| 若嶋津 六夫 Wakashimazu Mutsuo |
|
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Born | Mutsuo Hidaka January 12, 1957 Kagoshima, Japan |
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) |
| Weight | 122 kg (270 lb) |
| Career | |
| Heya | Futagoyama |
| Record | 515-330-21 |
| Debut | March, 1975 |
| Highest rank | Ozeki (January, 1983) |
| Retired | July, 1987 |
| Yūshō | 2 (Makuuchi) 1 (Jūryō) 1 (Jonokuchi) |
| Sanshō | Fighting Spirit (2) Technique (3) |
| Kinboshi | 2 |
| * Career information is correct as of July 2007. | |
Wakashimazu Mutsuo (born 12 January 1957 as Mutsuo Hidaka) is a former sumo wrestler from Nakatane, Kagoshima, Japan. His highest rank was ozeki. He won two top division yusho or tournament championships. He retired in 1987 and is now the head coach of Matsugane stable.
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Wakashimazu wrestled for Futagoyama stable, joining in March 1975. Unlike most professional sumo wrestlers, he did not join from junior high school but instead joined after completing high school. He was a high school sumo champion but needed some persuasion from his stablemaster that he would be able to put on enough weight to succeed in professional sumo.[1] He reached the salaried sekitori ranks in March 1980 upon promotion to the jūryō division and reached the top makuuchi division in January 1981. He scored 10 wins in his makuuchi debut. He moved quickly through the division, winning five special prizes, two for fighting spirit and three for technique. He reached sumo's second highest rank of ozeki in January 1983. He broke his leg in the following tournament in March of that year, but made a remarkably quick recovery, posting 13-2 in the next tournament in May 1983.[1]
Wakashimazu was popular with the crowds and his lean and swarthy appearance led to him being nicknamed the "Black Panther".[1] His best year was in 1984, when he won more bouts than any other wrestler. He took two top division tournament championships in March and July, the second with a perfect 15-0 record, but he could manage only third place in the September 1984 tournament and missed out on promotion to the highest rank of yokozuna. From November 1985 his results started to decline, and in an attempt to change his luck he switched from his trademark kelly green mawashi to a light blue one, but soon switched back when results did not improve.[1] He retired in July 1987 at the age of thirty, leaving the Futagoyama stable without anyone in the sanyaku ranks for the first time in over fifteen years.[1]
Wakashimazu's favourite kimarite or techniques were hidari-yotsu, a right hand outside and left hand inside grip on his opponent's mawashi, yori-kiri (force out), uwatenage (overarm throw) and tsuri-dashi (lift out).
After his retirement Wakashimazu set up his own training stable, Matsugane, early in 1990. The retirement of Harunoyama in November 2006 left the stable with no wrestlers in the top two divisions. He finally produced another sekitori in March 2010 when Matsutani was promoted to juryo.
He is married to pop/enka singer Mizue Takada.
In September 2010 he was demoted in the Sumo Association's hierarchy after he accepted lodgings in Osaka for the Haru tournament the previous March from a company president connected to gangsters.[2] In addition, two of his wrestlers, Matsutani and the sandanme ranked Wakarikido, were suspended for two tournaments for illegal betting on baseball.[2]
| year in sumo | January Hatsu basho, Tokyo |
March Haru basho, Osaka |
May Natsu basho, Tokyo |
July Nagoya basho, Nagoya |
September Aki basho, Tokyo |
November Kyūshū basho, Fukuoka |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | East Maegashira #12 10–5 F |
East Maegashira #4 4–11 |
West Maegashira #9 8–7 |
East Maegashira #8 8–7 |
East Maegashira #3 7–8 |
West Maegashira #4 8–7 ★ |
| 1982 | West Maegashira #2 12–3 T★ |
West Sekiwake 8–7 |
West Sekiwake 7–8 |
East Komusubi 10–5 |
East Sekiwake 12–3 TF |
East Sekiwake 12–3 T |
| 1983 | West Ōzeki 10–5 |
East Ōzeki 8–3–4 |
West Ōzeki 13–2 |
West Ōzeki 11–4 |
West Ōzeki 13–2 |
East Ōzeki 11–4 |
| 1984 | East Ōzeki 11–4 |
East Ōzeki 14–1 |
East Ōzeki 9–6 |
East Ōzeki 15–0 |
East Ōzeki 11–4 |
East Ōzeki 11–4 |
| 1985 | East Ōzeki 9–6 |
West Ōzeki 12–3 |
West Ōzeki 10–5 |
West Ōzeki 4–4–7 |
West Ōzeki 9–6 |
West Ōzeki 3–12 |
| 1986 | East Ōzeki 8–7 |
West Ōzeki 7–8 |
West Ōzeki 9–6 |
West Ōzeki 9–6 |
West Ōzeki 8–7 |
West Ōzeki 8–7 |
| 1987 | East Ōzeki 5–10 |
East Ōzeki 8–7 |
West Ōzeki 4–9–2 |
West Ōzeki Retired 0–3–0 |
x | x |
| Record given as win-loss-absent Top Division Champion Retired Lower Divisions Sanshō key: F=Fighting spirit; O=Outstanding performance; T=Technique Also shown: ★=Kinboshi(s) P=Playoff(s) |
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