Tochigiyama Moriya
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| Personal information | ||
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| Birth name | 横田 (中田) 守也 Yokoda (Nakata) Moriya |
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| Date of birth | February 2, 1892 | |
| Place of birth | Tochigi, Japan | |
| Date of death | October 3, 1959 (aged 67) | |
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 71⁄2 in) | |
| Weight | 104 kg (230 lb/16.4 st) | |
| Career* | ||
| Heya | Dewanoumi | |
| Record | 197-26-24 7draws-5holds (Total) 166-23-24 7draws-4holds (Makuuchi) |
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| Debut | February, 1911 | |
| Highest rank | Yokozuna (February, 1918) | |
| Retired | May, 1925 | |
| Yusho | 9 (Makuuchi) 1 (Makushita) |
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| Gold stars | 2 | |
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* Career information is correct as of September 2007. |
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Tochigiyama Moriya (栃木山 守也, February 2, 1892 - October 3, 1959) was the 27th Yokozuna in sumo wrestling from 1918 till 1925. Generally he is considered one of the pioneers of modern sumo.[1] He is the lightest yokozuna with a weight of 104 kg.[2] He is known as one of Herculean wrestlers.
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[edit] Career
Tochigiyama entered sumo in February 1911 but his coach Hitachiyama Taniemon 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 with no lost bouts, he was promoted to yokozuna in February 1918. He won his third championship at his first tournament as yokozuna and finally won 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, 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. 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. Asked about his retirement, he stated that he wanted to retire while still a strong opponent.
[edit] After Retirement
After his retirement, he was permitted to leave Dewanoumi stable and become the eighth head coach of Kasugano stable. 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 Senshiken (大日本力士選士権, the tournament of all Japanese professional sumo wrestlers). To their surprise, he defeated Tamanishiki 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.
[edit] Top division record
| 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) | West Ōzeki (9-0-1hold) |
| 1918 | East Ōzeki (10-0) | East Yokozuna (9-1) |
| 1919 | East Yokozuna (9-0-1) | 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 | East Yokozuna (8-1-1draw) | West Yokozuna (1-0-9-1draw) |
| 1924 | West Yokozuna (9-0-1draw) | East Yokozuna (10-1) |
| 1925 | East Yokozuna (10-0-1draw) | retired |
- The wrestler's East/West designation, rank, and win/loss record are listed for each tournament.[3]
- 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 Gold Stars. |
[edit] References
- ^ 人物「明治時代以降」栃木山守也 (Japanese). Tochigi Prefecture. Retrieved on 2008-05-25.
- ^ Complete List of Yokozuna (English). Sumo Colosseum. Retrieved on 2007-09-17.
- ^ Tochigiyama Moriya (English). Sumo Reference. Retrieved on 2007-09-16.
[edit] See also
- Glossary of sumo terms
- Kanreki dohyō-iri
- List of past sumo wrestlers
- List of sumo tournament winners
- List of yokozuna
[edit] External links
- (Japanese)Tochigiyama Moriya
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