2002 in sumo
Encyclopedia
Tournaments
- Hatsu bashoHonbashoA is an official professional sumo tournament. There are six held each year, a system established in 1958. Only honbasho results matter in determining promotion and relegation for rikishi ....
, Ryogoku KokugikanRyogoku Kokugikan, also known as Sumo Hall, is an indoor sporting arena located in the Ryōgoku neighborhood of Sumida, one of the 23 wards of Tokyo in Japan, next to the Edo-Tokyo Museum. It is the third building built in Tokyo associated with the name kokugikan. The current building was opened in 1985 and has a...
, TokyoTokyo, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, 13 January - 27 January - Haru basho, Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium, OsakaOsakais a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
, 10 March - 24 March - Natsu basho, Ryogoku Kokugikan, Tokyo, 12 May - 26 May
- Nagoya basho, Aichi Prefectural GymnasiumAichi Prefectural GymnasiumThe is an all purpose gymnasium in Aichi, Japan, built in 1964. Located on the site of the secondary enclosure of Nagoya Castle, it is host to numerous concerts and events...
, Nagoya, 7 July - 21 July - Aki basho, Ryogoku Kokugikan, Tokyo, 8 September - 22 September
- Kyushu basho, Fukuoka International Centre, KyushuKyushuis the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....
, 10 November - 24 November
January
- 13-27: At the Hatsu basho in Tokyo, ozeki TochiazumaTochiazuma DaisukeTochiazuma Daisuke is a retired sumo wrestler. He began his professional career in 1994, reaching the top division just two years later after winning a tournament championship in each of the lower divisions...
wins his first top makuuchiMakuuchior is the top division of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers , ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments....
division championship in his debut tournament at the rank, exactly 30 years after his father won his only championship. He is the first ozeki to win the yushoYushoA Yūshō is a tournament championship in sumo. It is awarded in each of the six annual honbasho or official tournaments, to the wrestler who wins the most number of bouts. Yūshō are awarded in all six professional sumo divisions...
in his debut since Kiyokuni in 1969, and is the first wrestler since HaguroyamaHaguroyamacan refer to:* Haguroyama Masaji, a sumo wrestler* Osamu Annen, sumo name Haguroyama Sojo, sumo wrestler and son-in-law of the former* Mount Haguro , Yamagata Prefecture, Japan, one of the sacred Three Mountains of Dewa....
to win a championship in all six professional sumo divisionsProfessional sumo divisionsProfessional sumo is divided into 6 ranked divisions. Wrestlers are promoted and demoted within and between these divisions based on the merit of their win/loss records in official tournaments. For more information see kachikoshi and makekoshi. Wrestlers are also ranked within each division...
. He defeats fellow ozeki Chiyotaikai in a playoff after both men finish on 13-2. Yokozuna Takanohana is missing for the fourth straight basho, and Musashimaru pulls out early through injury. Special prizesSansho (Sumo)Sanshō are the three special prizes awarded to top division sumo wrestlers for exceptional performance during a sumo honbasho or tournament. The prizes were first awarded in November 1947.-Criteria:...
are awarded to Kotomitsuki and Tokitsuumi for Technique, and to Buyuzan for Fighting Spirit. The juryo division championship is won by Takamisakari after a playoff with Shimotori. As a result, Takamisakari returns to the top division for the first time since being injured in the September 2000 tournament. The makushita championship goes to South KoreaSouth KoreaThe Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
's Kasugao. Former maegashira Asanosho retires after falling into the fourth sandanme division.
February
- 1: Former Yokozuna Kitanoumi takes over as chairman of the Japan Sumo AssociationJapan Sumo AssociationThe is the body that operates and controls professional sumo wrestling in Japan under the jurisdiction of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Rikishi , gyōji , tokoyama , and yobidashi , are all on the Association's payroll, but the organisation is run...
from Tokitsukaze Oyakata (the former ozeki YutakayamaYutakayama KatsuoYutakayama Katsuo is a former sumo wrestler from Niigata, Japan. His highest rank was ozeki. Although he never managed to win a top division tournament championship he was a runner-up on eight occasions...
), who will be reaching the mandatory retirement age of 65 in August. - 5: Takasago Oyakata, the former komusubi Fujinishiki, and Wakamatsu Oyakata, the former ozeki AsashioAsashio Taro IVAsashio Tarō IV is a former sumo wrestler from Muroto, Kochi, Japan. His highest rank was ozeki...
, swap toshiyoriToshiyoriA toshiyori is a sumo elder of the Japan Sumo Association. Also known as oyakata, former wrestlers who reached a sufficiently high rank are the only people eligible...
names. Due to Fujinishiki's poor health, the Takasago stableTakasago stableis a stable of sumo wrestlers, one of the Takasago group of stables.It is correctly written in Japanese as "髙砂部屋", but the first of these kanji is rare, and is more commonly written as "高砂部屋"....
is absorbed into Wakamatsu stable with Asashio continuing as the head.
March
- 10-24: Musashimaru comes back to win his tenth championship with a 13-2 score. Runner-up is ozeki KaioKaio HiroyukiKaiō Hiroyuki is a former professional sumo wrestler from Nōgata, Fukuoka, Japan.He made his debut in 1988, reaching the top makuuchi division in 1993. He held the second highest rank of ōzeki or champion for eleven years from 2000 to 2011, and is the longest-serving ozeki of all time in terms of...
. Sekiwake Asashoryu scores 11-4 and wins the Outstanding Performance Award. Takanowaka also finishes on 11-4 and is awarded the Fighting Spirit prize. Aminishiki receives the Technique prize. Tochiazuma wins ten bouts while Chiyotaikai records a make-koshi 7-8. Former maegashira Kotoryu and Gojoro win the juryo and makushita division championships. Another former maegashira, Daishi, announces his retirement.
May
- 12-26: Musashimaru wins his second tournament in a row, and 11th overall, again scoring 13-2. Kaio, Chiyotaikai and Asashoryu all finish as runners-up on 11-4. Asashoryu receives the Fighting Spirit prize, as does Hokutoriki, who also wins eleven in his debut top division tournament. Kyokushuzan wins his second Technique Award, five years after his first. Takanohana is absent for the sixth straight tournament. The juryo championship goes to Iwakiyama, and the makushita yusho to Toyozakura, who returns to the sekitoriSekitoriA sekitori is a sumo wrestler who is ranked in one of the top two professional divisions: makuuchi and juryo.Currently there are 70 rikishi in these divisions...
ranks for the first time in over a year. Joining him is Kasugao, who becomes the first sekitori to officially represent South Korea.
June
- 1: Arashio Oyakata, the former komusubi Oyutaka, branches out from Tokitsukaze stableTokitsukaze stableThe is a stable of sumo wrestlers, one of the Tokitsukaze group of stables. It was originally founded in 1769 and was dominant during the Taishō period. In its modern form it dates from 1941 when it was established by Futabayama, who was still an active wrestler at the time. Initially known as...
and opens his own Arashio stableArashio stableis a stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Tokitsukaze ichimon or group of stables. It was set up in June 2002 by former komusubi Oyutaka, who branched off from Tokitsukaze stable. As of November 2009 it has eleven wrestlers. In the same month the stable produced its first sekitori, the Chinese...
.
July
- 7-21: Takanohana, who had been expected to make his long-awaited comeback from knee surgery in this tournament, pulls out yet again. The Sumo Association respond by saying if he does not compete in September, he will be obliged to retire. Musashimaru and Chiyotaikai are the only men ranked above sekiwake who make it through the whole 15 days -- Kaio pulls out on Day 3, Tochiazuma on Day 4 and Musoyama is missing altogether. Chiyotaikai takes advantage to win his second championship with a 14-1 record. It is his first yushoYushoA Yūshō is a tournament championship in sumo. It is awarded in each of the six annual honbasho or official tournaments, to the wrestler who wins the most number of bouts. Yūshō are awarded in all six professional sumo divisions...
since the January 1999 triumph that saw him promoted to ozeki. Musashimaru finishes with a below par 10-5 score. Asashoryu is runner-up with a fine 12-3 record and is promoted to ozeki after the tournament. He also shares the Outstanding Performance Award along with Tosanoumi. Takamisakari wins the Technique Prize and Shimotori gets the Fighting Spirit Award. Ushiomaru wins the juryo yusho while the makushita title goes to former maegashira Kinkaiyama.
August
- 18: Tokitsukaze Oyakata turns 65 and retires. He passes on control of the Tokitsukaze stableTokitsukaze stableThe is a stable of sumo wrestlers, one of the Tokitsukaze group of stables. It was originally founded in 1769 and was dominant during the Taishō period. In its modern form it dates from 1941 when it was established by Futabayama, who was still an active wrestler at the time. Initially known as...
to former komusubi Futatsuryu.
September
- 8-22: After an unprecedented seven tournaments in a row out injured, Takanohana returns to the dohyoDohyothumb|A dohyōThe dohyō is the ring in which sumo wrestling bouts are held. A modern dohyo is a circle of rice-straw bales 4.55 meters in diameter, mounted on a square platform of clay 6.7m on a side, and 34 to 60 cm high. The surface is covered by sand.A new dohyō is built prior to each...
. Understandably rusty, he is defeated twice inside the first five days by Kyokutenho and Kotoryu but then wins nine in a row, including a memorable victory over new ozeki Asashoryu by a powerful uwatenageKimariteKimarite are winning techniques in a sumo bout. For each bout in a Grand Sumo tournament , a sumo referee, or gyoji, will decide and announce the type of kimarite used by the winner...
outer-arm throw. He and Musashimaru both enter the final day level on 12-2. Musashimaru wins the yusho decider to claim his 12th (and final) championship. Kaio and Kotomitsuki are also runner-up on 12-3, while Asashoryu and Chiyotaikai finish on 10-5. Musoyama returns to eke out an 8-7 record, but Tochiazuma misses the tournament and will be in danger of demotion in November. Only one special prize is given out, to Kotomitsuki for Fighting Spirit. In the juryo division, two veteran former sekiwake announce their retirements: Terao, whose 1795 career matches are the second highest in history, and Takatoriki, who did not miss a single bout in his career. Former maegashira Minatofuji also retires. The juryo championship goes to Tamarikido.
November
- 10-24: At the KyushuKyushuis the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....
tournament, Musashimaru withdraws on the fifth day after injuring his wrist. Kaio and Chiyotaikai also withdraw early, while Takanohana is missing from the start after a recurrence of his knee problem. In their absence, Asashoryu takes his first championship with a 14-1 record. In the juryo division, Kasugao wins the yusho, making it the first time in history that championships in the top two divisions have both been won by foreigners in the same tournament. Komusubi Takanowaka finishes as runner-up to Asashoryu on 11-4. Tochiazuma keeps his rank with an 8-7 record. Three wrestlers share the Fighting Spirit Prize: Takanowaka, former ozeki Takanonami, and Iwakiyama.
December
- 1: Former sekiwake Mitoizumi leaves Takasago stable to open his own Nishikido stableNishikido StableNishikido stable is a stable of sumo wrestlers, one of the Takasago group of stables. It was founded in 2002 by Mitoizumi of the Takasago stable. It uses Takasago stable's old facilities, which became available when Takasago merged with Wakamatsu stable...
. As Takasago stable now uses Wakamatsu stable's facilities, he uses the old Takasago premises. - 24: Kabutoyama stable shuts down.