Ōnishiki Uichirō

Ōnishiki Uichirō (Japanese: 大錦 卯一郎, November 25, 1891 – May 13, 1941) was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler. He was the sport's 26th yokozuna. On November 2, 1922, he became the first yokozuna to perform the yokozuna dohyō-iri at the Meiji Shrine.[1]

In this Japanese shikona name, the surname is Ōnishiki.
Ōnishiki Uichirō
大錦 卯一郎
Ōnishiki, circa 1917
Personal information
BornHosokawa Uichirō
(1891-11-25)November 25, 1891
Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan
DiedMay 13, 1941(1941-05-13) (aged 49)
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight139 kg (306 lb)
Career
StableDewanoumi
Record119-16-32-3draws (Makuuchi)
DebutJanuary, 1910
Highest rankYokozuna (May, 1917)
RetiredJanuary, 1923
Championships5 (Makuuchi)
1 (Jūryō)
1 (Jonidan)
* Up to date as of September 2007.

Biography

He was born Hosokawa Uichirō (細川 卯一郎), in Osaka on November 25, 1891.

Ōnishiki trained under former yokozuna Hitachiyama Taniemon, joining his Dewanoumi stable.[2] He was promoted to the top makuuchi division in January 1915. After finishing the May 1915 tournament with a 9–1 record at the komusubi rank, he was promoted to ōzeki. He won his first yūshō or championship with a perfect 10–0 record in the January 1917 tournament and was promoted to yokozuna. He reached the top yokozuna rank after only five tournaments, which is the all-time record.

He lost only 16 bouts in his entire career. He won five top division tournament championships and was runner-up in four others. He was very smart in comparison with most sumo wrestlers of his era, and so he was very strong and recorded the high winning percentage of 88.1. He also recorded only three draws.

However, his career suddenly ended. In January 1923, sumo wrestlers went on strike against the Tokyo Sumo Association. The walkout is called the Mikawajima Incident (三河島事件, Mikawajima-Jiken). Ōnishiki attempted to mediate, but failed.[3] After police intervention, the striking wrestlers achieved their demands of better retirement pay. Because he felt responsibility for the incident, Ōnishiki retired from being an active sumo wrestler and left the sumo world. He was critical about tradition in the sumo world.

After his retirement, he entered Waseda University. After the graduation, he worked at the Hochi Shimbun as a sumo essayist. He died on May 13, 1941.

Top Division Record
Onishiki[4]
- Spring Summer
1915 East Maegashira #12
8–1–1
 		 East Komusubi
9–1
 
1916 East Ōzeki
8–2
 		 East Ōzeki
7–3
 
1917 West Ōzeki
10–0
 		 West Yokozuna
9–1
 
1918 East Yokozuna
8–1–1
 		 Sat out
1919 East Yokozuna
8–2
 		 East Yokozuna
8–2
 
1920 East Yokozuna
8–1
1d
 		 West Yokozuna
9–1
 
1921 West Yokozuna
10–0
 		 East Yokozuna
9–0
1d
 
1922 Sat out West Yokozuna #1
8–1
1d
 
1923 East Yokozuna
Retired
0–0
Record given as win-loss-absent    Top Division Champion Top Division Runner-up Retired Lower Divisions

Key:d=Draw(s) (引分);   h=Hold(s) (預り)
Divisions: Makuuchi — Jūryō — Makushita — Sandanme — Jonidan — Jonokuchi

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

References
  1. 手数入り（横綱土俵入り）いつから始まったのですか？ (in Japanese). Meiji Shrine. Retrieved 2008-11-24.
  2. Journal of Combative Sport: Sumo by Title
  3. Newton, Clyde (1994). Dynamic Sumo. Kodansha. p. 58. ISBN 4-7700-1802-9.
  4. "Onishiki Uichiro". Sumo Reference. Retrieved 2007-10-10.
Preceded by
Nishinoumi Kajirō II		 26th Yokozuna
1917–1923		 Succeeded by
Tochigiyama Moriya
Yokozuna is not a successive rank, and more than one wrestler can hold the title at once
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