Kitabayama Hidetoshi

Kitabayama Hidetoshi (17 May 1935 – 20 July 2010) was a former sumo wrestler and coach from Muroran, Hokkaidō, Japan. His highest rank was ōzeki.

Kitabayama Hidetoshi
北葉山 英俊
Kitabayama with his Outstanding Performance Award in 1961
Personal information
BornHidetoshi Yamada
(1935-05-17)17 May 1935
Hokkaido, Japan
Died20 July 2010(2010-07-20) (aged 75)
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight119 kg (262 lb)
Career
StableTokitsukaze
Record522–327–21
DebutMay 1954
Highest rankŌzeki (July 1961)
RetiredMay 1966
Elder nameEdagawa
Championships1 (Makuuchi)
1 (Jūryō)
1 (Makushita)
1 (Sandanme)
Special PrizesOutstanding Performance (1)
Fighting Spirit (2)
* Up to date as of June 2020.

Career

Kitabayama entered sumo in May 1954, joining Tokitsukaze stable. He was recruited by the legendary former yokozuna Futabayama. He was 173 cm tall and weighed 119 kg, which would make him extremely small by today's sumo standards. After winning the jūryō championship in September 1958 with a 14–1 record he entered the top makuuchi division in November 1958. He was a runner-up in only his second top division tournament and quickly made the san'yaku ranks, reaching sekiwake in November 1959. He was to remain at sekiwake rank for nine of the next ten tournaments. After finishing runner-up to maegashira Sadanoyama in the May 1961 tournament with an 11–4 record he was promoted to ōzeki. He had won 28 bouts over the previous three tournaments, not normally enough for ōzeki promotion, but there were only two ōzeki at the time, and two ageing yokozuna (Asashio and Wakanohana) and so the standard was lowered slightly. In an era dominated by Taihō he was only able to win one tournament championship, in July 1963, when he defeated Sadanoyama in a playoff. He was also runner-up for a third time in the May 1964 tournament. He held his ōzeki rank for a total of 30 tournaments over a period of five years. This was the first time a sumo wrestler has competed as ozeki for thirty or more tournaments.

Retirement from sumo

Kitabayama retired from active competition in May 1966, following two losing scores in his last two tournaments (a third would have seen him demoted from the ōzeki rank). He remained in the sumo world as an elder under the toshiyori name Edagawa and worked as a coach at Tokitsukaze stable. He was also on the board of Directors of the Japan Sumo Association and worked as a judge of tournament bouts. He left the Sumo Association in 2000 upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of sixty-five. He died in 2010 from cancer of the liver.

Fighting style

Kitabayama's favoured techniques were hidari-yotsu (a right hand outside, left hand inside grip on his opponent's mawashi), yori kiri (force out) and utchari (ring edge throw). Other kimarite he regularly used were uwatenage (overarm throw) and tsuridashi (lift out).

Career record
  • The Kyushu tournament was first held in 1957, and the Nagoya tournament in 1958.
Kitabayama Hidetoshi[1]
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
1954 x x Shinjo
3–0
 		 Not held East Jonidan #54
8–0–P
 		 Not held
1955 East Sandanme #76
6–2
 		 West Sandanme #41
4–4
 		 West Sandanme #34
8–0
Champion
 		 Not held West Makushita #46
3–5
 		 Not held
1956 East Makushita #51
4–4
 		 West Makushita #50
6–2
 		 East Makushita #39
5–3
 		 Not held West Makushita #32
6–2
 		 Not held
1957 East Makushita #21
6–2
 		 East Makushita #9
5–3
 		 West Makushita #5
6–2
 		 Not held East Makushita #1
3–5
 		 East Makushita #4
3–5
 
1958 East Makushita #10
8–0
Champion
 		 East Jūryō #18
10–5
 		 East Jūryō #13
11–4–P
 		 East Jūryō #5
10–5
 		 East Jūryō #1
14–1
Champion
 		 West Maegashira #13
9–6
 
1959 East Maegashira #10
11–4
 		 West Maegashira #4
8–7
 		 East Maegashira #3
9–6
 		 East Komusubi #1
8–7
 		 East Komusubi #1
8–7
 		 West Sekiwake #1
8–7
 
1960 West Sekiwake #1
9–6
 		 East Sekiwake #1
10–5
F		 East Sekiwake #1
7–8
 		 East Komusubi #1
11–4
 		 East Sekiwake #1
11–4
F		 West Sekiwake #1
9–6
 
1961 East Sekiwake #1
8–7
 		 East Sekiwake #1
9–6
 		 East Sekiwake #1
11–4
O		 East Ōzeki #2
8–7
 		 East Ōzeki #2
8–7
 		 West Ōzeki #1
10–5
 
1962 East Ōzeki #1
8–7
 		 West Ōzeki #1
9–6
 		 East Ōzeki #1
9–6
 		 West Ōzeki #1
9–6
 		 West Ōzeki #2
11–4
 		 East Ōzeki #2
Sat out due to injury
0–0–15
1963 West Ōzeki #2
9–6
 		 East Ōzeki #3
8–7
 		 East Ōzeki #2
9–6
 		 East Ōzeki #3
13–2–P
 		 West Ōzeki #1
10–5
 		 West Ōzeki #2
8–7
 
1964 West Ōzeki #2
9–6
 		 West Ōzeki #1
10–5
 		 East Ōzeki #1
12–3
 		 East Ōzeki #1
12–3
 		 West Ōzeki #1
11–4
 		 East Ōzeki #2
8–7
 
1965 East Ōzeki #2
8–7
 		 East Ōzeki #2
3–6–6
 		 East Ōzeki #2
10–5
 		 West Ōzeki #1
4–11
 		 East Ōzeki #2
8–7
 		 East Ōzeki #1
5–10
 
1966 West Ōzeki #1
8–7
 		 West Ōzeki #1
7–8
 		 West Ōzeki #1
Retired
6–9
Record given as win-loss-absent    Top Division Champion Top Division Runner-up 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
gollark: Got the top one?
gollark: I missed it trying to see what the top one was... sigh.
gollark: _would get it but is locked with 18 AP hatchlings_
gollark: YOINK
gollark: Can you hold them for a minute?

See also

References
  1. "Kitabayama Hidetoshi Rikishi Information". Sumo Reference. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
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