In this Japanese shikona name, the surname is Wakashima.
Wakashima Gonshirō (Japanese: 若島 権四郎, January 19, 1876 – October 23, 1943) was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture. He was the sport's 21st yokozuna and the first official yokozuna from the Osaka Sumo Association.[1]
Wakashima Gonshirō
若島 権四郎
Personal information
Born
Katō Daigorō (1876-01-19)January 19, 1876 Chiba, Japan
Wakashima was born in Ichikawa-city, Chiba, under the name of Katō Daigorō (加藤大五郎). His date of birth has been dated either August 2, 1874 or January 19, 1876.[1] Known for his large body, he was recruited by former Tokyo-sumo ōzeki Wakashima Kyuzaburō and started wrestling in Tokyo under the shikona, or ring name, of Matsuwaka (松若). His master died while he was promoted to juryō, and he had to be transferred to Tomozuna stable. While touring in Ōgaki, Gifu Prefecture, he was hit by the Great Nōbi Earthquake and was only alive thanks to the efforts of his brother, Tatekō, who however died in the earthquake. To pay homage to his brother, Matsuwaka changed his shikona to Tatekō (楯甲).[1] He reached the top makuuchi division in 1896, peaking at maegashira 7 and never reaching sanyaku. Tatekō was really popular among the public. Being renown as handsome, and having a good voice, he was popular with the ladies and was a regular member of the pleasure quarters. This affected his training and Tatekō never practiced much.[1] In the hope of arousing a burst of pride in Tatekō, his master transmitted to him his master's old shikona: Wakashima (若島). After he contracted smallpox and was unable to budge, he escaped from Tokyo-sumo, cut his topknot, and entered the Kusakaze stable in Kyoto, then moved to the Nakamura stable in Osaka, where he settled.[1] In the Osaka Sumo Association, Wakashima knew a rapid ascent. He was quickly promoted to komusubi and reached the ōzeki rank in 1901.
Yokozuna career
In 1903, he was granted a yokozuna license by the Yoshida family [ja].[2] A the time he was the only wrestler active in Osaka sumo to ever receive this recognition.[3] It is believed he was awarded an unofficial Osaka-sumo yokozuna licence by the Gojō family [ja] in January 1903, though the evidence is obscure.[3][1] In June 1903, he fought against wrestlers in Tokyo sumo. He gave a very strong performance, defeating yokozunaUmegatani Tōtarō II and emerged as a threat to the dominance of the strongest yokozuna in Tokyo sumo, Hitachiyama.[3]
Retirement from sumo
Following a bicycle accident in 1905, he contracted a head injury and declared himself kyūjō for the whole 1906 year. In 1907, his condition was worsening to the point that his brain would not support a bout against another yokozuna and Wakashima chose to retire. After his retirement, he once became a chairman of the Osaka Sumo Association, but soon after, he chose to run a theatrical troupe and became an entertainer. However, management was left roughly to others, and by the beginning of the Taishō era (1912-1926), he had reached a dead end in his touring activities. In 1925, he was elected as a town councilor of Yonago, Tottori Prefecture. On his way to the Sumo Association in Tokyo, he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage in Kobe and died on October 23, 1943.[1]
Fighting style
Although he was not able to beat Tokyo yokozunaHitachiyama, he had gained enough strength to be able to compete with Ōzutsu and Umegatani on equal footing and is considered a leading figure in the revival of Osaka-sumo.[2] His flashy ring style, which included powerful pulling throws, and the sharpness of his strong thrusts, made him a threat even to Tokyo-sumo top wrestlers.[1][2]
Osaka sumo existed independently for many years before merging with Tokyo sumo in 1926. 1–2 tournaments were held yearly, though the actual time they were held was often erratic.
In his first Osaka tournament Wakashima competed at makuuchi, but was unranked.
*Championships for the best record in a tournament were not recognized or awarded in Osaka sumo before its merger with Tokyo sumo, and the unofficial championships above are historically conferred. For more information, see yūshō.
Yokozuna is not a successive rank, and more than one wrestler can hold the title at once
May 28, 2023
wakashima, gonshirō, this, japanese, shikona, name, surname, wakashima, japanese, 若島, 権四郎, january, 1876, october, 1943, japanese, professional, sumo, wrestler, from, ichikawa, chiba, prefecture, sport, 21st, yokozuna, first, official, yokozuna, from, osaka, s. In this Japanese shikona name the surname is Wakashima Wakashima Gonshirō Japanese 若島 権四郎 January 19 1876 October 23 1943 was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Ichikawa Chiba Prefecture He was the sport s 21st yokozuna and the first official yokozuna from the Osaka Sumo Association 1 Wakashima Gonshirō若島 権四郎Personal informationBornKatō Daigorō 1876 01 19 January 19 1876Chiba JapanDiedOctober 23 1943 1943 10 23 aged 67 Height1 78 m 5 ft 10 in Weight116 kg 256 lb CareerStableTateyama Tomozuna NakamuraRecord82 33 13draws Makuuchi DebutMay 1891Highest rankYokozuna April 1905 RetiredJanuary 1907Championships4 Osaka makuuchi unofficial Up to date as of October 2007 Contents 1 Early life and career 2 Yokozuna career 3 Retirement from sumo 4 Fighting style 5 Top Division Record 5 1 Tokyo sumo top division record 5 2 Osaka sumo top division record 6 See also 7 ReferencesEarly life and career EditWakashima was born in Ichikawa city Chiba under the name of Katō Daigorō 加藤大五郎 His date of birth has been dated either August 2 1874 or January 19 1876 1 Known for his large body he was recruited by former Tokyo sumo ōzeki Wakashima Kyuzaburō and started wrestling in Tokyo under the shikona or ring name of Matsuwaka 松若 His master died while he was promoted to juryō and he had to be transferred to Tomozuna stable While touring in Ōgaki Gifu Prefecture he was hit by the Great Nōbi Earthquake and was only alive thanks to the efforts of his brother Tatekō who however died in the earthquake To pay homage to his brother Matsuwaka changed his shikona to Tatekō 楯甲 1 He reached the top makuuchi division in 1896 peaking at maegashira 7 and never reaching sanyaku Tatekō was really popular among the public Being renown as handsome and having a good voice he was popular with the ladies and was a regular member of the pleasure quarters This affected his training and Tatekō never practiced much 1 In the hope of arousing a burst of pride in Tatekō his master transmitted to him his master s old shikona Wakashima 若島 After he contracted smallpox and was unable to budge he escaped from Tokyo sumo cut his topknot and entered the Kusakaze stable in Kyoto then moved to the Nakamura stable in Osaka where he settled 1 In the Osaka Sumo Association Wakashima knew a rapid ascent He was quickly promoted to komusubi and reached the ōzeki rank in 1901 Yokozuna career EditIn 1903 he was granted a yokozuna license by the Yoshida family ja 2 A the time he was the only wrestler active in Osaka sumo to ever receive this recognition 3 It is believed he was awarded an unofficial Osaka sumo yokozuna licence by the Gojō family ja in January 1903 though the evidence is obscure 3 1 In June 1903 he fought against wrestlers in Tokyo sumo He gave a very strong performance defeating yokozuna Umegatani Tōtarō II and emerged as a threat to the dominance of the strongest yokozuna in Tokyo sumo Hitachiyama 3 Retirement from sumo EditFollowing a bicycle accident in 1905 he contracted a head injury and declared himself kyujō for the whole 1906 year In 1907 his condition was worsening to the point that his brain would not support a bout against another yokozuna and Wakashima chose to retire After his retirement he once became a chairman of the Osaka Sumo Association but soon after he chose to run a theatrical troupe and became an entertainer However management was left roughly to others and by the beginning of the Taishō era 1912 1926 he had reached a dead end in his touring activities In 1925 he was elected as a town councilor of Yonago Tottori Prefecture On his way to the Sumo Association in Tokyo he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage in Kobe and died on October 23 1943 1 Fighting style EditAlthough he was not able to beat Tokyo yokozuna Hitachiyama he had gained enough strength to be able to compete with Ōzutsu and Umegatani on equal footing and is considered a leading figure in the revival of Osaka sumo 2 His flashy ring style which included powerful pulling throws and the sharpness of his strong thrusts made him a threat even to Tokyo sumo top wrestlers 1 2 Top Division Record EditTokyo sumo top division record Edit Wakashima 4 Spring Summer 1896 West Maegashira 12 4 2 13d West Maegashira 7 1 7 11h 1897 West Maegashira 12 1 7 2 West Maegashira 14 4 5 1 1898 West Maegashira 13 3 5 11d Sat outRecord given as win loss absent Top Division Champion Top Division Runner up Retired Lower Divisions Key d Draw s 引分 h Hold s 預り Divisions Makuuchi Juryō Makushita Sandanme Jonidan Jonokuchi Makuuchi ranks Yokozuna Ōzeki Sekiwake Komusubi MaegashiraOsaka sumo top division record Edit Osaka sumo existed independently for many years before merging with Tokyo sumo in 1926 1 2 tournaments were held yearly though the actual time they were held was often erratic In his first Osaka tournament Wakashima competed at makuuchi but was unranked Wakashima Gonshiro 5 First Second1898 Maegashira 4 1 31d West Maegashira 12 7 2 1899 West Maegashira 8 7 1 1 Not held1900 West Komusubi 7 0 11d 1hUnofficial Not held1901 West Ōzeki 7 0 11hUnofficial Not held1902 East Ōzeki 8 01hUnofficial Not held1903 East Yokozuna 8 1 East Yokozuna 4 0 41d 1904 East Yokozuna 6 1 2 East Yokozuna 7 1 11d 1905 Sat out East Yokozuna 8 0 11dUnofficial 1906 Sat out Sat out1907 Retired Record given as win loss absent Top Division Champion Top Division Runner up Retired Lower Divisions Key d Draw s 引分 h Hold s 預り Divisions Makuuchi Juryō Makushita Sandanme Jonidan Jonokuchi Makuuchi ranks Yokozuna Ōzeki Sekiwake Komusubi Maegashira Championships for the best record in a tournament were not recognized or awarded in Osaka sumo before its merger with Tokyo sumo and the unofficial championships above are historically conferred For more information see yushō See also EditGlossary of sumo terms List of past sumo wrestlers List of yokozunaReferences Edit a b c d e f g h Atsuo Tsubota Biographies of Yokozuna 19th to 25th in Japanese Archived from the original on 27 June 2002 Retrieved 18 February 2023 a b c 21rst Yokozuna Wakashima Gonshirō Time Line Ozumo databse in Japanese Retrieved 18 February 2023 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a Check url value help a b c 68 Yokozuna in 400 Years Le Monde Du Sumo June 2005 Retrieved 2007 10 10 Wakashima Daigoro Rikishi Information Sumo References Retrieved 2007 10 10 Atsuo Tsubota The 21st Yokozuna Wakashima Gonshiro Results Chart in Japanese Archived from the original on 22 July 2011 Preceded byUmegatani Tōtarō II 21st Yokozuna1905 1907 Succeeded byTachiyama MineemonYokozuna 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 Wakashima Gonshirō amp oldid 1144202576, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
