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Tanikaze Kajinosuke

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Tanikaze Kajinosuke
谷風 梶之助
File:Yokozuna Tanikaze Kajinosuke.jpg
Statue of Tanikaze in Aoba-ku, Sendai
Personal information
Born金子 与四郎
Kaneko Yoshirō
(1750-09-08)September 8, 1750
Miyagi District, Mutsu Province, Japan
DiedFebruary 27, 1795(1795-02-27) (aged 44)
Height1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight169 kg (373 lb; 26.6 st)
Career
StableIsenoumi
Record258-14-112
DebutApril 1769
Highest rankYokozuna (November 1789)
Championships21 (unofficial)
* Up to date as of July 2007.

Tanikaze Kajinosuke (Japanese: 谷風梶之助, September 8, 1750 – February 27, 1795) was a Japanese sumo wrestler from the Tokugawa era, who is officially recognized as the fourth yokozuna, and the first to be awarded the title of yokozuna within his own lifetime. He achieved great fame and though championships were not awarded in his era, he achieved the mathematical equivalent of 21 tournament championships. He was also the coach of Raiden Tameemon.

Early career

Tanikaze was born Kaneko Yoshirō (金子 与四郎) in Miyagi District, Mutsu Province (now part of Wakabayashi-ku, Sendai). He made his debut in sumo in 1769 when he was 19. With a height of 189 cm and a weight of 169 kg, he was extremely large in comparison with most Japanese men of his era.[1]

In this period, local men with a large physique but often little to no sumo background were asked to enter sumo tournaments. They would debut as kanban or "guest" ōzeki and in most cases their "careers" were short-lived. This is how Tanikaze, due to his size, debuted in 1769. He chose to stay active in sumo however, and would eventually be promoted to a true ōzeki outright in March 1781. From October 1777 until February 1786, he lost only one bout. This was to Onogawa in February 1782. He recorded the longest run of consecutive victories in sumo bouts at that time, with 63.[2] This record remained unbroken for about 150 years, until Futabayama in 1938.

Yokozuna

On November 19, 1789, he became one of the first two sumo wrestlers to be allowed to perform a yokozuna dohyō-iri (a special ring-entrance ceremony for the yokozuna alone, rather than entering as part of a parade of the top ranked wrestlers). Both he and Onogawa were granted a special so-called yokozuna license simultaneously in that year. Officially he is recorded as being the 4th yokozuna in sumo history. However, as the first three (see list of yokozuna), if indeed they existed at all, were awarded the title posthumously, he can be said to be one of the first two real holders of the title.[3]

He was still an active wrestler when he died at the age of 44 of influenza. He was on another winning streak of 35 bouts at the time of his death. In the top makuuchi division, Tanikaze won 258 bouts and lost only 14 bouts, achieving a winning percentage of 94.9.

Tanikaze was a very popular rikishi. Unlike other wrestlers of his day, many nishikie (woodblock print based) portraits and images of him participating in bouts still remain.

Family

He had a younger brother, Dategaseki Moriemon (1756-1807), who was also a sumo wrestler and reached the top division himself in 1791.[4] They were the second pair of brothers in sumo history to both reach makuuchi.[5]

Top division record

19th century woodblock print of Tanikaze.
  • The actual time the tournaments were held during the year in this period often varied.
  • Tanikaze's first three tournaments were as a "guest" ōzeki, see above.
  • Tanikaze's record for the Spring 1776 tournament is unknown.
Tanikaze[6]
- Spring Winter
1769 West Ōzeki
4–0–3
 
West Ōzeki
0–1–7
 
1770 West Ōzeki
3–0–5
 
West Maegashira #1
7–1
 
1771 Sat out West Komusubi #1
5–0
1d 2h

 
1772 West Komusubi #1
6–0–2
Unofficial

 
Not held
1773 West Maegashira #1
5–1
1d 1h

 
West Maegashira #1
5–2
1h

 
1774 West Maegashira #1
6–0–2
Unofficial

 
West Komusubi
5–0–1
2d

 
1775 West Komusubi
4–0
Unofficial

 
West Komusubi
5–1–1
2h

 
1776 West Maegashira #1

 
West Komusubi
7–0
1nr
Unofficial

 
1777 West Sekiwake
2–1–5
 
West Komusubi
5–1
1d 1h
Unofficial

 
1778 West Sekiwake
9–0–1
Unofficial

 
Sat out
1779 West Sekiwake
9–0–1
Unofficial

 
West Sekiwake
9–0
1d
Unofficial

 
1780 West Sekiwake
6–0
Unofficial

 
West Sekiwake
8–0
2h
Unofficial

 
1781 West Ōzeki
9–0–1
Unofficial

 
West Sekiwake
9–0–1
Unofficial

 
1782 West Ōzeki
6–1–3
 
West Ōzeki
7–0–1
1h 1nr
Unofficial

 
1783 West Ōzeki
5–0–4
1nr
Unofficial

 
West Ōzeki
8–0–1
1d
Unofficial

 
1784 West Ōzeki
6–0–2
2h
Unofficial

 
West Ōzeki
3–0–7
 
1785 Not held Not held
1786 West Ōzeki
10–0
Unofficial

 
West Ōzeki
3–1–6
 
1787 Called off due to bad harvest West Sekiwake
6–1–1
1d 1h

 
1788 West Sekiwake
7–0–1
1d 1h
Unofficial

 
West Sekiwake
7–0–1
1d 1h

 
1789 West Sekiwake
7–1–1
1d

 
West Sekiwake
6–0–3
1d

 
1790 West Ōzeki
4–0–2
1d 1h 1nr

 
West Ōzeki
7–1–1
1d

 
1791 West Ōzeki
6–1–2
1nr

 
Sat out
1792 West Ōzeki
8–0–2
Unofficial

 
West Ōzeki
3–0
Unofficial

 
1793 West Ōzeki
7–0–2
Unofficial

 
West Ōzeki
5–0–3
2d

 
1794 West Ōzeki
5–0–5
 
West Ōzeki
Retired
4–0–6
Record given as win-loss-absent    Top Division Champion Retired Lower Divisions

Key:   d=Draw(s) (引分);   h=Hold(s) (預り);   nr=no result recorded
Divisions: MakuuchiJūryōMakushitaSandanmeJonidanJonokuchi

Makuuchi ranks: 
Yokozuna (not ranked as such on banzuke until 1890)
ŌzekiSekiwakeKomusubiMaegashira

*Championships for the best record in a tournament were not recognized or awarded before the 1909 summer tournament, and the unofficial championships above are historically conferred. For more information, see yūshō.

See also

References

  1. ^ Sharnoff, Lora (1993). Grand Sumo. Weatherhill. ISBN 978-0-8348-0283-4.
  2. ^ Consecutive Wins (1757-) Archived 2008-05-18 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Kuroda, Joe (February 2006). "Yokozuna Comparison". sumofanmag.com. Retrieved 2007-06-25.
  4. ^ "Dategaseki Moriemon Rishiki Information". Sumo Reference. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  5. ^ "2020 September Grand Sumo Tournament Banzuke Topics". Japan Sumo Association. Archived from the original on 29 September 2020. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  6. ^ "Tanikaze Kajinosuke Rikishi Information". Sumo Reference.


Preceded by 4th Yokozuna
1789–1794
Succeeded by
Yokozuna is not a successive rank, and more than one wrestler can hold the title at once