Wakanami Jun
Encyclopedia
Wakanami Jun was a sumo
wrestler from Iwai
, Ibaraki
, Japan
. His highest rank was komusubi. He won a top division tournament championship in March 1968. He was also a sumo coach.
in March 1957 and reached the top makuuchi
division in May 1963. He was small, at just 178 cm and 103 kg, but he was very popular with sumo fans. In July 1964 he reached his highest rank of komusubi, which he was to hold on three occasions. He was runner-up to Kashiwado
in the July 1967 tournament. In March 1968, ranked as a maegashira, he won the championship in the top division with a 13-2 record. Yokozuna Taihō
and Sadanoyama
were absent through injury, and he did not have to face anyone ranked higher than sekiwake during the tournament. He was promoted to komusubi for the following tournament but could manage only two wins there. He fought in the makuuchi division for 52 tournaments in total. He won four special prizes
, two for fighting spirit and two for technique. He fell briefly to the juryo division in 1969 and won the second division championship, becoming the first wrestler to do this after winning the top division championship. He retired in March 1972.
, as well as the similar sounding Wakainami.
Wakanami died in a Tokyo
hospital following complications from pneumonia
.
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 Iwai
Iwai, Ibaraki
Iwai was a city located in Ibaraki, Japan.On March 22, 2005 Iwai was merged with the town of Sashima, from Sashima District, to form the new city of Bandō. As of this merger, Iwai no longer exists....
, Ibaraki
Ibaraki Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan, located in the Kantō region on the main island of Honshu. The capital is Mito.-History:Ibaraki Prefecture was previously known as Hitachi Province...
, 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...
. His highest rank was komusubi. He won a top division tournament championship in March 1968. He was also a sumo coach.
Career
He joined the 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...
in March 1957 and reached 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 1963. He was small, at just 178 cm and 103 kg, but he was very popular with sumo fans. In July 1964 he reached his highest rank of komusubi, which he was to hold on three occasions. He was runner-up to Kashiwado
Kashiwado Tsuyoshi
Kashiwado Tsuyoshi was a sumo wrestler from Japan. He was the sport's 47th Yokozuna, fighting at sumo's highest rank from 1961 to 1969...
in the July 1967 tournament. In March 1968, ranked as a maegashira, he won the championship in the top division with a 13-2 record. Yokozuna Taihō
Taiho Koki
Taihō Kōki is the 48th Yokozuna in the Japanese sport of sumo wrestling. He is generally regarded as the greatest sumo wrestler of the post-war period. He became a yokozuna in 1961 at the age of 21, the youngest ever at the time, and he won a record 32 tournaments between 1960 and 1971...
and Sadanoyama
Sadanoyama Shinmatsu
Sadanoyama Shinmatsu is a former sumo wrestler from Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. He was the sport's 50th Yokozuna...
were absent through injury, and he did not have to face anyone ranked higher than sekiwake during the tournament. He was promoted to komusubi for the following tournament but could manage only two wins there. He fought in the makuuchi division for 52 tournaments in total. He won four special prizes
Sansho (Sumo)
Sanshō are the three special prizes awarded to top division sumo wrestlers for exceptional performance during a sumo honbasho or tournament. The prizes were first awarded in November 1947.-Criteria:...
, two for fighting spirit and two for technique. He fell briefly to the juryo division in 1969 and won the second division championship, becoming the first wrestler to do this after winning the top division championship. He retired in March 1972.
Retirement from sumo
He stayed in the sumo world after retirement as a coach at his stable, and was known as Onaruto and then Tamagaki Oyakata. His nephew was also a sumo wrestler in the Tatsunami stable, and reached a highest rank of makushita 2 before retiring in March 2010. He also used the Wakanami shikonaShikona
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...
, as well as the similar sounding Wakainami.
Wakanami died in a Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
hospital following complications from pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
.
Top division record
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 sumo tournament winners
- List of sumo tournament second division winners
- List of past sumo wrestlers