Terukuni Manzō
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| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Birth name | Marizo Suga | |
| Date of birth | January 10, 1919 | |
| Place of birth | Akita, Japan | |
| Date of death | March 20, 1977 (aged 58) | |
| Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 81⁄2 in) | |
| Weight | 161 kg (350 lb) | |
| Career* | ||
| Heya | Isegahama | |
| Record | 313-110-74 | |
| Debut | January 1935 | |
| Highest rank | Yokozuna (May 1942) | |
| Retired | January, 1953 | |
| Yusho | 2 (Makuuchi) 1 (Juryo) 1 (Makushita) |
|
| Gold stars | 1 (Minanogawa) | |
|
* Career information is correct as of October 2007. |
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Terukuni Manzō (照國 万藏, January 10, 1919 - March 20, 1977) was a sumo wrestler from Ogachi, Akita Prefecture, Japan. He was the sport's 38th Yokozuna. He was promoted to yokozuna without any top division tournament titles to his name, although he later attained two.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Career
In the summer of 1930, he was scouted by Isegahama, former sekiwake Kiyosegawa Keinosuke, his distant relative. However, he was forgotten due to the disruption caused by the Shunjuen Incident of 1932, in which a large number of wrestlers went on strike. After the dispute was settled, he joined Isegahama stable in 1934, making his debut in January 1935.
He was promoted to the top makuuchi division in May 1939, and reached the ozeki rank in May 1941. After two tournaments at ozeki, he finished in a three way tie for the championship in May 1942 with Futabayama and Akinoumi, on 13-2. The championship was awarded to Futabayama (whom Terukuni had defeated in their individual match) simply because he was of a higher rank, as was the rule at the time. Nevertheless, after the tournament both Terukuni and Akinoumi were promoted to yokozuna. At 23 years of age, Terukuni was the youngest yokozuna until the promotion of Taiho in 1961. He did extremely well in his yokozuna debut, scoring 14-1, although he finished one win behind Futabayama, who won his last match by default.
He was a heavy wrestler for his time, weighing over 160 kg (350 lb). During World War II, his weight declined due to the food shortages.
Having been a runner-up on five previous occasions, he finally won his first championship in September 1950, about eight years after his promotion. He won his second championship in the very next tournament with a perfect 15-0 record.
Three days into the January 1953 tournament, he announced his retirement. After the tournament, Kagamisato was promoted to yokozuna, and a photograph was taken of Terukuni and Kagamisato alongside the other grand champions Chiyonoyama, Azumafuji and Haguroyama. As Terukuni had not yet had his official retirement ceremony, some regard January 1953 as being the only occasion on which there were five yokozuna at the same time.[1]
[edit] Retirement from sumo
After his retirement, he became head coach of Isegahama stable and produced ozeki Kiyokuni Katsuo. He had already made arrangements to pass control over the stable over to Kiyokuni at the time of his death in 1977 at the age of 58.
[edit] Top division record
| New Year | Summer | Autumn | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1939 | x | West Maegashira #15 (11-4) | no tournament held |
| 1940 | East Maegashira #2 (12-3) ☆ | East Sekiwake (11-4) | no tournament held |
| 1941 | West Sekiwake (12-3) | West Sekiwake (13-2) | no tournament held |
| 1942 | East Ōzeki (12-3) | West Ōzeki (13-2) | no tournament held |
| 1943 | East Yokozuna (14-1) | West Yokozuna (12-3) | no tournament held |
| 1944 | East Yokozuna (11-4) | West Yokozuna (6-4) | West Yokozuna (4-2-4) |
| 1945 | no tournament held | East Yokozuna (5-2) | East Yokozuna (9-1) |
| 1946 | no tournament held | no tournament held | East Yokozuna (3-3-7) |
| 1947 | no tournament held | West Yokozuna (7-3) | West Yokozuna (7-4) |
| 1948 | no tournament held | West Yokozuna (9-2) | East Yokozuna (2-5-4) |
| 1949 | Sat out | East Yokozuna (12-3) | East Yokozuna (8-2-5) |
| 1950 | East Yokozuna (2-2-11) | East Yokozuna (11-4) | East Yokozuna (13-2) |
| 1951 | East Yokozuna (15-0) | East Yokozuna (10-5) | West Yokozuna (11-4) |
| 1952 | West Yokozuna (10-5) | Sat out | West Yokozuna (6-6-3) |
| 1953 | Retired | x | x |
- The wrestler's East/West designation, rank, and win/loss record are listed for each tournament.[2]
- A third figure in win-loss records represents matches sat-out during the tournament (usually due to injury)
| Green Box=Tournament Championship | ☆= Number of Gold Stars. |
[edit] References
- ^ a b Sharnoff, Lorna (1993). Grand Sumo. Weatherhill. ISBN 0-8348-0283-x.
- ^ Terukuni Manzō. Sumo Reference. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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