Sadanoyama Shinmatsu facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sadanoyama Shinmatsu
Sadanoyama celebrates his first tournament victory in May 1961
Personal information
Born	Shinmatsu Sasada (1938-02-18)February 18, 1938 Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan
Died	April 27, 2017(2017-04-27) (aged 79)
Height	1.82 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)
Weight	129 kg (284 lb)
Career
Stable	Dewanoumi
Record	591-251-61
Debut	January, 1956
Highest rank	Yokozuna (January, 1965)
Retired	March, 1968
Elder name	Dewanoumi → Sakaigawa
Championships	6 (Makuuchi)
Special Prizes	Fighting Spirit (1) Outstanding Performance (1) Technique (1)
Gold Stars	2 (Wakanohana I, Azumafuji)
* Up to date as of June 2020.

Sadanoyama Shinmatsu (Japanese: 佐田の山 晋松, born Shinmatsu Sasada (佐々田 晋松), February 18, 1938 – April 27, 2017) was a famous Japanese professional sumo wrestler. He came from Nagasaki Prefecture and became the 50th yokozuna, which is the highest rank in sumo. After he stopped wrestling, he became a head coach and even led the main organization for sumo, the Japan Sumo Association.

Sadanoyama's Sumo Career

Sadanoyama, whose real name was Shinmatsu Sasada, started his sumo journey in January 1956. He quickly moved up the ranks. Four years later, in March 1960, he reached the jūryō division, which meant he was a professional sekitori (a high-ranked wrestler).

He made his debut in the top makuuchi division in January 1961. Amazingly, he won his first big tournament title in only his third tournament in the top division. He did this while holding the rank of maegashira 13. Winning from a lower rank like maegashira is a huge achievement!

Sadanoyama continued to succeed. In March 1962, he became an ōzeki, the rank just below yokozuna. Then, in January 1965, after winning his third championship, he was promoted to yokozuna, the highest honor in sumo.

Sadanoyama's handprint on a monument in Ryōgoku, Tokyo

Sadanoyama even appeared in a movie! He had a small role as himself in the 1967 James Bond film You Only Live Twice.

While other yokozuna like Taihō and Kashiwado were very famous, Sadanoyama actually won more tournament championships than Kashiwado.

Sadanoyama suddenly announced his retirement in March 1968. This was a surprise because he had won the two tournaments right before. He retired two days after losing to a new maegashira wrestler from Hawaii named Takamiyama. Some people thought losing to a foreign wrestler made him retire early. However, it's more likely he was following an old sumo tradition of retiring when he was still at the top of his game.

Life After Wrestling

Leading the Dewanoumi Stable

After retiring from wrestling, Sadanoyama stayed involved in the sumo world as an elder. He was married to the daughter of the head coach of the Dewanoumi stable. Because of this, he took over as the head coach of the Dewanoumi stable, which is like a sumo training school.

As the leader of one of the most powerful sumo stables, he helped many wrestlers reach the top. Some of his famous students included yokozuna Mienoumi, sekiwake Dewanohana Yoshitaka and Washūyama, and the popular Mainoumi.

Leading the Japan Sumo Association

In February 1992, Sadanoyama became the head of the Japan Sumo Association. This is the main organization that runs professional sumo. He was chosen partly because he was healthier than other top wrestlers from his time.

As chairman, he made some important changes. For example, in 1992, he set limits on how many foreign wrestlers could be active in sumo (up to 40 total, with a maximum of two per stable). In 1995, he also changed the system for sumo tours, making them independent events run by the association.

In 1996, he changed his elder name to Sakaigawa. He passed on the Dewanoumi name and the daily running of his stable to his former student, Washūyama.

Sadanoyama did not run for re-election in 1998. He then became the head of the judging department, which was unusual for a former chairman. When he turned 65 in 2003, he retired completely as an elder. He passed his Sakaigawa elder name to his former student, Ryōgoku.

His Passing

Sadanoyama passed away in a Tokyo hospital on April 27, 2017, at the age of 79. He died from pneumonia. At the time of his death, he was the oldest living yokozuna since Wakanohana died in 2010. His funeral was a private family event, as he wished.

Sadanoyama's Fighting Style

Sadanoyama was known for his strong pushing and thrusting techniques. He often used tsuppari, which is a series of quick pushes to the opponent's chest. He frequently won matches by pushing his opponent out of the ring (oshi dashi) or thrusting them out (tsuki dashi).

However, he was also skilled at grabbing his opponent's mawashi (the loincloth they wear). He preferred a migi-yotsu grip, meaning his left hand was outside and his right hand was inside his opponent's mawashi. From this position, he often won by forcing his opponent out (yori kiri) or by using an overarm throw (uwatenage).

Career Record

• The Kyushu tournament was first held in 1957, and the Nagoya tournament in 1958.

See also

• Glossary of sumo terms
• List of sumo tournament top division champions
• List of sumo tournament top division runners-up
• List of past sumo wrestlers
• List of yokozuna