Daikirin Takayoshi

Daikirin Takayoshi
大麒麟 將能
Personal information
Born Masakatsu Tsutsumi
(1942-06-20)June 20, 1942
Saga, Japan
Died August 4, 2010(2010-08-04) (aged 68)
Height 1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Weight 140 kg (310 lb)
Career
Stable Nishonoseki
Record 710–507–69
Debut May 1958
Highest rank Ōzeki (November 1970)
Retired November 1974
Championships 1 (Jūryō)
1 (Sandanme)
Special Prizes Technique (4)
Outstanding Performance (5)
Gold Stars 3
Kashiwado (2)
Sadanoyama
* Up to date as of July 2007.

Daikirin Takayoshi (大麒麟 將能) (20 June 1942 – 4 August 2010), born Masakatsu Tsutsumi, was a sumo wrestler from Saga Prefecture, Japan. He began his professional career in 1958 and reached his highest rank of ōzeki twelve years later in 1970. He retired in 1974, and until June 2006 he was an elder of the Sumo Association under the name Oshiogawa.

Career

Born in Morodome in the city of Saga, he joined Nishonoseki stable and made his professional debut in May 1958. He initially fought under his own surname of Tsutsumi. After four years in the lower ranks he reached sekitori status in May 1962 upon promotion to the jūryō division, and changed his shikona to Kirinji. He did not make an immediate impact but in May 1963 took the jūryō yūshō or championship with a 13–2 score which pushed him up to Jūryō 1. A 10–5 record in the next tournament saw him enter the top makuuchi division for the first time but he had to pull out halfway into his debut tournament and returned to the second division.

After suffering some more injury problems he finally won promotion back to makuuchi in July 1965. He slowly climbed up the maegashira ranks before earning three kinboshi in successive tournaments from May to September 1966, defeating yokozuna Kashiwado twice, and then Sadanoyama. (He did not have to face the most successful yokozuna, Taihō, because they were members of the same stable). His 11–4 score in the September tournament saw him promoted to sekiwake. He remained in the san'yaku ranks for the next seven tournaments, earning several awards, before dropping back briefly to the maegashira ranks. In March 1968 at komusubi rank he defeated Sadanoyama, the winner of the previous two tournaments, in what was to be the yokozuna's last ever bout. Daikirin went on to finish runner-up, his final day defeat handing the yūshō to maegashira Wakanami, who did not face any yokozuna or ōzeki during the tournament.

Kirinji remained comfortably within the san'yaku ranks for the next two years, but with mainly 8–7 and 9–6 scores he was not a candidate for ōzeki promotion. He was runner-up for the second time (to Kitanofuji) in November 1969, and in the July and September tournaments of 1970 he finally managed to put together two strong performances in a row, scoring 12–3 each time, and was promoted to ōzeki at the age of 28. To mark the occasion he adopted a new shikona, Daikirin.

Daikirin remained as an ōzeki for 25 tournaments over four years. He was unable to win a championship, although he was a runner-up twice more, to Tamanoumi in July 1971 and Wajima in May 1972. However he was also kadoban (in danger of relegation) a number of times. In November 1974, having barely maintained his rank with an 8–7 record in the previous tournament, he retired from sumo on the fourth day at the age of 32.

Retirement from sumo

He remained in the sumo world as an elder under the name Oshiogawa. In 1975, upon the death of his old stablemaster (former ōzeki Sagonohana), he expected to inherit Nishonoseki stable, but could not come to agreement with Saganohana's widow.[1] After former sekiwake Kongō's engagement to Saganohana's daughter was announced, Oshiogawa realised he now had no chance of taking over so instead he broke away and established his own Oshiogawa stable. He attempted to take a number of high-ranking wrestlers with him, such as Aobajō and Tenryū, but Nishonoseki stable objected to this.[1] The Japan Sumo Association intervened and Tenryū was forced to return to Nishonoseki and, disallusioned, quit to become a professional wrestler.[1] Meanwhile, in addition to Aobajō, Oshiogawa produced a number of other sekitori such as Masurao, Enazakura, Daishi, Wakatoba and Wakakirin. In March 2005, with Oshiogawa approaching the mandatory retirement age and no obvious successor available, his stable was absorbed into the affiliated Oguruma stable. Oshiogawa retired from his position in the Sumo Association a year before reaching the mandatory retirement age, in June 2006. He died of pancreatic cancer in August 2010.[2]

Career record

Daikirin Takayoshi[3]
Year in sumo January
Hatsu basho, Tokyo		 March
Haru basho, Osaka		 May
Natsu basho, Tokyo		 July
Nagoya basho, Nagoya		 September
Aki basho, Tokyo		 November
Kyūshū basho, Fukuoka
1958 x x (Maezumo) West Jonokuchi #8
5–3
 		 West Jonidan #99
6–2
 		 West Jonidan #57
4–4
 
1959 East Jonidan #57
4–4
 		 West Jonidan #47
5–3
 		 East Jonidan #25
5–3
 		 East Jonidan #8
6–2
 		 East Sandanme #88
4–4
 		 West Sandanme #82
4–4
 
1960 East Sandanme #80
4–4
 		 West Sandanme #70
5–3
 		 East Sandanme #45
6–2
 		 East Sandanme #13
6–1
 		 East Makushita #68
1–6
 		 East Makushita #81
2–4–1
 
1961 East Sandanme #13
3–4
 		 East Sandanme #22
3–4
 		 East Sandanme #31
7–0–P
Champion
 		 East Makushita #51
4–3
 		 West Makushita #46
3–4
 		 West Makushita #51
6–1
 
1962 West Makushita #22
6–1
 		 East Makushita #5
4–3
 		 East Makushita #1
4–3
 		 East Jūryō #18
9–6
 		 West Jūryō #12
7–8
 		 West Jūryō #13
6–9
 
1963 East Jūryō #16
8–7
 		 East Jūryō #14
8–7
 		 East Jūryō #9
13–2
Champion
 		 West Jūryō #1
10–5
 		 East Maegashira #14
4–5–6
 		 West Jūryō #4
Sat out due to injury
0–0–15
1964 East Jūryō #17
4–11
 		 West Makushita #5
6–1
 		 West Jūryō #16
9–6
 		 West Jūryō #11
9–6
 		 East Jūryō #6
4–7–4
 		 East Jūryō #12
7–8
 
1965 West Jūryō #13
10–5
 		 East Jūryō #7
9–6
 		 East Jūryō #3
11–4
 		 East Maegashira #14
8–7
 		 West Maegashira #9
9–6
 		 West Maegashira #4
7–8
 
1966 East Maegashira #5
6–9
 		 East Maegashira #8
8–7
 		 East Maegashira #5
9–6
O★		 East Maegashira #3
6–9
★		 West Maegashira #4
11–4
T★		 West Sekiwake #1
7–8
 
1967 West Komusubi #1
9–6
O		 West Sekiwake #1
7–8
 		 West Komusubi #1
12–3
TO		 East Sekiwake #1
10–5
 		 West Sekiwake #1
10–5
 		 East Sekiwake #1
4–11
 
1968 East Maegashira #4
10–5
 		 East Komusubi #1
12–3
O		 West Sekiwake #1
8–7
 		 West Sekiwake #1
8–7
 		 West Sekiwake #1
6–9
 		 West Maegashira #2
9–6
 
1969 East Komusubi #1
8–7
 		 East Komusubi #1
9–6
 		 East Komusubi #1
8–7
 		 East Komusubi #1
8–7
 		 East Komusubi #1
11–4
 		 East Komusubi #1
11–4
O
1970 East Sekiwake #1
8–7
 		 West Sekiwake #1
8–7
 		 West Sekiwake #1
9–6
 		 West Sekiwake #1
12–3
T		 East Sekiwake #1
12–3
T		 East Ōzeki #1
9–6
 
1971 West Ōzeki #1
11–4
 		 East Ōzeki #1
10–5
 		 West Ōzeki #1
10–5
 		 West Ōzeki #1
11–4
 		 East Ōzeki #1
10–5
 		 East Ōzeki #1
9–6
 
1972 East Ōzeki #1
Sat out due to injury
0–0–15		 West Ōzeki #2
10–5
 		 West Ōzeki #2
11–4
 		 East Ōzeki #1
2–2–11
 		 West Ōzeki #2
8–7
 		 West Ōzeki #3
10–5
 
1973 West Ōzeki #2
9–6
 		 West Ōzeki #1
3–12
 		 East Ōzeki #2
9–6
 		 West Ōzeki #1
9–6
 		 West Ōzeki #1
3–6–6
 		 East Ōzeki #2
8–7
 
1974 East Ōzeki #2
9–6
 		 West Ōzeki #2
9–6
 		 East Ōzeki #2
10–5
 		 West Ōzeki #1
0–4–11
 		 West Ōzeki #1
8–7
 		 West Ōzeki #1
Retired
1–3
Record given as win-loss-absent    Top Division Champion Retired Lower Divisions

Sanshō key: F=Fighting spirit; O=Outstanding performance; T=Technique     Also shown: ★=Kinboshi(s); P=Playoff(s)
Divisions: Makuuchi — Jūryō — Makushita — Sandanme — Jonidan — Jonokuchi

Makuuchi ranks: Yokozuna — Ōzeki — Sekiwake — Komusubi — Maegashira

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Sharnoff, Lora (1993). Grand Sumo. Weatherhill. ISBN 0-8348-0283-X.
  2. ↑ "Former ozeki Daikirin dies at 68". Japan Times. 7 August 2010. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
  3. ↑ "Daikirin Takayoshi Rikishi Information". Sumo Reference. Retrieved 2012-07-30.
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