Chiyonofuji Mitsugu

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千代の富士貢
Chiyonofuji Mitsugu
Personal information

Real name	Mitsugu Akimoto
Date of birth	June 1, 1955
Place of birth	Fukushima, Hokkaido
Height	183.0cm (6'0")
Weight	127.0kg (280lb)
Career*
Heya	Kokonoe
Rank	Yokozuna
Record	1045-437-159
Debut	September, 1970
Highest rank	Yokozuna (September, 1981)
Yushos	31 (Makuuchi)
Special Prizes	Outstanding Performance (1) Fighting Spirit (1) Technique (5)
Gold stars	3
* Career information is correct as of January 2007.

Chiyonofuji Mitsugu (千代の富士貢, Chiyonofuji Mitsugu^?), born June 1, 1955 as Mitsugu Akimoto (秋元貢, Akimoto Mitsugu^?) in Hokkaidō, is a former champion sumo wrestler and the 58th Yokozuna of the sport.

Chiyonofuji was one of the greatest yokozuna of recent times, winning 31 tournament championships, second only to Taihō. He was particularly remarkable for his longevity in sumo's top rank. He won more tournaments in his thirties than any other wrestler and retired in his late thirties, in contrast to most recent yokozuna who have tended to retire around 30. He is the only professional sumo wrestler to have scored more than 1000 wins over his professional career, with over 800 of them coming in Makuuchi, sumo's top division.

In a sport where weight is often regarded as vital, Chiyonofuji was quite light at around 120 kg. He relied on a superior technique and muscle to defeat opponents. His nickname was "The Wolf" due to the piercing stare he gave his opponents in the pre-bout rituals. This nickname also seems to capture his character in his day-to-day life. Many have spoken of him as a man most comfortable in times of solitude.

1 Becoming Chiyonofuji
2 Early Career
3 Yokozuna
4 Retirement from the ring
5 In Popular Culture
6 External links

[edit] Becoming Chiyonofuji

His name (千代の富士貢), was given to him by his stable master and was formed from the shikona of two previous yokozuna from his stable, Chiyonoyama and Kitanofuji. It is also an ode to his determination. As a young wrestler, Chiyonofuji was plagued by shoulder injuries. He was remarkable in his willingness to go the extra mile and train relentlessly beyond the level of his peers. Literally translated, 千代富士 means in English '10,000 generations of Fuji'. '10,000 generations' is an idiom for 'forever', and Fuji (Mount Fuji) is a national symbol sometimes associated with heroism. Hence, his master asked him to take the moniker as a challenge and a request- Chiyonofuji may be translated as 'Please, always be our hero'.

[edit] Early Career

Chiyonofuji began his career in 1970 at the age of 15. He reached the second highest (Juryo) division in November 1974 and was promoted to Makuuchi in September 1975. However he lasted only one tournament before being demoted again and subsequent injuries led to him falling all the way back to the unsalaried ranks. He finally won promotion back to the top division in January 1978. He won the Kantosho, or fighting spirit prize in the May 1978 tournament and was promoted to sumo's fourth highest rank of komusubi. Another injury in 1979 led to him briefly falling back to Juryo but he had fully recovered by 1980 and won the prestigious Ginosho, or technique award, in three successive tournaments. In January 1981 he captured his first yusho (tournament championship), defeating Yokosuna Kitanoumi, who had dominated sumo since the mid 1970s, in a play off. This earned him promotion to sumo's second highest rank of ozeki. His second title in July of that year saw him promoted to Yokozuna.

[edit] Yokozuna

Kitanoumi went into a long slump and Chiyonofuji dominated Sumo in 1982, winning four of the six tournaments. He didn't have everything his own way over the next two years however, as the emergence of Yokozuna Takanosato and his own injuries restricted him to just three yusho. But Kitanoumi retired in January 1985, with the ageing Takanosato following a year later, and Chiyonofuji resumed his dominance. Despite being older, and lighter, than nearly all his opponents, his strength, skill and phenomenal will to win meant he was almost unbeatable. In 1988 he went on a winning streak of 53 bouts, a post war record, in 1989 he surpassed Oshio's record of 964 career wins and by 1990 he was closing in on Taiho's record of 32 yusho.

However, Chiyonofuji was undoubtedly slowing down, and his victory in the Kyushu tournament of November 1990 proved to be his last (he won this particular basho eight years in a row from 1981-1988, another record). In the opening tournament of 1991 he surpassed Kitanoumi's record of 804 top division wins but injured himself on the second day and had to withdraw. He returned in May but after losing to the 18 year old rising star Takahanada (later Yokozuna Takanohana) it was clear the game was up. He retired two days later at the age of 36.

[edit] Retirement from the ring

After his retirement, he assumed the position of head (oyakata) of the Kokonoe-beya, which is a heya ("stable") of wrestlers. His name is now Kokonoe-oyakata. Under his direction, the Kokonoe-beya has produced some fine wrestlers, including Chiyotaikai, who has been ranked as ozeki for 49 tournaments, second on the all time list, and former komusubi Chiyotenzan.