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若島 権四郎
Wakashima Gonshirō
| Personal information |
| Birth name |
Gonshirō Takahashi |
| Date of birth |
January 19, 1876(1876-01-19) |
| Place of birth |
Chiba, Japan |
| Date of death |
October 23, 1943 (aged 67) |
| Height |
1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) |
| Weight |
116 kg (260 lb) |
| Career* |
| Heya |
Tomozuna, Nakamura |
| Record |
82-33-13draws (Makuuchi) |
| Debut |
May, 1891 |
| Highest rank |
Yokozuna (April, 1905) |
| Retired |
January, 1907 |
| Yusho |
4 (unofficial) |
|
* Career information is correct as of October 2007.
|
Wakashima Gonshirō (若島 権四郎, January 19, 1876 – October 23, 1943) was a sumo wrestler from Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. He was the sport's 21st Yokozuna.
[edit] Career
Wakashima is the first official yokozuna from Osaka sumo. He began his career in Tokyo sumo at the Tomozuna stable, joining in May 1891 at the age of 15. He reached the top makuuchi division in 1896, peaking at maegashira 7. He was very popular with geisha, but it caused his slackening in growth. In addition, he suffered from smallpox. He left in January 1898, joining Osaka sumo. He entered Nakamura stable. He was awarded the Osaka sumo yokozuna licence by the Gojo family in January 1903. In June 1903, he fought against wrestlers in Tokyo sumo. He was so strong that he defeated yokozuna Umegatani Tōtarō II and emerged as a threat to the dominance of the strongest yokozuna in Tokyo sumo, Hitachiyama.[1] His strength was acknowledged when, after a series of meetings between the Osaka and Tokyo sumo associations, he was awarded a yokozuna licence by the Yoshida family in April 1905.[1] He retired at the early age of 31 in January 1907 owing to an injury suffered in a cycling accident in September 1905, Yamaguchi Prefecture.
[edit] Top division record
*There was no fusensho system until May 1927
*All top division wrestlers were usually absent on the 10th day until 1909
|
January |
May |
| 1896 |
West Maegashira #12 (4-2-1-3draws) |
West Maegashira #7 (1-7-1-1hold) |
| 1897 |
West Maegashira #12 (1-7-2) |
West Maegashira #14 (4-5-1) |
| 1898 |
West Maegashira #13 (3-5-1-1draw) |
Sat out |
- 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
[edit] Record in Osaka sumo
*1-2 tournaments were held yearly in this period, though the actual time they were held was often erratic
*Championships were unofficial
*His promotion to yokozuna by the Gojo family is obscure because there is no proof
|
First |
Second |
| 1898 |
Outsider to the list (4-1-3-1draw) |
West maegashira #12 (7-2) |
| 1899 |
West maegashira #8 (7-1-1) |
no tournament held |
| 1900 |
West Komusubi (7-0-1draw-1hold) |
no tournament held |
| 1901 |
West Ōzeki (7-0-1-1hold) |
no tournament held |
| 1902 |
East Ōzeki (8-0-1hold) |
no tournament held |
| 1903 |
East Yokozuna (8-1-0) |
East Yokozuna (4-0-4-1draw) |
| 1904 |
East Yokozuna (6-1-2) |
East Yokozuna (7-1-1-1draw) |
| 1905 |
Sat out |
East Yokozuna (8-0-1-1draw) |
| 1906 |
Sat out |
Sat out |
| 1907 |
Retired |
x |
- The wrestler's East/West designation, rank, and win/loss record are listed for each tournament.
- A third figure in win-loss records represents matches sat-out during the tournament
- an X signifies the wrestler had yet to reach the top division at that point in his career or a tournament after he retired
[edit] References
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
Yokozuna is not a successive rank, and more than one wrestler can share the title
