yokozuna in February 1918.
Yokozuna
Tochigiyama won his third championship at his first tournament as yokozuna. He won following two tournaments. He finally achieved five consecutive championships between May 1917 and May 1919.Tochigiyama defeated other wrestlers with his strong oshi, or pushing techniques. He compensated for his lack of weight by training extremely hard. He was nicknamed the "little giant yokozuna". Like Hitachiyama before him, he trained many wrestlers, such as later yokozuna Tamanishiki San'emon
Tamanishiki San'emon
Tamanishiki San'emon was a sumo wrestler from Kōchi, Japan. He was the sport's 32nd Yokozuna. He won a total of nine top division yusho or tournament championships from 1929 to 1936, and was the dominant wrestler in sumo until the emergence of Futabayama...
, even though they were not members of the 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....
.
In May 1925, he suddenly retired after winning three consecutive championships between January 1924 and January 1925. Asked about his retirement, he stated that he wanted to retire while still a strong opponent.
Tochigiyama only lost 23 times while an active sumo wrestler in the top makuuchi division, and only eight times during his seven years in the yokozuna rank. His top division winning percentage was 87.8. In addition, his winning percentage as yokozuna reached 93.5, the fourth best in history after Jinmaku
Jinmaku Kyugoro
Jinmaku Kyūgorō was a sumo wrestler from what is now Shimane, Japan. He was the sport's 12th Yokozuna.-Career:...
, Tachiyama and Tanikaze.
Retirement from sumo
After his retirement, he was permitted to leave Dewanoumi stable and become the eighth head coach of Kasugano stableKasugano stable
is a stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Dewanoumi group of stables. As of November 2007 it had 24 wrestlers. It is currently one of the most successful stables, with five sekitori wrestlers, including the Georgian Tochinoshin and the Korean born Tochinowaka, who uses the current head coach's...
. He was the adopted son of the previous head coach, referee
Gyoji
A Gyōji is a referee in professional sumo wrestling in Japan.Gyōji usually enter the sumo world as teenagers and remain employees of the Sumo Association until they retire aged 65.-Responsibilities:...
Kimura Soshiro. Tochigiyama produced yokozuna Tochinishiki Kiyotaka
Tochinishiki Kiyotaka
Tochinishiki Kiyotaka was a sumo wrestler from Tokyo, Japan. He was the sport's 44th Yokozuna. He won ten top division yusho or tournament championships and was a rival of fellow yokozuna Wakanohana I...
.
In June 1931, Tochigiyama took part in the first Dai-Nippon Rikishi Senshuken (大日本角力選手権), one of sumo tournaments. To their surprise, he defeated Tamanishiki and Tenryu, and won the championship. Retired wrestlers can't take part in sumo tournaments now.
His strength hardly declined. It is reported that Tochigiyama in his sixties easily carried a big hibachi which wasn't moved by his pupils' might.
He died suddenly in 1959 whilst still in charge of Kasugano stable. Tochinishiki, who Tochigiyama had in turn adopted as his son, was his successor.
Top division record
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 120%"|-
!
!January
!May
|-
|1915
|East Maegashira #16 (8-2)
|East Maegashira #2 (5-4-1draw)☆
|-
|1916
|East Maegashira #1 (7-3)☆
|East Komusubi (6-3-1)
|-
|1917
|West Sekiwake (6-3-1)
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Ōzeki (9-0-1hold)
|-
|1918
|bgcolor=#66FF00|East Ōzeki (10-0)
|bgcolor=#66FF00|East Yokozuna (9-1)
|-
|1919
|bgcolor=#66FF00|East Yokozuna (9-0-1)
|bgcolor=#66FF00|East Yokozuna (10-0)
|-
|1920
|East Yokozuna (8-2)
|West Yokozuna (8-0-1draw-1hold)
|-
|1921
|West Yokozuna (9-0-1hold)
|East Yokozuna (9-1)
|-
|1922
|East Yokozuna (8-1-1hold)
|West Yokozuna (7-1-1-1draw)
|-
|1923
|bgcolor=#66FF00|East Yokozuna (8-1-1draw)
|West Yokozuna (1-0-9-1draw)
|-
|1924
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Yokozuna (9-0-1draw)
|bgcolor=#66FF00|East Yokozuna (10-1)
|-
|1925
|bgcolor=#66FF00|East Yokozuna (10-0-1draw)
|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
| ☆= Number of Kinboshi
Kinboshi
Kinboshi is a notation used in professional sumo wrestling to record a lower-ranked wrestler's victory over a yokozuna....
.
|}
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...
- Kanreki dohyō-iriKanreki dohyo-iriIn sumo wrestling, a kanreki dohyō-iri is a ring-entering ceremony performed by a former yokozuna in celebration of his 60th birthday . If he is a toshiyori , the ceremony is usually held at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan, the main sumo hall in Tokyo. Otherwise, if retired, at another location...
- List of past sumo wrestlers
- List of sumo tournament winners
- List of yokozuna