Hitachiiwa Eitaro
Encyclopedia
Hitachiiwa Eitarō was a Japan
ese sumo
wrestler from Tokyo
. His highest rank was Ōzeki.
, he joined Dewanoumi stable
and was coached by former yokozuna Hitachiyama. He made his debut in May 1917, and was promoted to the juryo division in May 1922. After winning the juryo division championship in January 1923 he reached the top makuuchi
division in May 1923. In January 1926, at the rank of maegashira 2, he finished as runner-up to yokozuna Tsunenohana with a fine 10-1 record. His earned him promotion to sekiwake, and after two more runner-up performances he was promoted to Ōzeki in May 1927.
In January 1928, he won his only top division yusho
, or championship, but it caused great controversy. He had one fusensho (no fight win) against Nishinoumi Kajirō III
on the 10th day. His rival for the championship, veteran maegashira and former sekiwake Misugiiso, had won all his bouts in actual fights but was then defeated by strong komusubi Tamanishiki (later yokozuna) on the 11th day. At the end of the tournament they had both recorded 10 wins, 1 loss, as Hitachiiwa had defeated yokozuna Miyagiyama on the final day. Hitachiiwa and Misugiiso were too far apart in rank to have been paired against each other during the tournament, and as there was no playoff system in place at that time, Hitachiiwa, in the higher Ōzeki rank was awarded the yusho
. Many people sympathized with Misugiiso as it had cost him his only chance to win a championship. Misugiiso was only able to win two more bouts in his career and retired a year later. The system of fusensho was uncompleted at that time (the system was only accepted for the last two days of a tournament, and they didn't receive kachi-nanori, or formal announcement of the winner). In the following tournament in March 1928, the modern fusensho system was established.
Hitachiiwa fell ill after the dispute and was unable to capitalise on his win, sitting out the March 1928 tournament. He was unable to record good results in his following career and was never in contention for another championship. He retired in March 1931. He remained in the sumo world as an elder, under the name Sakaigawa, and worked as a coach in Dewanoumi stable until his death.
|-
!
!January
!March
!May
!October
|-
|1923
!x
|no tournament held
|West maegashira #16 (7-4)
|no tournament held
|-
|1924
|West maegashira #4 (5-3-1-1draw)
|no tournament held
|East maegashira #2 (7-3-1hold)
|no tournament held
|-
|1925
|East maegashira #1 (6-2-1draw-2holds)
|no tournament held
|bgcolor=gray|Sat out
|no tournament held
|-
|1926
|West maegashira #2 (10-1)
|no tournament held
|East Sekiwake (7-4)
|no tournament held
|-
|1927
|West Sekiwake (9-2)
|West Sekiwake (9-2)
|West Ozeki (7-4)
|East Ozeki (8-2-1draw)
|-
|1928
|bgcolor=#66FF00|East Ozeki (10-1)
|bgcolor=gray|Sat out
|West Ozeki (4-4-3)
|West Ozeki (8-3)
|-
|1929
|East Ozeki (5-6)
|East Ozeki (7-4)
|East Ozeki (8-3)
|East Ozeki (3-3-5)*
|-
|1930
|East Ozeki (3-3-5)
|East Ozeki (8-3)
|East Ozeki (5-6)
|East Ozeki (6-5)
|-
|1931
|West Ozeki (5-6)
|bgcolor=gray|Retired
!x
!x
|-
{|
| Green Box=Tournament Championship
| ☆= Number of Kinboshi
.
|}
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese sumo
Sumo
is a competitive full-contact sport where a wrestler attempts to force another wrestler out of a circular ring or to touch the ground with anything other than the soles of the feet. The sport originated in Japan, the only country where it is practiced professionally...
wrestler from Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; 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...
. His highest rank was Ōzeki.
Career
Born in ChuoChuo, Tokyo
is one of the 23 special wards that form the heart of Tokyo, Japan. The ward refers to itself as Chūō City in English.Its Japanese name literally means "Central Ward," and it is historically the main commercial center of Tokyo, although Shinjuku has risen to challenge it since the end of World War II...
, he joined Dewanoumi stable
Dewanoumi stable
is a stable of sumo wrestlers. It has a long, prestigious history. Its current head coach is former sekiwake Washuyama. As of November 2007 it had 21 wrestlers....
and was coached by former yokozuna Hitachiyama. He made his debut in May 1917, and was promoted to the juryo division in May 1922. After winning the juryo division championship in January 1923 he reached the top makuuchi
Makuuchi
or 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 in May 1923. In January 1926, at the rank of maegashira 2, he finished as runner-up to yokozuna Tsunenohana with a fine 10-1 record. His earned him promotion to sekiwake, and after two more runner-up performances he was promoted to Ōzeki in May 1927.
In January 1928, he won his only top division yusho
Yusho
A 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...
, or championship, but it caused great controversy. He had one fusensho (no fight win) against Nishinoumi Kajirō III
Nishinoumi Kajiro III
Nishinoumi Kajirō III was a sumo wrestler. He was the sport's 30th Yokozuna.-Career:He joined Izutsu stable and made a debut in January 1910. He was promoted to the top makuuchi division in January 1916...
on the 10th day. His rival for the championship, veteran maegashira and former sekiwake Misugiiso, had won all his bouts in actual fights but was then defeated by strong komusubi Tamanishiki (later yokozuna) on the 11th day. At the end of the tournament they had both recorded 10 wins, 1 loss, as Hitachiiwa had defeated yokozuna Miyagiyama on the final day. Hitachiiwa and Misugiiso were too far apart in rank to have been paired against each other during the tournament, and as there was no playoff system in place at that time, Hitachiiwa, in the higher Ōzeki rank was awarded the yusho
Yusho
A 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...
. Many people sympathized with Misugiiso as it had cost him his only chance to win a championship. Misugiiso was only able to win two more bouts in his career and retired a year later. The system of fusensho was uncompleted at that time (the system was only accepted for the last two days of a tournament, and they didn't receive kachi-nanori, or formal announcement of the winner). In the following tournament in March 1928, the modern fusensho system was established.
Hitachiiwa fell ill after the dispute and was unable to capitalise on his win, sitting out the March 1928 tournament. He was unable to record good results in his following career and was never in contention for another championship. He retired in March 1931. He remained in the sumo world as an elder, under the name Sakaigawa, and worked as a coach in Dewanoumi stable until his death.
Top division record
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 100%"|-
!
!January
!March
!May
!October
|-
|1923
!x
|no tournament held
|West maegashira #16 (7-4)
|no tournament held
|-
|1924
|West maegashira #4 (5-3-1-1draw)
|no tournament held
|East maegashira #2 (7-3-1hold)
|no tournament held
|-
|1925
|East maegashira #1 (6-2-1draw-2holds)
|no tournament held
|bgcolor=gray|Sat out
|no tournament held
|-
|1926
|West maegashira #2 (10-1)
|no tournament held
|East Sekiwake (7-4)
|no tournament held
|-
|1927
|West Sekiwake (9-2)
|West Sekiwake (9-2)
|West Ozeki (7-4)
|East Ozeki (8-2-1draw)
|-
|1928
|bgcolor=#66FF00|East Ozeki (10-1)
|bgcolor=gray|Sat out
|West Ozeki (4-4-3)
|West Ozeki (8-3)
|-
|1929
|East Ozeki (5-6)
|East Ozeki (7-4)
|East Ozeki (8-3)
|East Ozeki (3-3-5)*
|-
|1930
|East Ozeki (3-3-5)
|East Ozeki (8-3)
|East Ozeki (5-6)
|East Ozeki (6-5)
|-
|1931
|West Ozeki (5-6)
|bgcolor=gray|Retired
!x
!x
|-
- tournament actually held one month earlier
- The wrestler's East/West designation, rank, and win/loss record are listed for each tournament
- A third figure in win-loss records represents matches sat-out during the tournament (usually due to injury)
{|
| Green Box=Tournament Championship
| ☆= Number of Kinboshi
Kinboshi
Kinboshi is a notation used in professional sumo wrestling to record a lower-ranked wrestler's victory over a yokozuna....
.
|}
See also
- Glossary of sumo termsGlossary of sumo termsThe following words are terms used in sumo wrestling in Japan. azukari : Hold. A kind of draw. After a mono-ii, the gyōji or the shimpan "holds" the result if it was too close to call...
- List of sumo tournament winners
- List of past sumo wrestlers