Tsurugizan Taniemon II explained

Native Name:劔山 谷右エ門
Tsurugizan Taniemon II
Birth Name:Kumakichi Harai
Birth Date:20 January 1852
Birth Place:Kamojima, Oe District, Japan
Weight:120kg (270lb)
Heya:Inagawa → Ikazuchi
Record:70-26-79-14 draws/1 hold
Debut:May, 1885
Highestrank:Ōzeki (January, 1893)
Retireddate:January, 1886
Eldername:Musashigawa
Yushos:1 (Makuuchi, unofficial)
Update:September, 2023

was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Kamojima, Oe District (now Awa, Tokushima Prefecture). His highest rank was ōzeki and he is one of only two wrestlers from this prefecture to have reached this rank, being the second overall and the first promoted since 's promotion in 1778, 108 years earlier.[1]

History

Tsurugizan began his wrestling career by joining the Osaka-based sumo association thanks to a wrestler named Tsurugahama, a relation of his father. There, he joined Inagawa stable and started to wrestle in 1875 under the shikona, or ring name, Kyōya . The following year, in 1876, there was however a breakout incident within the Osaka Sumo Association and Tsurugizan decided to join the secessionists. In 1878, he began to serve the group as a promotional ōzeki but decided to join back the Osaka association.[2] In 1882, he decided to join the Tokyo-based sumo association.

In 1883, he became a student of Umegatani, who was still an active wrestler at the time, in Ikazuchi stable and competed in the May tournament of the same year directly as a san'yaku-ranked wrestler.[2] He was given the shikona Tsurugizan after a mountain in his home prefecture. In January 1884, he changed his name to Taniemon to bear the complete name of the eponymous ōzeki who wrestled during the Edo period. In May 1885, he was promoted to sekiwake and in January 1886, he was promoted to ōzeki in place of his master who retired. In 1891, he scooted a young boy and asked his master to recruit him within the stable, hence recruiting future-yokozuna Umegatani Tōtarō II.[3]

He retired in June 1892 and became an elder in the Sumo Association under the name Musashigawa, notably serving as a shimpan.[2] He died in November 1910 at the age of 58.

Career record

See also

Sources

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Web site: SumoDB . Wrestlers from Tokushima Prefecture by rank. 11 September 2023.
  2. Encyclopedia: 剣山谷右衛門(2代). Digital Edition Japanese Name Encyclopedia . ja . 20 September 2023 . Kotobank encyclopedia.
  3. Web site: 20th Yokozuna Umegatani Tōtarō - Time-Line. Ozumo database. ja. 20 September 2023.