Azumafuji defeating Tochinishiki in the 1953 fall tournamentAzumafuji Kin'ichi with the Emperor's Cup (天皇賜杯, Tennō shihai) (Top Division Champion of Natsu Basho 1950)
His real name was Inoue Kin'ichi (井上 謹一). He made professional debut in January 1936, joining Takasago stable. He was promoted to the top makuuchi division in May 1943. On the sixth day of the November 1944 tournament, he defeated yokozunaFutabayama, the last wrestler ever to do so as Futabayama pulled out of the tournament the next day and only fought one more bout before his retirement. Azumafuji was promoted to ōzeki in June 1945 on the strength of two runner-up performances. He won his first top division championship in May 1948, and was promoted to the top yokozuna rank in October of that year after finishing as runner-up. Going against historical trends, he managed to win his debut yokozuna tournament, in January 1949.
On the 12th day of the September 1951 tournament, Azumafuji recorded an azukari, or hold, a rare result. On that day, he had come down with acute pneumonia but he forced himself to continue in the tournament as he had only one loss. Azumafuji fought with then ōzekiYoshibayama twice, but the outcome still could not be determined. After the second bout, Azumafuji could not stand up any more and conceded defeat, but the gentlemanly Yoshibayama insisted that the fairest result was to declare a hold, which was confirmed by the officials. Azumafuji went on to win the tournament, his fourth championship.
Azumafuji's handprint displayed on a monument in Ryōgoku, Tokyo
Azumafuji won his sixth and final championship in September 1953, and struggled with injuries after that. In September 1954, ōzekiTochinishiki seemed certain to win his second consecutive championship. Azumafuji suddenly announced his retirement at that tournament, not wishing to hinder Tochinshiki's promotion to yokozuna.[1] Had he remained, Tochinishiki would have become the fifth active yokozuna, an unprecedented situation. Tochinishiki reportedly asked Azumafuji to reconsider his decision, but to no avail.[1]
Professional wrestling careeredit
Azumafuji was the first yokozuna to turn to Western-style professional wrestling, in 1955. This occurred after a dispute in the Japan Sumo Association between two other elders, Takasago and Tatsunami, which he wished to escape.[1] In April 1955 he won the Hawaiian Tag Team title in Honolulu alongside another former sumo wrestler turned professional wrestler, Rikidōzan. In 1956 he defeated former judoka Toshio Yamaguchi to win the Japanese Heavyweight tournament.[2] This tournament was supposed to give him a shot at Rikidozan, at the time the Japanese Heavyweight Champion, but the match never took place.
Yokozuna is not a successive rank, and more than one wrestler can hold the title at once
January 01, 1970
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In this Japanese shikona name the surname is Azumafuji Azumafuji Kin ichi Japanese 東富士 欽壹 October 28 1921 July 31 1973 was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Taitō Tokyo He was the sport s 40th yokozuna and later a professional wrestler 東富士 欽壹 Azumafuji Kin ichiAzumafuji performing his yokozuna ring entering ceremony late 1948Personal informationBornInoue Kin ichi 1921 10 28 October 28 1921Tokyo JapanDiedJuly 31 1973 1973 07 31 aged 51 Height1 79 m 5 ft 10 1 2 in Weight178 kg 392 lb 28 0 st CareerStableTakasagoRecord335 137 54 1draws 1holdDebutJanuary 1936Highest rankYokozuna October 1948 RetiredSeptember 1954Elder nameNishikidoChampionships6 Makuuchi 1 Juryō 1 Makushita Up to date as of June 2020 Contents 1 Sumo career 2 Professional wrestling career 3 Championships and accomplishments 4 Sumo top division record 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksSumo career edit nbsp Azumafuji defeating Tochinishiki in the 1953 fall tournament nbsp Azumafuji Kin ichi with the Emperor s Cup 天皇賜杯 Tennō shihai Top Division Champion of Natsu Basho 1950 His real name was Inoue Kin ichi 井上 謹一 He made professional debut in January 1936 joining Takasago stable He was promoted to the top makuuchi division in May 1943 On the sixth day of the November 1944 tournament he defeated yokozuna Futabayama the last wrestler ever to do so as Futabayama pulled out of the tournament the next day and only fought one more bout before his retirement Azumafuji was promoted to ōzeki in June 1945 on the strength of two runner up performances He won his first top division championship in May 1948 and was promoted to the top yokozuna rank in October of that year after finishing as runner up Going against historical trends he managed to win his debut yokozuna tournament in January 1949 On the 12th day of the September 1951 tournament Azumafuji recorded an azukari or hold a rare result On that day he had come down with acute pneumonia but he forced himself to continue in the tournament as he had only one loss Azumafuji fought with then ōzeki Yoshibayama twice but the outcome still could not be determined After the second bout Azumafuji could not stand up any more and conceded defeat but the gentlemanly Yoshibayama insisted that the fairest result was to declare a hold which was confirmed by the officials Azumafuji went on to win the tournament his fourth championship nbsp Azumafuji s handprint displayed on a monument in Ryōgoku Tokyo Azumafuji won his sixth and final championship in September 1953 and struggled with injuries after that In September 1954 ōzeki Tochinishiki seemed certain to win his second consecutive championship Azumafuji suddenly announced his retirement at that tournament not wishing to hinder Tochinshiki s promotion to yokozuna 1 Had he remained Tochinishiki would have become the fifth active yokozuna an unprecedented situation Tochinishiki reportedly asked Azumafuji to reconsider his decision but to no avail 1 Professional wrestling career editAzumafuji was the first yokozuna to turn to Western style professional wrestling in 1955 This occurred after a dispute in the Japan Sumo Association between two other elders Takasago and Tatsunami which he wished to escape 1 In April 1955 he won the Hawaiian Tag Team title in Honolulu alongside another former sumo wrestler turned professional wrestler Rikidōzan In 1956 he defeated former judoka Toshio Yamaguchi to win the Japanese Heavyweight tournament 2 This tournament was supposed to give him a shot at Rikidozan at the time the Japanese Heavyweight Champion but the match never took place Championships and accomplishments editMid Pacific Promotions NWA Hawaii Tag Team Championship 1 time with RikidōzanSumo top division record editFrom 1953 a New Year tournament was added and the Spring tournament began to be held in Osaka Azumafuji 3 SpringHaru basho Tokyo SummerNatsu basho Tokyo AutumnAki basho Tokyo 1943 x East Maegashira 8 10 5 Not held 1944 West Maegashira 1 7 4 4 East Maegashira 2 6 4 West Sekiwake 9 1 1945 Not held East Sekiwake 1 6 1 East Ōzeki 1 9 1 1946 Not held Not held East Ōzeki 1 7 6 1947 Not held West Ōzeki 2 9 1 P West Ōzeki 1 6 5 1948 Not held West Ōzeki 2 10 1 West Ōzeki 1 10 1 P 1949 West Yokozuna 2 10 21d East Yokozuna 1 8 7 West Yokozuna 2 10 5 1950 West Yokozuna 1 6 6 3 West Yokozuna 1 14 1 East Yokozuna 1 11 4 1951 West Yokozuna 1 10 5 East Yokozuna 2 12 3 East Yokozuna 1 13 11h 1952 East Yokozuna 1 7 4 4 West Yokozuna 2 13 2 East Yokozuna 1 7 7 1 Record given as wins losses absencies Top division champion Top division runner up Retired Lower divisions Non participation Sanshō key F Fighting spirit O Outstanding performance T Technique Also shown Kinboshi P Playoff s Divisions Makuuchi Juryō Makushita Sandanme Jonidan Jonokuchi Makuuchi ranks Yokozuna Ōzeki Sekiwake Komusubi Maegashira New YearHatsu basho Tokyo SpringHaru basho Osaka SummerNatsu basho Tokyo AutumnAki basho Tokyo 1953 West Yokozuna 1 2 5 8 West Yokozuna 2 12 3 East Yokozuna 1 11 4 West Yokozuna 1 14 1 1954 East Yokozuna 1 3 7 5 West Yokozuna 2 5 3 7 East Yokozuna 2 Sat out due to injury0 0 15 East Yokozuna 2 Retired4 4 7 Record given as wins losses absencies Top division champion Top division runner up Retired Lower divisions Non participation Sanshō key F Fighting spirit O Outstanding performance T Technique Also shown Kinboshi P Playoff s Divisions Makuuchi Juryō Makushita Sandanme Jonidan Jonokuchi Makuuchi ranks Yokozuna Ōzeki Sekiwake Komusubi Maegashira d draw 引分 h hold 預り See also editGlossary of sumo terms List of past sumo wrestlers List of sumo tournament top division champions List of yokozunaReferences edit a b c Kuroda Joe October 2007 Tochinishiki Kiyotaka 1925 1990 the 44th Yokozuna Part 2 Sumo Fan Magazine Retrieved 2008 05 01 History of Puroresu The Rikidozan Era Azumafuji Kinichi Rikishi Information Sumo Reference Retrieved 2007 10 15 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Azumafuji Kin ichi Japan Sumo Association profile Article on Azumafuji Azumafuji Kin ichi s profile at Cagematch net nbsp Preceded byMaedayama Eigorō 40th Yokozuna1948 1954 Succeeded byChiyonoyama Masanobu Yokozuna is not a successive rank and more than one wrestler can hold the title at once Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Azumafuji Kin 27ichi amp oldid 1064275525, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
