Wakashimazu Mutsuo
Encyclopedia
Wakashimazu Mutsuo is a former sumo
wrestler from Nakatane
, Kagoshima
, Japan
. His highest rank was ozeki. He won two top division yusho
or tournament championships. He retired in 1987 and is now the head coach of Matsugane stable
.
ranks in March 1980 upon promotion to the jūryō division and reached the top makuuchi
division in January 1981. He scored 10 wins in his makuuchi debut. He moved quickly through the division, winning five special prizes
, two for fighting spirit and three for technique. He reached sumo's second highest rank of ozeki in January 1983. He broke his leg in the following tournament in March of that year, but made a remarkably quick recovery, posting 13-2 in the next tournament in May 1983.
Wakashimazu was popular with the crowds and his lean and swarthy appearance led to him being nicknamed the "Black Panther". His best year was in 1984, when he won more bouts than any other wrestler. He took two top division tournament championships in March and July, the second with a perfect 15-0 record, but he could manage only third place in the September 1984 tournament and missed out on promotion to the highest rank of yokozuna. From November 1985 his results started to decline, and in an attempt to change his luck he switched from his trademark kelly green mawashi
to a light blue one, but soon switched back when results did not improve. He retired in July 1987 at the age of thirty, leaving the Futagoyama stable without anyone in the sanyaku ranks for the first time in over fifteen years.
or techniques were hidari-yotsu, a right hand outside and left hand inside grip on his opponent's mawashi
, yori-kiri (force out), uwatenage (overarm throw) and tsuri-dashi (lift out).
, early in 1990. The retirement of Harunoyama in November 2006 left the stable with no wrestlers in the top two divisions. He finally produced another sekitori
in March 2010 when Matsutani was promoted to juryo.
He is married to pop/enka
singer Mizue Takada.
In September 2010 he was demoted in the Sumo Association's hierarchy after he accepted lodgings in Osaka
for the Haru tournament the previous March from a company president connected to gangsters
. In addition, two of his wrestlers, Matsutani and the sandanme ranked Wakarikido, were suspended for two tournaments for illegal betting on baseball
.
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 Nakatane
Nakatane, Kagoshima
is a town located on Tanegashima or Tanega Island in Kumage District, Kagoshima, Japan.As of 2003, the town has an estimated population of 9,473 and the density of 68.75 persons per km². The total area is 137.78 km²....
, Kagoshima
Kagoshima Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. The capital is the city of Kagoshima.- Geography :Kagoshima Prefecture is located at the southwest tip of Kyushu and includes a chain of islands stretching further to the southwest for a few hundred kilometers...
, Japan
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...
. His highest rank was ozeki. He won two 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 tournament championships. He retired in 1987 and is now the head coach of Matsugane stable
Matsugane Stable
is a stable of sumo wrestlers, one of the Nishonoseki group of stables. It was founded in 1990 by Wakashimazu of the Futagoyama stable. It has produced three top makuuchi division wrestlers in that time; Wakakosho , Wakatsutomu and Harunoyama...
.
Career
Wakashimazu wrestled for Futagoyama stable, joining in March 1975. Unlike most professional sumo wrestlers, he did not join from junior high school but instead joined after completing high school. He was a high school sumo champion but needed some persuasion from his stablemaster that he would be able to put on enough weight to succeed in professional sumo. He reached the salaried sekitoriSekitori
A 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 in March 1980 upon promotion to the jūryō division and 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 January 1981. He scored 10 wins in his makuuchi debut. He moved quickly through the division, winning five special prizes
Sansho (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:...
, two for fighting spirit and three for technique. He reached sumo's second highest rank of ozeki in January 1983. He broke his leg in the following tournament in March of that year, but made a remarkably quick recovery, posting 13-2 in the next tournament in May 1983.
Wakashimazu was popular with the crowds and his lean and swarthy appearance led to him being nicknamed the "Black Panther". His best year was in 1984, when he won more bouts than any other wrestler. He took two top division tournament championships in March and July, the second with a perfect 15-0 record, but he could manage only third place in the September 1984 tournament and missed out on promotion to the highest rank of yokozuna. From November 1985 his results started to decline, and in an attempt to change his luck he switched from his trademark kelly green mawashi
Mawashi
In sumo, a mawashi is the belt that the rikishi wears during training or in competition. Upper ranked professional wrestlers wear a keshō-mawashi as part of the ring entry ceremony or dohyo-iri.-Mawashi:...
to a light blue one, but soon switched back when results did not improve. He retired in July 1987 at the age of thirty, leaving the Futagoyama stable without anyone in the sanyaku ranks for the first time in over fifteen years.
Fighting style
Wakashimazu's favourite kimariteKimarite
Kimarite 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...
or techniques were hidari-yotsu, a right hand outside and left hand inside grip on his opponent's mawashi
Mawashi
In sumo, a mawashi is the belt that the rikishi wears during training or in competition. Upper ranked professional wrestlers wear a keshō-mawashi as part of the ring entry ceremony or dohyo-iri.-Mawashi:...
, yori-kiri (force out), uwatenage (overarm throw) and tsuri-dashi (lift out).
Retirement from sumo
After his retirement Wakashimazu set up his own training stable, MatsuganeMatsugane Stable
is a stable of sumo wrestlers, one of the Nishonoseki group of stables. It was founded in 1990 by Wakashimazu of the Futagoyama stable. It has produced three top makuuchi division wrestlers in that time; Wakakosho , Wakatsutomu and Harunoyama...
, early in 1990. The retirement of Harunoyama in November 2006 left the stable with no wrestlers in the top two divisions. He finally produced another sekitori
Sekitori
A 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...
in March 2010 when Matsutani was promoted to juryo.
He is married to pop/enka
Enka
is a popular Japanese music genre considered to resemble traditional Japanese music stylistically. Modern enka, however, is a relatively recent musical form which arose in the context of such postwar expressions of modern Japanese nonmaterial nationalism as nihonjinron, while adopting a more...
singer Mizue Takada.
In September 2010 he was demoted in the Sumo Association's hierarchy after he accepted lodgings in Osaka
Osaka
is 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...
for the Haru tournament the previous March from a company president connected to gangsters
Yakuza
, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...
. In addition, two of his wrestlers, Matsutani and the sandanme ranked Wakarikido, were suspended for two tournaments for illegal betting on baseball
Professional baseball in Japan
Professional baseball in Japan first started in the 1920s, but it was not until the was established in 1934 that the modern professional game had continued success.-History:...
.
Top division record
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 past sumo wrestlers
- List of sumo tournament winners
- List of sumo tournament second division winners