Asashio Tarō III

Asashio Tarō III
朝潮 太郎
Personal information
Born Fumitoshi Yonekawa
November 13, 1929
Hyōgo, Japan
Died October 23, 1988 (aged 58)
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight 135 kg (298 lb)
Career
Stable Takasago
Record 497-269-101
Debut October, 1948
Highest rank Yokozuna (March, 1959)
Retired January, 1962
Championships 5 (Makuuchi)
1 (Jūryō)
Special Prizes Outstanding Performance (4)
Gold Stars 7 (Haguroyama (1), Chiyonoyama (3), Yoshibayama (1), Tochinishiki (1), Kagamisato (1))
* Up to date as of Sep. 2012.

Asashio Tarō III (朝潮 太郎, November 13, 1929 October 23, 1988) was a sumo wrestler from Kobe, Hyogo, Japan (born on Tokushima in the Amami Islands). He was the sport's 46th yokozuna. He was also a sumo coach and head of Takasago stable.

Career

Making his professional debut in October 1948, he at first fought under his own surname of Yonekawa. In September 1950 he reached the second highest jūryō division and won the championship at his first attempt with a 14-1 record. This earned him immediate promotion to the top makuuchi division in January 1951. He adopted the shikona of Asashio ("morning tide") in 1952. In his early career he earned seven kinboshi for defeating yokozuna, three of them coming in one tournament in January 1955 when he beat Yoshibayama on Day 5 and then Chiyonoyama and Tochinishiki on Days 8 and 9.[1]

Asashio won five top division tournament championships, all but one of them in Osaka.[2] He won this tournament three years in a row from 1956 to 1958. His first title was won at sekiwake rank in a three way playoff that also involved future yokozuna Wakanohana Kanji I and maegashira Wakahaguro.[2] He earned promotion to ōzeki a year later after winning his second championship. In November 1958 he won the tournament in Kyūshū with a 14-1 record. After runner-up honours in the next two tournaments he was finally promoted to yokozuna at nearly 30 years of age. His time at sumo's highest rank was difficult as he missed many bouts through injury. He had to sit out the three tournaments following his yokozuna debut and was only able to win one further tournament, in March 1961. He did not take part in the January 1962 tourney and announced his retirement at the age of 32.

Retirement from sumo

Asashio remained in the sumo world as an elder under the name of Furiwake, and became head coach of Takasago stable in 1971 after the death of the previous stablemaster, former yokozuna Maedayama. As Takasago Oyakata he coached Asashio Tarō IV and Konishiki to the rank of ōzeki. He predicted that Konishiki would reach the rank of yokozuna before his 25th birthday, but it did not happen.[3] He also recruited the Samoan wrestler Nankairyu but after a heated argument with Takasago, Nankairyu ran away from the stable in September 1988.[4] Takasago died of a stroke a few weeks later.

Pre-modern top division record

Asashio Tarō[5]
- Spring
Haru basho, Tokyo
Summer
Natsu basho, Tokyo
Autumn
Aki basho, Tokyo
1951 West Maegashira #20
87
 
East Maegashira #19
78
 
East Maegashira #20
105
 
1952 East Maegashira #13
105
 
East Maegashira #7
87
 
West Maegashira #2
105
O
- New Year
Hatsu basho, Tokyo
Spring
Haru basho, Osaka
Summer
Natsu basho, Tokyo
Autumn
Aki basho, Tokyo
1953 East Sekiwake #1
114
O
East Sekiwake #1
105
 
West Sekiwake #1
87
 
East Sekiwake #1
78
 
1954 West Komusubi #2
87
 
East Komusubi #1
87
 
West Komusubi #1
87
 
East Komusubi #1
69
 
1955 East Maegashira #1
87
O
East Maegashira #1
105
East Komusubi #1
87
 
West Komusubi #1
96
 
1956 West Sekiwake #1
96
 
East Sekiwake #1
123P
O
East Sekiwake #1
87
 
East Sekiwake #1
87
 
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)
Divisions: Makuuchi Jūryō Makushita Sandanme Jonidan Jonokuchi

Makuuchi ranks: Yokozuna Ōzeki Sekiwake Komusubi Maegashira

Modern top division record

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
1957 East Sekiwake #1
87
 
West Sekiwake #1
132
 
West Ōzeki #1
96
 
Not held West Ōzeki #1
114
 
West Ōzeki #1
105
 
1958 West Ōzeki #1
105
 
East Ōzeki #1
132P
 
East Ōzeki #1
546
 
West Ōzeki #1
105
 
West Ōzeki #1
114
 
West Ōzeki #1
141
 
1959 East Ōzeki #1
114
 
East Ōzeki #1
132
 
West Yokozuna #1
105
 
East Yokozuna #2
Sat out due to injury
0015
East Yokozuna #2
Sat out due to injury
0015
East Yokozuna #2
Sat out due to injury
0015
1960 East Yokozuna #2
114
 
West Yokozuna #1
465
 
East Yokozuna #2
105
 
West Yokozuna
96
 
West Yokozuna
114
 
East Yokozuna
114
 
1961 East Yokozuna #1
96
 
West Yokozuna #1
132
 
East Yokozuna #1
0411
 
West Yokozuna #1
123
 
East Yokozuna #1
0411
 
West Yokozuna #2
258
 
1962 West Yokozuna #2
Retired
00
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)
Divisions: Makuuchi Jūryō Makushita Sandanme Jonidan Jonokuchi

Makuuchi ranks: Yokozuna Ōzeki Sekiwake Komusubi Maegashira

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Asashio Tarō III.

References

  1. Asashio's January 1955 tournament record from Sumo Reference
  2. 2.0 2.1 "The Yokozuna: A Retrospective". Japan Sumo Association. Retrieved 2008-05-02.
  3. Patmore, Angela (1990). The Giants of Sumo. MacDonald & Co. ISBN 0-356-18120-0.
  4. Sharnoff, Lora (1993). Grand Sumo. Weatherhill. ISBN 0-8348-0283-X.
  5. "Asashio Taro Rikishi Information". Sumo Reference. Retrieved 2007-07-26.

External links

Previous:
Wakanohana Kanji I
46th Yokozuna
1959 - 1962
Next:
Kashiwado Tsuyoshi
Yokozuna is not a successive rank, and more than one wrestler can share the title