Umegatani Tōtarō II
| Umegatani Tōtarō II | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal information | |
| Height | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) |
| Weight | 158 kg (348 lb) |
| Career | |
| Stable | Ikazuchi |
| Record | 168-27-116 47draws-2holds(Makuuchi) |
| Debut | June, 1892 |
| Highest rank | Yokozuna (June, 1903) |
| Retired | May, 1915 |
| Championships | 3 (Makuuchi, unofficial) |
| * Up to date as of October 2007. | |
Umegatani Tōtarō II (梅ヶ谷 藤太郎, March 11 1878 - September 2 1927) was a sumo wrestler. He was the sport's 20th Yokozuna. Umegatani had a great rivalry with yokozuna Hitachiyama Taniemon. Their era was known as the Ume-Hitachi Era and it brought sumo to heights of popularity never before seen in the Meiji period.[1]
Career
He was adopted by the 15th Yokozuna Umegatani Tōtarō I and joined his Ikazuchi stable in June 1892. His father was initially reluctant to let him join at such a young age but Umegatani I personally guaranteed his well-being.[1]
He rose through the ranks quickly, making his juryo debut in January 1897 and reaching the top makuuchi division in January 1898. Initially wrestling under the sumo name of Umenotani Otomatsu, he officially took on the Umegatani Totaro name before his fourth basho as an ozeki in January 1902. He met Hitachiyama in May 1903 when both ozeki were undefeated. The clash caused great excitement throughout Japan.[1] Although Umegatani lost the match, after the tournament both he and Hitachiyama were promoted to yokozuna.
Umegatani had reached sumo's highest rank at the age of 25 years and 3 months, making him the youngest ever yokozuna at that time. The record stood until the promotion of Terukuni.[1]
He won at least 3 championships before June 1909. The yusho system was established by a newspaper in June 1909 (Sumo Association admitted the system in 1926). He won the last championship at January 1909 tournament before only one tournament. Although he didn't win any championship officially, he was given a prize frame in honor of his contribution when he retired in June 1915. There was his prize frame between June 1909 tournament and January 1910 tournament. His bouts were more masterly than his record because his techniques were orthodox methods.
He missed many bouts in his later career due to illness, retiring at the age of 37. So many people wished to attend his retirement ceremony that it was held over three days.[1] He died at the age of 49 whilst still active in sumo as a shimpan (judge) and head of Ikazuchi stable.
Top Division Record
Note: Championships are unofficial. In May 1898, ozeki Asashio Taro I also finished with a 7-1-1-1draw record. In January 1904, west yokozuna Hitachiyama Taniemon finished with a 7-1-2 recoad, so several people include a January 1904 champiomship (Umegatani recorded that before East was admitted to be over West in 1909 officially).
| Year | January Hatsu basho, Tokyo |
March Haru basho, Osaka |
May Natsu basho, Tokyo |
July Nagoya basho, Nagoya |
September Aki basho, Tokyo |
November Kyūshū basho, Fukuoka |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1898 | West Maegashira #5 5–2–1-1draw-1hold |
x | West Maegashira #2 7–1–1-1draw |
x | x | x |
| 1899 | West Komusubi 7–1–1-1draw |
x | West Sekiwake 6–2–1-1draw |
x | x | x |
| 1900 | West Komusubi 5–2–1-2draws |
x | East Ōzeki 6–1–2-1draw |
x | x | x |
| 1901 | West Ōzeki 8–1–1 |
x | West Ōzeki 6–2–1-1draw |
x | x | x |
| 1902 | East Ōzeki 8–0–1-1draw |
x | East Ōzeki 8–1–1 |
x | x | x |
| 1903 | East Ōzeki 4–0–5-1draw |
x | East Ōzeki 8–1–1 |
x | x | x |
| 1904 | East Yokozuna 7–1–1-1hold |
x | East Yokozuna 6–1–2-1draw |
x | x | x |
| 1905 | East Yokozuna 8–1–1 |
x | East Yokozuna 5–0–5 |
x | x | x |
| 1906 | East Yokozuna 7–1–1-1draw |
x | East Yokozuna 7–0–2-1draw |
x | x | x |
| 1907 | East Yokozuna 1–0–9 |
x | East Yokozuna 6–2–1-1draw |
x | x | x |
| 1908 | East Yokozuna 8–0–1-1draw |
x | East Yokozuna 7–1–1-1draw |
x | x | x |
| 1909 | West Yokozuna 7–0–2-1draw |
x | West Yokozuna 5–0–5 |
x | x | x |
| 1910 | West Yokozuna 0–1–9 |
x | West Yokozuna 0–0–9-1draw |
x | x | x |
| 1911 | East Yokozuna 3–1–6draws |
x | Sat out due to injury 0–0–15 |
x | x | x |
| 1912 | East Yokozuna 5–1–4draws |
x | West Yokozuna 1–1–5-3draws |
x | x | x |
| 1913 | West Yokozuna 4–1–5draws |
x | West Yokozuna 0–1–8-1draws |
x | x | x |
| 1914 | East Yokozuna 2–0–6-2draws |
x | West Yokozuna 0–0–9-1draw |
x | x | x |
| 1915 | West Yokozuna 1–0–7-2draws |
x | East Yokozuna 0–0–retired |
x | x | x |
| Record given as wins–losses–absences 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) |
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References
- ^ a b c d e "Rikishi of Old: Umegatani II". Sumo Fan Magazine. June 2005. Retrieved 2007-10-10.
- ^ "Umegatani Tōrarō II Rikishi Information". Sumo Reference. Retrieved 2007-10-10.
- ^ "大相撲優勝力士" (in Japanese). ja.wikipedia. Retrieved 2007-10-20.
External links