Wakahaguro Tomoaki
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| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Birth name | Tomoaki Kusabuka | |
| Date of birth | November 25, 1934 | |
| Place of birth | Yokohama, Japan | |
| Date of death | March 2, 1969 (aged 34) | |
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 91⁄2 in) | |
| Weight | 150 kg (330 lb) | |
| Career* | ||
| Heya | Tatsunami | |
| Record | 555-480-40 | |
| Debut | October, 1949 | |
| Highest rank | Ozeki (November, 1959) | |
| Retired | March, 1965 | |
| Yusho | 1 (Makuuchi) | |
| Special Prizes | Outstanding Performance (1) Fighting Spirit (1) Technique (2) |
|
| Gold stars | 4 | |
|
* Career information is correct as of July 2007. |
||
Wakahaguro Tomoaki (25 November 1934 - 2 March 1969) was a sumo wrestler from Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. His highest rank was ozeki.
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[edit] Career
A former swimming champion while at junior high school, Wakahaguro made his professional debut in October 1949, joining Tatsunami stable. To meet the weight requirement, he had to drink an enormous amount of water prior to his physical. However, he was able to put on more weight as he moved up the ranks. He reached the second highest juryo division in March 1954 and was promoted to the top makuuchi division in March 1955. His first big success in a tournament came in March 1956 when he won 12 out of 15 bouts and took part in a three way playoff for the championship with ozeki Wakanohana and sekiwake Asashio. Although he was defeated, he was awarded the Fighting Spirit prize. After three years of steady progress he worked his way up to sekiwake rank and in the September 1959 tournament was runner-up once again. This performance earned him promotion to ozeki. In his ozeki debut he took the tournament championship with a 13-2 record, the first ozeki debutant to do so since Chiyonoyama ten years earlier. After the tournament a party was held at the Imperial Hotel to celebrate both his ozeki promotion and his engagement.
Wakahaguro was expected to quickly push on to yokozuna promotion, but his second tournament as an ozeki ended with an extremely disappointing 7-8 record. After this it was clear that Wakahaguro had neither the consistency nor the determination to reach sumo's highest rank, and he was to be overtaken by two younger rivals, Taihō and Kashiwado. In November 1960 Wakahaguro managed to defeat Taihō for the first time in five attempts but could not prevent him from winning his first championship. Wakahaguro's 12-3 runner-up performance was the last time he was able to challenge for a tournament title. In January 1961 it was Kashiwado's turn to win his first championship, and Wakahaguro could produce only a 10-5 score. After a poor 5-10 record in July 1961 he missed the September tournament through injury. In November 1961, the same tournament in which both Taihō and Kashiwado made their yokozuna debuts, Wakahaguro lost his ozeki rank after managing only a 5-10 record on his comeback. The rules in place at the time meant three consecutive make-koshi or losing scores would result in demotion, and his absences in September were counted as losses.
[edit] Retirement from sumo
Wakahaguro spent the last three years of his career in the maegashira ranks, but he was beset by personal problems, including a gambling addiction. In 1965, heavily in debt, he was forced to retire in disgrace after being caught attempting to sell smuggled handguns to gangsters, which he had acquired in Los Angeles whilst on an overseas tour.[1] He was tried, convicted and given an 18 month suspended prison sentence.[1] A formal retirement ceremony was impossible in such circumstances so a private one was done quietly at a hotel in Miura city.
[edit] Death
Divorced from his wife and separated from his children, Wakahaguro spent his last years working at a sumo fan's restaurant in Okayama city. He died suddenly of a stroke at the age of 34.
[edit] Top division record
| January Hatsu basho, Tokyo |
March Haru basho, Osaka |
May Natsu basho, Tokyo |
July Nagoya basho, Nagoya |
September Aki basho, Tokyo |
November Kyūshū basho, Fukuoka |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | x | East Maegashira #19 7–8 |
West Maegashira #20 7–8 |
x | West Maegashira #21 11–4 |
x |
| 1956 | East Maegashira #12 6–9 |
East Maegashira #15 12–3 F |
West Maegashira #2 8–7 ★★ |
x | East Maegashira #1 9–6 T★ |
x |
| 1957 | West Komusubi 6–9 |
East Maegashira #2 9–6 ★ |
West Sekiwake 7–8 |
x | West Komusubi 8–7 |
East Komusubi 9–6 O |
| 1958 | East Sekiwake 8–7 |
West Sekiwake 6–9 |
East Maegashira #1 6–9 |
West Maegashira #3 8–7 |
West Komusubi 9–6 |
West Sekiwake 5–10 |
| 1959 | West Maegashira #1 10–5 |
East Komusubi 10–5 |
East Sekiwake 7–8 |
West Komusubi 11–4 |
West Sekiwake 12–3 T |
East Ōzeki 13–2 |
| 1960 | East Ōzeki 7–8 |
West Ōzeki 8–7 |
West Ōzeki 10–5 |
East Ōzeki 7–8 |
East Ōzeki 8–7 |
West Ōzeki 12–3 |
| 1961 | East Ōzeki 10–5 |
East Ōzeki 9–6 |
West Ōzeki 8–7 |
West Ōzeki 5–10 |
Sat out due to injury | East Ōzeki 5–10 |
| 1962 | West Sekiwake 9–6 |
West Sekiwake 10–5 |
East Sekiwake 8–7 |
East Sekiwake 3–6–6 |
West Maegashira #6 4–11 |
West Maegashira #11 8–7 |
| 1963 | West Maegashira #8 9–6 |
East Maegashira #2 6–9 |
West Maegashira #4 9–6 |
East Maegashira #1 2–13 |
West Maegashira #11 9–6 |
East Maegashira #5 6–9 |
| 1964 | East Maegashira #8 7–8 |
East Maegashira #9 4–11 |
West Maegashira #14 8–7 |
East Maegashira #12 8–7 |
East Maegashira #9 8–7 |
West Maegashira #7 6–9 |
| 1965 | East Maegashira #10 6–9 |
West Maegashira #13 Retired 0–0–15 |
x | x | x | x |
| Record given as win-loss-absent Championship Retired Demoted from makuuchi Sanshō key: F=Fighting spirit; O=Outstanding performance; T=Technique Also shown: ★=Kinboshi |
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[edit] References
- ^ a b Adams, Andrew;Schilling, Mark (1985). Jesse: Sumo Superstar. Japan Times. ISBN 4-7890-0272-1.
- ^ Wakahaguro Tomoaki Rikishi Information (English). Sumo Reference. Retrieved on 2007-09-17.
