| 谷風 梶之助 Tanikaze Kajinosuke |
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|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Born | 金子 与四郎 Kaneko Yoshiro September 8, 1750 Wakabayashi, Sendai, Japan |
| Died | February 27, 1795 (aged 44) |
| Height | 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) |
| Weight | 169 kg (370 lb; 26.6 st) |
| Career | |
| Heya | Isenoumi |
| Record | 258-14-112 |
| Debut | April 1769 |
| Highest rank | Yokozuna (November 1789) |
| Yūshō | 21 (unofficial) |
| * Career information is correct as of July 2007. | |
Kajinosuke Tanikaze (谷風梶之助 Tanikaze Kajinosuke, September 8, 1750 – February 27, 1795) was a sumo wrestler in Japan in the Tokugawa era, and the first to be awarded the title of Yokozuna within his own lifetime. He achieved great fame and won 21 tournament championships. He was also the coach of Raiden Tameemon.
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He was born in Sendai with Yoshiro (与四郎) as his infant name. 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]
He debuted as an ōzeki but it was as a Kanban ōzeki, or Guest ōzeki, due to his size. However, he was 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.
On November 19, 1789, he became one of the first two sumo wrestlers to be allowed to perform a Yokozuna Dohyo-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) were awarded the title posthumously, if indeed they existed at all, 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 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.
*1-2 tournaments were held yearly in this period, though the actual time they were held was often erratic
*Championships from this period were unofficial
*Yokozuna were not listed as such on the ranking sheets until 1890
*Result of the 7th day of the April 1769 tournament is unknown
*There was no fusensho system until March 1927
*All top division wrestlers were usually absent on the 10th day until 1909
| First | Second | |
|---|---|---|
| 1769 | West (Kanban) Ōzeki (4-0-3) | West (Kanban) Ōzeki (0-1-7) |
| 1770 | West (Kanban) Ōzeki (3-0-5) | West Maegashira #1 (7-1) |
| 1771 | Sat out | West Komusubi #1 (5-0-1draw-2holds) |
| 1772 | West Komusubi #1 (6-0-2) | no tournament held |
| 1773 | West Maegashira #1 (5-1-1draw-1hold) | West Maegashira #1 (5-2-1hold) |
| 1774 | West Maegashira #1 (6-0-2) | West Komusubi (5-0-1-2draws) |
| 1775 | West Komusubi (4-0) | West Komusubi (5-1-1-2holds) |
| 1776 | West Maegashira #1 (unknown) | West Komusubi (7-0-1noresult) |
| 1777 | West Sekiwake (2-1-5) | West Komusubi (5-1-1draw-1hold) |
| 1778 | West Sekiwake (9-0-1) | Sat out |
| 1779 | West Sekiwake (9-0-1) | West Sekiwake (9-0-1draw) |
| 1780 | West Sekiwake (6-0) | West Sekiwake (8-0-2holds) |
| 1781 | West Ōzeki (9-0-1) | West Sekiwake (9-0-1) |
| 1782 | West Ōzeki (6-1-3) | West Ōzeki (7-0-1-1hold-1noresult) |
| 1783 | West Ōzeki (5-0-4-1noresult) | West Ōzeki (8-0-1-1draw) |
| 1784 | West Ōzeki (6-0-2-2holds) | West Ōzeki (3-0-7) |
| 1785 | no tournament held | no tournament held |
| 1786 | West Ōzeki (10-0) | West Ōzeki (3-1-6) |
| 1787 | tournament called off due to bad harvest | West Sekiwake (6-1-1-1draw-1hold) |
| 1788 | West Sekiwake (7-0-1-1draw-1hold) | West Sekiwake (7-0-1-1draw-1hold) |
| 1789 | West Sekiwake (7-1-1-1draw) | West Sekiwake (6-0-3-1draw) |
| 1790 | West Ōzeki (4-0-2-1draw-1hold-1noresult) | West Ōzeki (7-1-1-1draw) |
| 1791 | West Ōzeki (6-1-2-1noresult) | Sat out |
| 1792 | West Ōzeki (8-0-2) | West Ōzeki (3-0) |
| 1793 | West Ōzeki (7-0-2) | West Ōzeki (5-0-3-2draws) |
| 1794 | West Ōzeki (5-0-5) | West Ōzeki (4-0-6) |
| Green Box=Tournament Championship |
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| Yokozuna is not a successive rank, and more than one wrestler can share the title | ||