Rikishi of the past

[Akinomaki 40,161]

Ishiura was the first new juryo from Tottori prefecture after 53 year and is the first sekitori from Tottori city after Inshuzan who retired Aki 1947, then in November, though his shusshin was not part of Tottori-city then. He retired after just 3 basho in makuuchi to start a gravel transport business.
http://www.asahi.com/articles/ASH974Q4VH97PUUB00H.html

[Akinomaki 40,161]

I have changed this post so much that I rather re-post it here

Interestingly a case just like asked happened in old times and the descendants of that rikishi have made a book now about their ancestor. The database doesn't cover the story.
In 1779 Washigatani 鷲ケ谷 (not in the database) made his sumo debut as an Edo-kakae (employed by a feudal lord etc.) rikishi, was there for 2 years=4 basho and retired.
Then he became a rikishi employed by the Morioka domain and started anew as Yukinoura Matsunosuke. The book is written by 3 present Yukinoura (the authors' names, I guess father and 2 sons) the paper speaks about 3 generations of Yukinoura as Morioka rikishi, maybe they mixed that up with the authors, no others are in the database. The one in question is named as the 1st Yukinoura, he must have been allowed to take on that name as a family name.
The info about Morioka domain rikishi: http://www2.pref.iwate.jp/~hp0910/tayori/110p4.pdf
though names another Yukinoura Matsunosuke (1792-1855) from Morioka-city, Nishonoseki-beya, who made it to sandanme, what now corresponds to (lower) makushita (so the old saying means this 3rd division - the then nidanme is also said to correspond to makushita) - and his kesho-mawashi (at that time also for makushita!) is shown.
Yukinoura I made it to maegashira 4 (Sumo Reference has him only as juryo) and was active till age 39. Said to be born in what is now Kitakami-city, Iwate, but not mentioned when or at what age he started in Edo or what year he finally retired, he died in 1820.
http://www.iwate-np.co.jp/cgi-bin/topnews.cgi?20160329_10
the eldest author - they even found an ukiyo-e of their ancestor


Surely there are more such cases - but likely all in the Edo period.
I'd put the book on my list of those to look for when they're sold for 10% of the original price, 2nd hand, but it's not on sale, they made only 100 copies, for libraries apparently: http://iss.ndl.go.jp/books/R100000002-I027143141-00

What I also found among the Morioka domain rikishi was a 17th century ozeki (Sumo Reference doesn't cover that time): Yamanoue 山の上三太夫, who was executed because he roused the anger of the daimyo.
might need a proxy to load, at the bottom: http://morioka-kankou.com/morioka-kankou/history2d.html

On the ozeki list of wikipedia https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A4%A7%E9%96%A2%E4%B8%80%E8%A6%A7

appear from the really old (before 1757=when real banzuke were first published) ozeki only

the first Tanikaze https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%B0%B7%E9%A2%A8%E6%A2%B6%E4%B9%8B%E5%8A%A9_%28%E5%88%9D%E4%BB%A3%29

and the first Ryogoku https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B8%A1%E5%9C%8B%E6%A2%B6%E4%B9%8B%E5%8A%A9_%28%E5%88%9D%E4%BB%A3%29

Also not on this list (starts with the real banzuke) http://www6.plala.or.jp/ma214/oozeki/

Edited April 1, 2016 by Akinomaki

[Akinomaki 40,161]

A new article about a researcher on 1st yokozuna Akashi, who thinks he has proof that Akashi actually existed and wasn't just a mythical figure:
In an "observation diary" about feudal retainers of the Edo period, Akashi was mentioned as having done sumo in front of a feudal lord in 1661.
It is said that he was given the title of hinoshita-kaizan 日下開山 (yokozuna equivalent) in 1624, but from things like a verse by Takarai Kikaku, a deshi of the famous poet Matsuo Basho, his kanreki intai-zumo having been in 1699, the researcher deducts that Akashi was made "yokozuna" not in the Kanei era (1624-44), but the Kanbun era (1661-73).

http://www.sankei.com/sports/news/160401/spo1604010001-n1.html
(His book is already from 2012 though)

At the stone statue of Akashi at the Gamou shrine next to the Hachimanyama park in Utsunomiya, which was erected in Apr. 2007, next to the Akashi stone monument from Jinmaku, moved there after the war

2007 http://www.yatabesekizai.com/sekizai/news/page.php?id=58


Sumo reference as rikishi from before the start of the regular banzuke in 1757 lists only the 3 first yokozuna, and from among the yokozuna before the appearance of the rank of yokozuna on the banzuke in 1890, only those 3 are shown as yokozuna in a search result: http://sumodb.sumogames.de/Rikishi.aspx?shikona=Akashi
the others only as ozeki, like on the banzuke.

Starting soon after the statue, for the 9th year now the kids hounou tournament at that shrine takes place, always for the hanami season - with Kasugano-beya rikishi as guests: the heya was founded by Tochigiyama, after the first 2 as 27th the 3rd and so far last yokozuna of the prefecture, who also donated the grand torii to the shrine.

A tournament honouring the first Yokozuna, Akashi Shiganosuke, was held at a shrine in Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture yesterday. The legendary Yokozuna was supposedly born in Utsunomiya and the tournament is held as a way of introducing local children to the history and culture of their city. It is the fifth time the tournament has been held.

some more finds from the forum about Akashi:

"日下開山" is another label used to designate a yokozuna and as Doitsuyama alluded it means the best. The phrase was said to describe Akashi, a legendary and mythical figure designated as the first yokozuna by Jinmaku based on a written description of him using this phrase.

It is furthermore hardly in question that the first to third yokozuna very much COULD have been posthumous, since they became part of the official yokozuna list much later, when the 12th Yokozuna Jinmaku as retired researched the list not entirely without political motives (the exact history eludes me right now), which thereafter was officially recognized and put in stone.

his height is also given as 218 or 234 etc. on different Japanese sites

Akashi was 242cm tall according to some legends but he most likely was a mystic character who lived in tales and cartoons only.

One of the great grand champions was Akashi (1600) who was reported to be over eight-foot and weighed 407-pound. Akashi is known to be the first Yokozuna. A title that is reserved for the champion in modern sumo. The title was derived by accident. When the emperor called Akashi before him, the giant wrestler supposed to have pulled the yokozuna (i.e. thick rope) from the Torri to wrap his semi-nude body. The emperor was so impressed by his action of expressing embarrassment; he awarded him the first title of Yokozuna.

Edited April 3, 2016 by Akinomaki

[Akinomaki 40,161]

Another ancient pre-database ozeki: Akitsushima 秋津島 (1697-1743) - a post war jonidan used the shikona. It is actually an ancient name of Honshu and also for the whole of Japan.

Akitsushima was called the "best in the land". Born in what is now in Chikugo-city (Fukuoka) the Tsushima district  - named after him, but his village headman family Murakami apparently was in charge of an old Tsushima region there since even more ancient times, so it's like his family name. He went to Edo at age 19 and appeared on the dohyo of the then kanjin-zumou tournaments. Later he was maegashira in Kyoto-zumou, in 1730 komusubi in Osaka-zumou and when he retired in 1742 was listed on a (local) banzuke as ozeki. http://www.nishinippon.co.jp/nnp/f_chikugo/article/272803

100 years after his death local sumo tournaments were held in his hometown. With donations from the spectators a memorial tower was later erected next to his grave by Fukuoka rikishi Ageha. Famous rikishi like Wakanohana I, Taiho and Kashiwado came there for a visit at the time of the Kyushu basho.

Now each year an "Akitsushima festival" kids sumo tournament takes place at the day of the autumn equinox. http://www.murakami-8.com/news/2015/20150923/index.htm

Apparently no pics of him exist, just roughly his size, 187cm, 142.5kg - an exhibition in the local museum till Oct. 30th

http://www.city.chikugo.lg.jp/kankou/_1070/_6135/_1072.html

http://kusennjyu.exblog.jp/10420146/

http://www5b.biglobe.ne.jp/~ms-koga/173akitsushima.html

http://efukuoka.net/?post_type=fudo&p=4071

Edited September 7, 2016 by Akinomaki

[Akinomaki 40,161]

Goeido this year was the first from the Osaka area after 86 years to win the yusho. The one from the past looks interesting: he left university to enter sumo (in 1917!) and in 1932 left the then Dai-NSK to join the Shunjuen rebels - Yamanishiki  https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/山錦善治郎

http://www.sankei.com/west/news/161226/wst1612260040-n1.html

What really strikes me as odd are his banzuke movements - I wonder what kind of promotion rules they had at the time. 11 bouts, so 6-5 should be kachi-koshi. He gets promoted to sekiwake from m1 with that and next demoted from sekiwake to m1 again with the same result. But the most stunning: he stays at the same m5e rank after his 11-0 yusho:  apparently they didn't have a banzuke conference after each basho.

Edited June 26, 2019 by Akinomaki

[Rocks 1,807]

Yeah, that was when Dewanoumi pretty much made up the entire east side. I wonder if the bansuke was left up to the heya and there was some sort of pecking order that took precedent over record. It's especially weird seeming him stay at M5 after a yusho given the 4 M ahead of him were MK.

[Asashosakari 19,038]

35 minutes ago, Akinomaki said:

What really strikes me as odd are his banzuke movements - I wonder what kind of promotion rules they had at the time. 11 bouts, so 6-5 should be kachi-koshi. He gets promoted to sekiwake from m1 with that and next demoted from sekiwake to m1 again with the same result. But the most stunning: he stays at the same m5e rank after his 11-0 yusho:  apparently they didn't have a banzuke conference after each basho.

 

In any case, yes, they still did the "winning side of the basho gets to be ranked on the East in the next basho" thing at the time. In addition, in the first couple of years after the 1927 Tokyo-Osaka merger they tried to maintain two distinct banzuke, for Tokyo and for non-Tokyo basho. So there's one banzuke progression that should be read 1927.01 -> 1927.05 -> 1928.01 -> 1928.05, and a separate one (with the same starting ranks) for 1927.03 -> 1927.10 -> 1928.03.

At that point they scrapped that idea, and went to a slightly less stupid alternative method, where each banzuke applied identically to the next two basho - and consequently each banzuke-making session needed to take into account the combined results from two tournaments. That lasted until 1932.

[Akinomaki 40,161]

Yesterday a ceremony was held in Toumi-city, Nagano, the birthplace of Raiden (winning percentage 96.2%), to commemorate his birth 250 years ago. A congratulatory telegram from Hakkaku-rijicho was read and the curator of the sumo museum gave a lecture. A descendant of Raiden in the 8th generation: "We'd like to have our Nagano local Mitakeumi surpass (ozeki) Raiden and get to yokozuna." http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20170227/k10010891221000.html

from NHK news: http:// https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4q9yoqhbbRk

[Akinomaki 40,161]

On 2/27/2017 at 19:49, Akinomaki said:

Yesterday a ceremony was held in Toumi-city, Nagano, the birthplace of Raiden (winning percentage 96.2%), to commemorate his birth 250 years ago.

A descendant of Raiden in the 8th generation: "We'd like to have our Nagano local Mitakeumi surpass (ozeki) Raiden and get to yokozuna."

An exhibition has started there on the 29th: Superstar Raiden and a look at the Edo period through ukiyo-e

many pics: http://tomikan.jp/raiden250/exhibition/

news page with video: http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20170731-00309973-sbcv-l20

also his swords are on display, as a Matsue domain employed rikishi - a samurai

His family also has a site: http://oozekiraiden.com/oshirase/oshirase.html

http://www.shinmai.co.jp/news/nagano/20170730/KT170729SJI090007000.php

Edited August 4, 2017 by Akinomaki

[Akinomaki 40,161]

An Ishiura of the past, Tamanoura, senior deshi of Taiho. Said to have shown outstanding fighting spirit and a variety of techniques with for his 173cm and 80kg exceptional strength.

The makushita yusho ketteisen Natsu 1958 saw a tournament of 6, Naya (Taiho) lost in the first round, but he went on to the tomoesen and won 2 in a row to get the yusho. The given 1st round kimarite differs from sumo reference: http://sumodb.sumogames.de/Results.aspx?b=195805&d=16: oshitaoshi instead of sukuinage.

His father was a big sumo fan and a "yokozuna" in the local beach sumo. He himself was very athletic, running 100m in 11sec and especially a strong swimmer. His 1st older sister (94): "He was stronger in sumo than dad." After the war he worked at the harbour for a cold storage warehouse company and was an athlete in corporate sumo. At the 1953 kokutai he finished 3rd, same with the team. Later that year at age 24 he entered Nishonoseki-beya.

His year of birth differs from sumo reference: 1929, not 1932 - apparently the rules for new recruits were quite different then. His record is given as 192wins-128losses and 2 itamiwake - database: 189-128-8-2d - the 3 wins more are likely maezumo, the 8 absent are likely also counted as out of kyokai.

His specialities were dashinage, leg and hineri techniques - and amiuchi: 4 times he won with that in juryo. But he was too light to make it to makuuchi - unlike Taiho and Kashiwado (he was 3-2 against him in makushita). The others found him out and he dropped to makushita. He tried to get back, but injury prevented him from doing the keiko he needed to sustain his "body of steal", as junior deshi Tamamuroto (Nishonseki-beya missing from the entry) calls it: "He was like a Tosa fighting cock, you have to say that kenka(brawl)-sumo is what he did." In 1958 Nishonoseki-beya had nearly 150 deshi and was famous for its rough and wild keiko (Nishonoarageiko). Taiho entered when Tamanoura was in makushita and he gave him much training.

After intai he was coach at Kinki university. He died in 2016, shortly after his 2nd older sister - his death was nowhere listed on the net, wikipedia has just the other day added the year (by someone who read the article): https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/玉乃浦友喜

http://www.kochinews.co.jp/article/114711/

Edited August 4, 2017 by Akinomaki

[Akinomaki 40,161]

On 8/4/2017 at 15:10, Akinomaki said:

On 2/27/2017 at 19:49, Akinomaki said:

a ceremony was held in Toumi-city, Nagano, the birthplace of Raiden (winning percentage 96.2%), to commemorate his birth 250 years ago.

An exhibition has started there on the 29th: Superstar Raiden and a look at the Edo period through ukiyo-e

also his swords are on display, as a Matsue domain employed rikishi - a samurai

Furiwake and Azumazeki-beya rikishi visited the exhibition on the 4th

o o

Raiden's samurai swords

a kesho mawashi of Raiden

goods on sale with his tegata (a 23.5cm handprint) http://www.asahi.com/articles/ASK704VP4K70UOOB00J.html

  o

Edited August 17, 2017 by Akinomaki

[Akinomaki 40,161]

Looks like a familiar face

but it is the later ozeki Kitabayama after his first basho on the banzuke - starting in jonidan, with an 8-0 yusho(9.1954). http://www.bbm-japan.com/_ct/17174484

At that time, maezumo was not like now: till March 1958, the records from being shinjo were on the hoshitori-hyo of the basho, and then till Nov. 1960, an entry of "jonokuchi/shinjo". I started to look it up in the NSK Ozumo Daijiten, but each article points to 2 or more unknown new terms, so I rather searched the forum. Luckily, Jonosuke had explained it

On 1/20/2007 at 06:36, Jonosuke said:

Separately about Mae-zumo. There used to be something called "Honchu" one time. It was between Mae-zumo and Jonokuchi.

Initially if a new recruit won his bout, he would have remained on the dohyo to face another Mae-zumo rikishi. In Mae-zumo there was no shikiri so it was also called "Tobikomi" (literally Flying In). If he won two straight in Mae-zumo, he would have gone to Honchu where he would get to do a shikiri.

In Honchu, if he won two straight, he was given one "win". If he won three "wins" then he would get to face a Jonokuchi rikishi in the last three days. If he got a kachikoshi then he would have skipped Jonokuchi and was then given a Jonidan ranking in the next basho.

However in this system "Shin-Jo" meant a Mae-zumo rikishi to be in Honchu so there were rikishis who took months to make a banzuke debut (or some who never got on banzuke and left Ozumo).

This system was abolished entirely in the 1973 Haru basho so I imagine soon after that time, all rikishis who particiapted in Mae-zumo got to be placed in the next basho's banzuke.

Currently if a Mae-zumo rikishi is a returnee, he would not be presented at the introductory ceremony but not so long ago they were introduced as well. I recall the cureent Tatsunami oyakata (former Asahiyutaka) was presented three times and made it to all the way to komusubi, which must be some kind of record.

Honchu was still banzuke-gai. In Edo times it was even worse: after mazumo, aichu and then honchu. Tobitsuki / no shikiri was used till Haru 1944, and then a multitude of changes back and forth - adapted to the changing number of new recruits.

Kitabayama 6 years later (3.1960) at his first sansho win, on the right Kitanonada and Kashiwado

Edited June 9, 2018 by Akinomaki

[Asashosakari 19,038]

5 hours ago, Akinomaki said:

Tobitsuki / no shikiri was used till Haru 1944, and then a multitude of changes back and forth - adapted to the changing number of new recruits.

Many thanks for that additional information. I've gone back to that Jonosuke comment a few times over the years and it was clear that his description couldn't possibly apply to the whole period that shinjo (= rookies facing jonokuchi opponents) was in use. Particularly the part that a rikishi in shinjo could still be stuck off-banzuke for a while afterwards appears to be wrong - with the DB having records available back to 1934 it has become clear that (at least since then) participating as shinjo always - okay, almost always - led to getting a banzuke ranking in the next basho, no matter the record. It also doesn't appear to have been confined to the last three days of the basho, but rather to three matches (with some exceptions).

 

[Akinomaki 40,161]

An exhibition corner about Tottori domain rikishi from the Edo period reopened, after a Corona break - local NHK:

vid

http://www.pref.tottori.lg.jp/265111.htm

nishiki-e on display:

The 2nd of 2 Kakehashi Hatsugoro 桟シ初五郎 from Tottori-han, from Magari village in Kume district (that later became Tohaku district), who as toshiyori was the 4th Sadogatake and raised yokozuna. This one in the DB ? looks a bit late for the Kansei era 1789-1801, in which the 3 shown rikishi were esp. successful.

o

The first of 8 Manazuru Masakichi 真鶴政吉 from Tottori-han (3 in the db), from Nibu village in Hino district, sekiwake and as toshiyori the 3rd Asahiyama, active mainly in Osaka sumo
o

The 1st of 4 Araiwa Kamenosuke from Tottori-han (nishiki-e on the left) from Azumi village in Aimi district

1 other nishiki-e is of Iouzan Moriemon 猪王山森右衛門, traded to Tottori from the Sendai-han. A banzuke with him as sekiwake is on display.

Tegata from 227cm tall Ikutsuki Geitazaemon (not from Tottori-han)

o

Other from Tottori:

2 Shinriki Tetsuzo 真力鉄蔵.

In the Meiji era, Katsuyama Yoshizo was from Tottori, he became the 1st Oguruma Bungoro as toshiyori.

http://tottori-ikiiki.jp/activity/492/

The Tottori-han symbols of square and ring on the kesho mawashi are presently used in the design on insignia from Tottori-city and in the crest of Tottori university.

Edited May 31, 2020 by Akinomaki

[Akinomaki 40,161]

Asanoyama's local paper tells the tragic story of another rikishi from Toyama-city who was hyped as future yokozuna, but drowned 105 years ago while swimming in a river at a jungyo location, on Aug. 10th 1915: Ebisunada

Born 1883 in what is now part of Toyama-city, 邑崎 直次郎 Naojiro Murasaki came to Tokyo at age 25 and worked for a company related to Ebisu beer. Height 185cm, a company director recommended him to join ozumo. He refused at first, but after the enthusiastic call by yokozuna Hitachiyama and others from the sumo world, at age 27 in 1911 he entered Dewanoumi-beya, with a shikona related to his former employment. He made it from jonokuchi to juryo in 8 basho (2 a year at the time) and had 2 basho in juryo, j9 as highest rank. The local paper at the time in the article about the accident wrote "Should have been in makuuchi next basho" http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20200811-00000004-kitanihon-l16

in kesho-mawashi with his shikona 恵比寿洋 from right to left

1 or 2 years after the drowning accident, the locals erected a stone monument for him.

Edited August 12, 2020 by Akinomaki

[Akinomaki 40,161]

Another rikishi who died at a jungyo (most bad things seem to happen there), of cerebral hemorrhage 106 years ago, is ozeki Komagatake - the story is told like this:

On 25/01/2016 at 03:47, Johnofuji said:

Komagatake drank to much doburoku (unrefined sake) and died from complications after it fermented in his tummy in the sun. By the way how much is 6 bushels of sake?

Komagatake's dignified style brought him the support of sumo connoisseurs (好角家), it is said that had he made it to yokozuna, he would have taken the shikona Tanikaze. Yokozuna Hitachiyama saw in him the next hope and gave him much training.

Since sandanme, he and the later yokozuna Tachiyama were worthy rivals, the 2 competing for higher was the top excitement in sumo those days. But at age 30, the last day of the May basho 1911 he lost to Tachiyama in the bout of the unbeaten so far. This was his last chance for the yusho and a challenge for yokozuna, after that the amount of sake he drank increased even more - and he always had been a heavy drinker, his results slumped.

3 years after his sudden death, deshi and others erected a memorial stone monument for him. The monument a long time was falsely shown on the internet as one for Tanikaze, end of 2018 a local found out, in June 2019 he and others managed to have that properly revised. http://www.kahoku.co.jp/special/spe1213/20200608_01.html

Komagatake as new makuuchi

the monument in Sendai-city

[Johnofuji 232]

Thanks for that interesting tidbit Akinomaki san. We can always rely on you to give us the most interesting pearls of information that can't be found anywhere else. It's sad when you think about how much Japanese history has been lost from wars, earthquakes , fires or simply from spring cleaning which as to be done because the houses are too small . 

More sumo statues.

[Akinomaki 40,161]

On 30/11/2020 at 13:13, Akinomaki said:

the "From Teshikaga cheering for Otake-beya's Naya Konosuke"- club was formed (his brothers started later, they'll surely get cheered for as well). Local sumo nishiki-e artist Kinoshita Daimon made the design (he's the one who does the picture banzuke http://www.daimon-e.sakura.ne.jp/daimon-goods-ebanzuke-large.html)

Kinoshita Daimon wiki/木下大門 created a nishiki-e of a rikishi from the past, Musashino Monta (1809/10-61)  - dates differ by one year, could be because of the old Japanese way of counting - from Kamikawa, Saitama, joined sumo 1832/3, 3 years later became a rikishi employed by the Sakai clan of the Himeji domain. A Mainoumi of the past, about 160cm tall and he used a wide variety of techniques.

While only reaching m4, he was very popular, even having nishiki-e made by Utagawa Kunisada. https://www.loc.gov/item/2008660066/

 

Kinoshita donated his to the town

o

 

Musahino was born and died in Kobama in Kamikawa town, Kinoshita on the 19th was at the stone monument for Nomi-no-Sukune at the Kobama shrine. Musahino wanted to erect this, but it was his son who finally did it, with help from all sides, the names of those who collaborated are on the back of the monument.

o o

Edited November 3, 2022 by Akinomaki

[Akinomaki 40,161]

On 29/10/2022 at 12:21, Akinomaki said:

Kinoshita Daimon wiki/木下大門 created a nishiki-e of a rikishi from the past, Musashino Monta (1809/10-61)  - dates differ by one year, could be because of the old Japanese way of counting - from Kamikawa, Saitama, joined sumo 1832/3, 3 years later became a rikishi employed by the Sakai clan of the Himeji domain.

A local article gives more and probably more correct information: Musashino started in 1833 with the shikona Kandagawa 神田川, 2 years later changed to Musashino, from there on 3 years later, in 1838 he was employed by the Sakai clan of the Himeji domain. Utagawa Kunisada made several nishiki-e of him. He retired in 1852 and took over the toshiyori name Otake - connection to Kinoshita: present Otake-beya was Taiho-beya and Taiho was (later on) from Teshikaga like Kinoshita.

o o o o o o 

[Akinomaki 40,161]

On 03/04/2016 at 16:28, Akinomaki said:

a researcher on 1st yokozuna Akashi, who thinks he has proof that Akashi actually existed and wasn't just a mythical figure:
In an "observation diary" about feudal retainers of the Edo period, Akashi was mentioned as having done sumo in front of a feudal lord in 1661.
It is said that he was given the title of hinoshita-kaizan 日下開山 (yokozuna equivalent) in 1624, but from things like a verse by Takarai Kikaku, a deshi of the famous poet Matsuo Basho, his kanreki intai-zumo having been in 1699, the researcher deducts that Akashi was made "yokozuna" not in the Kanei era (1624-44), but the Kanbun era (1661-73).

At the stone statue of Akashi at the Gamou shrine next to the Hachimanyama park in Utsunomiya, which was erected in Apr. 2007, next to the Akashi stone monument from Jinmaku, moved there after the war

On 23/10/2022 at 20:01, Akinomaki said:

On 01/10/2018 at 18:04, Akinomaki said:

A new statue of 1st yokozuna Akashi for JR Utsunomiya station was completed in China recently. The local Lions club will present it to the city, as a symbol for the station of the Light Rail Transit line that is under construction. The mythical yokozuna in "original" size: 221cm tall.

The new statue of 1st yokozuna Akashi was unveiled yesterday at JR Utsunomiya station

o

A new article on Akashi researcher Nakamura, here with a tegata of the yokozuna

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Akashi in the back in the middle on this nishiki-e by Utamaru Toyokuni III (Kunisada). The sizes listed on these pictures may differ and apparently are meant as a measure of strength, the same is true for other rikishi, so the exaggerated size of up to 2.5m of Akashi is no proof for his non-existence

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The 江戸勧進角力旧跡 monument erected in 1917 by the Tokyo ozumo kyokai (NSK predecessor) at the Chozenji in Shinjuku to commemorate the start of Edo kanjin-zumo tournaments with Akashi in Yotsuya Shiocho. The apparently wrong date on it is the main reason for doubts about Akashi's real existence, because his intai-zumo was given as 75 years later at the Zenshoji in Edogawa.

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[Akinomaki 40,161]

Not that distant past: the previous Shibatayama myoseki owner Miyanishiki - special interest for me, because he's from Miyako, Iwate

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With the Wikipedia article ja.wiki/宮錦浩, taken from BBM's Takasago-beya history -  read aloud: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQz_cJoY_IE

some slightly inexact facts in the DB can be spotted.

The DB has him only as Takasago-beya, but in fact he was Shibatayama->Takadagawa->Takasago

Hatsu dohyo in 1942 in Shibatayama-beya of Miyagiyama

When the shisho died in Nov. 1943, he moved to Takadagawa with Hayasegawa, who died in Feb. 1944, so he was in Takasago starting at the May basho 1944, Hatsu basho in Takadagawa and the previous 3 basho in Shibatayama-beya.

Miyanishiki was the first Showa born oyakata to reach retirement age, but he died within a week after leaving the NSK.

He gave his myoseki to Onokuni when he left, so in the Shibatayama history not Miyanishiki but Onokuni should be listed as the owner when Wakajishi borrowed it.

http://sumodb.sumogames.de/Kabu.aspx?kabu=77

In Miyako a recent exhibition of sumo there in old times has started, in which he's one highlight - I guess as komusubi the highest ranked ever from the city.

vid

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Edited December 7, 2024 by Akinomaki

[Akinomaki 40,161]

Rikishi in kesho mawashi on a photo from the PHELPS COLLECTION, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY ARCHIVES

http://natgeo.nikkeibp.co.jp/atcl/web/19/121600053/121700001/

No names recorded, the 2nd from the left is apparently Arauma Daigoro  荒馬大五郎 - he wears a kesho mawashi with the symbols of the Kuwana-han - later Shikainami, in Miyagino-beya - starting as Isenohama

[Kaitetsu 278]

5 hours ago, Akinomaki said:

Rikishi in kesho mawashi on a photo from the PHELPS COLLECTION, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY ARCHIVES

http://natgeo.nikkeibp.co.jp/atcl/web/19/121600053/121700001/

No names recorded, the 2nd from the left is apparently Arauma Daigoro  荒馬大五郎 - he wears a kesho mawashi with the symbols of the Kuwana-han - later Shikainami, in Miyagino-beya - starting as Isenohama

I think the kanji on the leftmost rikishi reads 大淀 (Oyodo). 
So it could be the 1871 Hatsu Oyodo, as he and then Arauma Shared some banzuke, with Oyodo in Juryo and Arauma in Makuuchi:

 

Edited Saturday at 17:40 by Kaitetsu

[Akinomaki 40,161]

2 hours ago, Kaitetsu said:

I think the kanji on the leftmost rikishi  reads 大淀 (Oyodo). 
So it could be one of these rikishi depending on what date the photo was taken:

Can only be this one http://sumodb.sumogames.de/Rikishi.aspx?r=4603

the article tells about Nov. 1871 for the date, with Arauma as maegashira