Hitachiiwa Eitarō
| 常陸岩英太郎 Hitachiiwa Eitarō | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal information | |
| Born | Eitaro Sakurai March 9, 1900 Tokyo, Japan |
| Died | September 21, 1957 (aged 57) |
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) |
| Weight | 115 kg (254 lb) |
| Career | |
| Stable | Dewanoumi |
| Record | 147-74-47-3draws-3holds (makuuchi) |
| Debut | May 1917 |
| Highest rank | Ozeki (May 1927) |
| Retired | March 1931 |
| Championships | 1 (Makuuchi) 1 (Juryo) |
| * Up to date as of June 2008. | |
Hitachiiwa Eitarō (常陸岩英太郎, March 9, 1900 - September 21, 1957) was a Japanese sumo wrestler from Tokyo. His highest rank was Ōzeki.
Career
Born in Chuo, he joined Dewanoumi stable and was coached by former yokozuna Hitachiyama. He made his debut in May 1917, and was promoted to the juryo division in May 1922. After winning the juryo division championship in January 1923 he reached the top makuuchi division in May 1923. In January 1926, at the rank of maegashira 2, he finished as runner-up to yokozuna Tsunenohana with a fine 10-1 record. His earned him promotion to sekiwake, and after two more runner-up performances he was promoted to Ōzeki in May 1927.
In January 1928, he won his only top division yusho, or championship, but it caused great controversy. He had one fusensho (no fight win) against Nishinoumi Kajirō III on the 10th day. His rival for the championship, veteran maegashira and former sekiwake Misugiiso, had won all his bouts in actual fights but was then defeated by strong komusubi Tamanishiki (later yokozuna) on the 11th day. At the end of the tournament they had both recorded 10 wins, 1 loss, as Hitachiiwa had defeated yokozuna Miyagiyama on the final day. Hitachiiwa and Misugiiso were too far apart in rank to have been paired against each other during the tournament, and as there was no playoff system in place at that time, Hitachiiwa, in the higher Ōzeki rank was awarded the yusho. Many people sympathized with Misugiiso as it had cost him his only chance to win a championship. Misugiiso was only able to win two more bouts in his career and retired a year later. The system of fusensho was uncompleted at that time (the system was only accepted for the last two days of a tournament, and they didn't receive kachi-nanori, or formal announcement of the winner). In the following tournament in March 1928, the modern fusensho system was established.
Hitachiiwa fell ill after the dispute and was unable to capitalise on his win, sitting out the March 1928 tournament. He was unable to record good results in his following career and was never in contention for another championship. He retired in March 1931. He remained in the sumo world as an elder, under the name Sakaigawa, and worked as a coach in Dewanoumi stable until his death.
Top division record
| January | March | May | October | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1923 | x | no tournament held | West maegashira #16 (7-4) | no tournament held |
| 1924 | West maegashira #4 (5-3-1-1draw) | no tournament held | East maegashira #2 (7-3-1hold) | no tournament held |
| 1925 | East maegashira #1 (6-2-1draw-2holds) | no tournament held | Sat out | no tournament held |
| 1926 | West maegashira #2 (10-1) | no tournament held | East Sekiwake (7-4) | no tournament held |
| 1927 | West Sekiwake (9-2) | West Sekiwake (9-2) | West Ozeki (7-4) | East Ozeki (8-2-1draw) |
| 1928 | East Ozeki (10-1) | Sat out | West Ozeki (4-4-3) | West Ozeki (8-3) |
| 1929 | East Ozeki (5-6) | East Ozeki (7-4) | East Ozeki (8-3) | East Ozeki (3-3-5)* |
| 1930 | East Ozeki (3-3-5) | East Ozeki (8-3) | East Ozeki (5-6) | East Ozeki (6-5) |
| 1931 | West Ozeki (5-6) | Retired | x | x |
*tournament actually held one month earlier
- The wrestler's East/West designation, rank, and win/loss record are listed for each tournament[1]
- A third figure in win-loss records represents matches sat-out during the tournament (usually due to injury)
| Green Box=Tournament Championship | ☆= Number of Kinboshi. |
See also
References
- ^ "Hitachiiwa Eitaro Rikishi Information". Sumo Reference. Retrieved 2008-06-15.