Umegatani Totaro II
Encyclopedia
Umegatani Tōtarō II was a sumo
wrestler from Toyama City
, Toyama Prefecture
, Japan
. He was the sport's 20th Yokozuna. Umegatani had a great rivalry with yokozuna Hitachiyama Taniemon
. Their era was known as the Ume-Hitachi Era and it brought sumo to heights of popularity never before seen in the Meiji period
.
and joined his Ikazuchi stable in June 1892 at the age of 14. His father was initially reluctant to let him join at such a young age but Umegatani I personally guaranteed his well-being.
In the stable, he was trained by Onigatani. He rose through the ranks quickly, making his juryo debut in January 1897 and reaching the top makuuchi
division in January 1898. Initially wrestling under the sumo name
of Umenotani Otomatsu, he officially took on the Umegatani Totaro name before his fourth basho as an ozeki in January 1902. He met Hitachiyama in May 1903 when both ozeki were undefeated. The clash caused great excitement throughout Japan. Although Umegatani lost the match, after the tournament both he and Hitachiyama were promoted to yokozuna.
Umegatani had reached sumo's highest rank at the age of 25 years and 3 months, making him the youngest ever yokozuna at that time. The record stood until the promotion of Terukuni in 1942.
He won at least 3 championships before June 1909, when the yūshō
system was established by the Mainichi Shimbun
newspaper (the Japan Sumo Association
officially recognised the system in 1926). He won the last tournament before this, in January 1909. Although he didn't win any championship officially, he was given a prize frame in honor of his contribution when he retired in June 1915. There was his prize frame between June 1909 tournament and January 1910 tournament. His bouts were more masterly than his record because his techniques were orthodox methods. Although he was extremely heavy for his short height, he showed great skill.
He missed many bouts in his later career due to illness, retiring at the age of 37. In the top makuuchi division, he won 168 bouts and lost 27 bouts, recording a winning percentage of 86.2. So many people wished to attend his retirement ceremony that it was held over three days. He died at the age of 49 whilst still active in sumo as a shimpan
(judge) and head of Ikazuchi stable. The stable folded upon his death.
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 120%"
|-
!
!January
!May
|-
|1898
|West Maegashira #5 (5-2-1-1draw-1hold)
|West Maegashira #2 (7-1-1-1draw)
|-
|1899
|West Komusubi (7-1-1-1draw)
|West Sekiwake (6-2-1-1draw)
|-
|1900
|West Komusubui (5-2-1-2draws)
|East Ōzeki (6-1-2-1draw)
|-
|1901
|West Ōzeki (8-1-1)
|West Ōzeki (6-2-1-1draw)
|-
|1902
|bgcolor=#66FF00|East Ōzeki (8-0-1-1draw)
|East Ōzeki (8-1-1)
|-
|1903
|East Ōzeki (4-0-5--1draw)
|East Ōzeki (8-1-1)
|-
|1904
|East Yokozuna (7-1-1-1hold)
|East Yokozuna (6-1-2-1draw)
|-
|1905
|East Yokozuna (8-1-1)
|East Yokozuna (5-0-5)
|-
|1906
|East Yokozuna (7-1-1-1draw)
|East Yokozuna (7-0-2-1draw)
|-
|1907
|East Yokozuna (1-0-9)
|East Yokozuna (6-2-1-1draw)
|-
|1908
|bgcolor=#66FF00|East Yokozuna (8-0-1-1draw)
|East Yokozuna (7-1-1-1draw)
|-
|1909
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Yokozuna (7-0-2-1draw)
|West Yokozuna (5-0-5)*
|-
|1910
|West Yokozuna (0-1-9)
|West Yokozuna (0-0-9-1draw)*
|-
|1911
|East Yokozuna (3-1-6draws)*
|bgcolor=gray|Sat out due to injury*
|-
|1912
|East Yokozuna (5-1-4draws)
|West Yokozuna (1-1-5-3draws)
|-
|1913
|West Yokozuna (4-1-5draws)
|West Yokozuna (0-1-8-1draw)
|-
|1914
|East Yokozuna (2-0-6-2draws)
|West Yokozuna (0-0-9-1draw)
|-
|1915
|West Yokozuna (1-0-7-2draws)
|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 Toyama City
Toyama, Toyama
is the capital city of Toyama Prefecture, Japan, located on the coast of the Sea of Japan in the Chūbu region on central Honshū, about 200 km north of the city of Nagoya and 300 km northwest of Tokyo....
, Toyama Prefecture
Toyama Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Hokuriku region on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Toyama.Toyama is the leading industrial prefecture on the Japan Sea coast, and has the industrial advantage of cheap electricity due to abundant water resources....
, 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 20th Yokozuna. Umegatani had a great rivalry with 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...
. Their era was known as the Ume-Hitachi Era and it brought sumo to heights of popularity never before seen in the Meiji period
Meiji period
The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...
.
Career
He was adopted by the 15th Yokozuna Umegatani Tōtarō IUmegatani Totaro I
Umegatani Tōtarō was a sumo wrestler from Asakura, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. He was the sport's 15th Yokozuna. He was generally regarded as the strongest wrestler to emerge since the era of Tanikaze and Raiden.-Career:...
and joined his Ikazuchi stable in June 1892 at the age of 14. His father was initially reluctant to let him join at such a young age but Umegatani I personally guaranteed his well-being.
In the stable, he was trained by Onigatani. He rose through the ranks quickly, making his juryo debut in January 1897 and reaching 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 1898. Initially wrestling under the sumo name
Shikona
A shikona is a sumo wrestler's ring name.As with standard Japanese names, a shikona consists of a 'surname' and a 'given' name, and the full name is written surname first. However, the given name is rarely used outside formal or ceremonial occasions. Thus, the former yokozuna Asashōryū Akinori is...
of Umenotani Otomatsu, he officially took on the Umegatani Totaro name before his fourth basho as an ozeki in January 1902. He met Hitachiyama in May 1903 when both ozeki were undefeated. The clash caused great excitement throughout Japan. Although Umegatani lost the match, after the tournament both he and Hitachiyama were promoted to yokozuna.
Umegatani had reached sumo's highest rank at the age of 25 years and 3 months, making him the youngest ever yokozuna at that time. The record stood until the promotion of Terukuni in 1942.
He won at least 3 championships before June 1909, when the yūshō
Yusho
A 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...
system was established by the Mainichi Shimbun
Mainichi Shimbun
The is one of the major newspapers in Japan, published by .-History:The history of the Mainichi Shimbun begins with founding of two papers during the Meiji period. The Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun was founded first, in 1872. The Mainichi claims that it is the oldest existing Japanese daily newspaper...
newspaper (the Japan Sumo Association
Japan Sumo Association
The is the body that operates and controls professional sumo wrestling in Japan under the jurisdiction of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Rikishi , gyōji , tokoyama , and yobidashi , are all on the Association's payroll, but the organisation is run...
officially recognised the system in 1926). He won the last tournament before this, in January 1909. Although he didn't win any championship officially, he was given a prize frame in honor of his contribution when he retired in June 1915. There was his prize frame between June 1909 tournament and January 1910 tournament. His bouts were more masterly than his record because his techniques were orthodox methods. Although he was extremely heavy for his short height, he showed great skill.
Shimpan
are the judges of a professional sumo bout. In a sumo honbasho tournament five shimpan sit around the ring to observe which wrestler wins the matchup. When judging tournament bouts they wear formal Japanese dress of otokomono, haori with mon, and hakama...
(judge) and head of Ikazuchi stable. The stable folded upon his death.
Top division record
- Championships from this period were unofficial
- There was no fusensho system until March 1927
- All top division wrestlers were usually absent on the 10th day until 1909
- In May 1898, ozeki Asashio Taro I also finished with a 7-1-1-1draw record.
- In January 1904, west yokozuna Hitachiyama TaniemonHitachiyama TaniemonHitachiyama 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...
finished with a 7-1-2 record, so several historians include a January 1904 championship though Umegatani recorded that before east was officially designated as ranked above west in 1909.
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 120%"
|-
!
!January
!May
|-
|1898
|West Maegashira #5 (5-2-1-1draw-1hold)
|West Maegashira #2 (7-1-1-1draw)
|-
|1899
|West Komusubi (7-1-1-1draw)
|West Sekiwake (6-2-1-1draw)
|-
|1900
|West Komusubui (5-2-1-2draws)
|East Ōzeki (6-1-2-1draw)
|-
|1901
|West Ōzeki (8-1-1)
|West Ōzeki (6-2-1-1draw)
|-
|1902
|bgcolor=#66FF00|East Ōzeki (8-0-1-1draw)
|East Ōzeki (8-1-1)
|-
|1903
|East Ōzeki (4-0-5--1draw)
|East Ōzeki (8-1-1)
|-
|1904
|East Yokozuna (7-1-1-1hold)
|East Yokozuna (6-1-2-1draw)
|-
|1905
|East Yokozuna (8-1-1)
|East Yokozuna (5-0-5)
|-
|1906
|East Yokozuna (7-1-1-1draw)
|East Yokozuna (7-0-2-1draw)
|-
|1907
|East Yokozuna (1-0-9)
|East Yokozuna (6-2-1-1draw)
|-
|1908
|bgcolor=#66FF00|East Yokozuna (8-0-1-1draw)
|East Yokozuna (7-1-1-1draw)
|-
|1909
|bgcolor=#66FF00|West Yokozuna (7-0-2-1draw)
|West Yokozuna (5-0-5)*
|-
|1910
|West Yokozuna (0-1-9)
|West Yokozuna (0-0-9-1draw)*
|-
|1911
|East Yokozuna (3-1-6draws)*
|bgcolor=gray|Sat out due to injury*
|-
|1912
|East Yokozuna (5-1-4draws)
|West Yokozuna (1-1-5-3draws)
|-
|1913
|West Yokozuna (4-1-5draws)
|West Yokozuna (0-1-8-1draw)
|-
|1914
|East Yokozuna (2-0-6-2draws)
|West Yokozuna (0-0-9-1draw)
|-
|1915
|West Yokozuna (1-0-7-2draws)
|bgcolor=gray|Retired
|-
- tournament actually held one month later than listed.
- 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