Umegatani Tōtarō I

Sumo wrestler infobox
wrestlername =梅ヶ谷 藤太郎 Umegatani Tōtarō


realname = Tōtarō Oe
dateofbirth = birth date|1845|3|16
placeofbirth = Asakura, Fukuoka, Japan
dateofdeath = death date and age|1928|5|15|1845|3|16
height = height|meters=1.76
weight = convert|105|kg|lb|abbr=on|lk=on
heya = Ikazuchi
rank =
record = 116-6-78 18 draws-2 holds(Makuuchi)
debut = March, 1871
highestrank = Yokozuna (February, 1884)
retireddate = May, 1885
yushos = 9 (Makuuchi, unofficial)
prizes =
goldstars =
update = September 2007

Umegatani Tōtarō (梅ヶ谷 藤太郎, March 16 1845 - May 15 1928) 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

Umegatani entered Osaka sumo in 1863 and was promoted to "ozeki" in 1870. He wasn't content with the rank and so gave it up. He transferred to Tokyo sumo in December 1870, and began his career over again from the bottom of the rankings. [cite book|author=Schilling, Mark|title=Sumo: A Fan's Guide|publisher=Japan Times|year=1994|id=ISBN 4-7890-0725-1] Umegatani won 58 bouts in a row from January 1876 to January 1881. It is the third best record of consecutive victories behind Futabayama and Tanikaze. He was awarded a yokozuna licence in February 1884, receiving it simultaneously from both the Osaka and Tokyo based organisations. Emperor Meiji took pleasure in seeing his bout on March 10, 1884. The event made sumo more famous. He won 116 bouts and lost only 6 bouts in the top "makuuchi" division.cite book|author=Newton, Clyde|title=Dynamic Sumo|publisher=Kodansha|year=1994|pages=56|id=ISBN 4-7700-1802-9] He achieved a winning average of 95.1, the highest record among "yokozunas", [cite web | author= Kuroda, Joe| title=A Shot At the Impossible-Yokozuna Comparison Through The Ages | publisher=sumofanmag.com | url=http://www.sumofanmag.com/content/Issue_5/Yokozuna.htm| month=February | year=2006 | accessdate=2008-06-22] though could not surpass "ōzeki" Raiden. He was not a particularly large wrestler but was remarkably strong.

Retirement from sumo

After his retirement he remained in the sumo world as a coach under the name Ikazuchi Oyakata. He helped to raise funds for the building of the first Ryōgoku Kokugikan stadium in 1909. It is said that when asked by a potential backer what he had in the way of collateral, simply showing his muscles was enough to clinch the deal.Cite book |author=Sharnoff, Lorna |title=Grand Sumo|publisher=Weatherhill |year=1993 |id=ISBN 0-8348-0283-x]

He lived until the age of eighty-three, making him the longest-lived "yokozuna" of all time. He outlived his son-in-law Umegatani II, and is one of very few "yokozuna" to have died of old age.

Top division record

"*1-3 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
"*There was no fusensho system until March 1927
"*All top division wrestlers were usually absent on the 10th day until 1909

References

reflist

ee also

*Glossary of sumo terms
*List of past sumo wrestlers
*List of yokozuna