Kagamisato Kiyoji facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Kagamisato Kiyoji |
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| 鏡里 喜代治 | |
Kagamisato holding the Emperor's Cup after winning his first tournament as a yokozuna in September 1955
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| Personal information | |
| Born | Okuyama Kiyoji April 30, 1923 Tonai, Aomori, Japan |
| Died | February 29, 2004 (aged 80) |
| Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 8+1⁄2 in) |
| Weight | 161 kg (355 lb) |
| Career | |
| Stable | Tokitsukaze |
| Record | 415–189–28 |
| Debut | January 1941 |
| Highest rank | Yokozuna (January 1953) |
| Retired | January 1958 |
| Elder name | Tatsutagawa |
| Championships | 4 (Makuuchi) 1 (Sandanme) 1 (Jonidan) |
| Special Prizes | Outstanding Performance (1) Fighting Spirit (1) |
| Gold Stars | 2 (Maedayama, Azumafuji) |
| * Up to date as of June 2020. | |
Kagamisato Kiyoji (born April 30, 1923 – died February 29, 2004) was a famous Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Aomori Prefecture. He became the 42nd yokozuna, which is the highest rank in sumo.
Contents
Kagamisato's Sumo Journey
Early Life and Joining Sumo
Kagamisato Kiyoji was born Okuyama Kiyoji in a small fishing village in Sannohe District. His family was poor because his father died when he was very young. He had to help his mother after his older brothers and sisters left home.
Kiyoji was big for his age. A sumo wrestler named Kagamiiwa noticed him and asked him to join sumo. Kiyoji was more interested in basketball and his mother was not sure about it. But when his family received money to help them, he decided to go to Tokyo. He wanted to thank Kagamiiwa for his kindness.
In the summer of 1940, he joined Kagamiiwa's Kumegawa stable. A stable is like a training gym for sumo wrestlers. He started his professional sumo career in January 1941. He was given the shikona, or ring name, of Kagamisato Kiyoji. Later, he moved to a new stable started by the great yokozuna Futabayama. This stable was later called Tokitsukaze stable.
Rising Through the Ranks
Kagamisato moved up to the top makuuchi division in June 1947. This is where the best sumo wrestlers compete. In October 1949, he had a great tournament. He beat two yokozuna and won 12 out of 15 matches. He also became the first wrestler to win two special prizes in the same tournament. These prizes are given for outstanding performance, fighting spirit, or technique.
After this, he was promoted from the maegashira ranks to sekiwake. This is the third-highest rank in sumo. Just four tournaments later, he reached the second-highest rank, ōzeki.
Becoming a Yokozuna
Kagamisato had been a runner-up four times, meaning he finished second in a tournament. Finally, he won his first top division championship in January 1953. This win helped him reach the top rank of yokozuna.
There were four yokozuna in that tournament, but they all did not perform well. One of them, Terukuni, even retired. The Japan Sumo Association wanted a strong yokozuna. So, they decided to promote Kagamisato, even though the Yokozuna Deliberation Committee had some doubts at first.
Life as a Yokozuna
As a yokozuna, Kagamisato won three more tournament titles. He won all of them with impressive scores of 14 wins and only 1 loss. However, he also had some tournaments where he did not do as well.
Kagamisato was a quiet person. He was not as popular with the public as some other famous yokozuna like Tochinishiki and Wakanohana I. He also found it hard to get along with the press.
Retirement from Sumo
In January 1958, his rival yokozuna Yoshibayama retired. Kagamisato said that if he did not win at least ten matches in that tournament, he would also retire. He finished with 9 wins and 6 losses. True to his word, he announced his retirement on the last day. He had a long-term knee problem and felt he could not wrestle at his best anymore.
Life After Wrestling
After retiring, Kagamisato stayed involved with sumo as an "elder." Elders are former wrestlers who help run the Sumo Association. He briefly became the head of Tokitsukaze stable after Futabayama passed away. However, he had to leave because Futabayama's wife wanted another wrestler, Yutakayama, to take over.
Because of this, Kagamisato changed his elder name to Tatsutagawa. In 1971, he opened his own stable called Tatsutagawa stable. He worked there until he reached the mandatory retirement age in April 1988. He then passed his stable to former sekiwake Aonosato. During his time as a stable master, he did not produce any wrestlers who reached the top division.
Kagamisato remained a heavy man, weighing about 110 kg (242 lb) in his later years. He lived to be 80 years old. This made him the fourth longest-living yokozuna in sumo history.
See also
- Glossary of sumo terms
- List of past sumo wrestlers
- List of sumo tournament top division champions
- List of yokozuna
