Kashiwado Tsuyoshi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Kashiwado Tsuyoshi |
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| 柏戸 剛 | |
Kashiwado, 1961
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| Personal information | |
| Born | Tsuyoshi Togashi November 29, 1938 Yamagata Prefecture, Japan |
| Died | December 8, 1996 (aged 58) |
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) |
| Weight | 139 kg (306 lb) |
| Career | |
| Stable | Isenoumi |
| Record | 715-295-140 |
| Debut | September, 1954 |
| Highest rank | Yokozuna (September, 1961) |
| Retired | July, 1969 |
| Elder name | Kagamiyama |
| Championships | 5 (Makuuchi) 1 (Jūryō) 1 (Makushita) |
| Special Prizes | Fighting Spirit (2) Technique (4) Outstanding Performance (2) |
| * Up to date as of June 2020. | |
Kashiwado Tsuyoshi (Japanese: 柏戸 剛, November 29, 1938 – December 8, 1996) was a famous Japanese professional sumo wrestler. He came from Yamagata Prefecture. He reached the highest rank in sumo, called yokozuna, and was the 47th person to achieve this honor. He competed at the top level from 1961 to 1969. After he stopped wrestling, he became a sumo elder. He even ran his own training stable from 1970 until he passed away.
Kashiwado's Sumo Journey
Born Tsuyoshi Togashi, he grew up in what is now Tsuruoka. He started his professional sumo career in September 1954. He joined the Isenoumi stable, which is like a sumo training club. He quickly moved up through the ranks.
By September 1958, he reached the top makuuchi division. This is where the best sumo wrestlers compete. In only his fourth tournament in this top division, he changed his wrestling name to Kashiwado. He finished as a runner-up, meaning he came in second place. He also won special awards for his fighting spirit and technique.
In November 1959, he reached the sanyaku ranks, which are the highest ranks below yokozuna. He was promoted to ōzeki in September 1960. This was a big deal because he was the first wrestler from his home area to reach this rank in 72 years!
Kashiwado won his first top division championship, called a yūshō, in January 1961. After a strong performance in September of that year, he was promoted to yokozuna. He joined two other yokozuna who were older and soon to retire.
Kashiwado changed how his wrestling name was spelled in May 1962, but he changed it back in November 1964. He won five top division championships in total. This was fewer than his big rival, Taihō, who won 32. Taihō was promoted to yokozuna at the same time as Kashiwado.
Even though he won fewer championships, Kashiwado was a runner-up fifteen times. He often had injuries during his career. Because of this, some people called him the "glass yokozuna." He missed parts of four tournaments in a row in 1963 due to injuries. But he made an amazing comeback in September 1963. He won his first championship as a yokozuna without losing a single match!
Kashiwado was a yokozuna for 47 tournaments. This places him among the top wrestlers of all time. Fans really liked him, especially those who thought Taihō was too dominant. The eight years when Kashiwado and Taihō were both yokozuna were known as the Hakuhō era. This name combined parts of their wrestling names. They had many close matches, with Taihō winning slightly more often.
Kashiwado's Fighting Style
Kashiwado had a special way of fighting. His favorite kimarite (winning techniques) were migi-yotsu and yorikiri. Migi-yotsu means he would grab his opponent's mawashi (belt) with his left hand outside and his right hand inside. Yorikiri means he would force his opponent out of the ring.
About 60% of his wins came from forcing his opponent out or forcing them out and down. This shows he was very strong and good at pushing his opponents.
Life After Sumo
After he retired from wrestling in July 1969, Kashiwado stayed involved in the sumo world. He became an elder, which is a special role for retired wrestlers. In November 1970, he opened his own sumo stable, called Kagamiyama.
He helped train new wrestlers. In 1975, he saw two of his wrestlers, Zaonishiki and Konuma, get promoted to the jūryō division. He also coached Tagaryū to reach the sekiwake rank and win a top division championship in 1984.
Kashiwado also served as a director for the Sumo Association. He was even in charge of the judges' committee until 1994. He passed away in 1996 at the age of 58. His rival, Taihō, was with him and was very sad about his death. The former Tagaryū took over Kagamiyama stable, which is still active today.
See also
- Glossary of sumo terms
- List of past sumo wrestlers
- List of sumo tournament top division champions
- List of sumo tournament top division runners-up
- List of sumo tournament second division champions
- List of yokozuna
