Wakahaguro Tomoaki

Wakahaguro Tomoaki (25 November 1934 – 2 March 1969) was a sumo wrestler from Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. His highest rank was ōzeki.

Wakahaguro Tomoaki
若羽黒 朋明
Personal information
BornTomoaki Kusabuka
(1934-11-25)25 November 1934
Yokohama, Japan
Died2 March 1969(1969-03-02) (aged 34)
Height1.76 m (5 ft 9 12 in)
Weight150 kg (330 lb)
Career
StableTatsunami
Record555–480–40
DebutOctober, 1949
Highest rankŌzeki (November, 1959)
RetiredMarch, 1965
Championships1 (Makuuchi)
Special PrizesOutstanding Performance (1)
Fighting Spirit (1)
Technique (2)
Gold Stars4
Yoshibayama (3)
Tochinishiki
* Up to date as of August 2012.

Career

A former swimming champion while at junior high school, Wakahaguro made his professional debut in October 1949, joining Tatsunami stable. To meet the weight requirement, he had to drink an enormous amount of water prior to his physical. However, he was able to put on more weight as he moved up the ranks. He reached the second highest jūryō division in March 1954 and was promoted to the top makuuchi division in March 1955. His first big success in a tournament came in March 1956 when he won 12 out of 15 bouts and took part in a three way playoff for the championship with ōzeki Wakanohana and sekiwake Asashio. Although he was defeated, he was awarded the Fighting Spirit prize. After three years of steady progress he worked his way up to sekiwake rank and in the September 1959 tournament was runner-up once again. This performance earned him promotion to ōzeki. In his ōzeki debut he took the tournament championship with a 13–2 record, the first ōzeki debutant to do so since Chiyonoyama ten years earlier. After the tournament a party was held at the Imperial Hotel to celebrate both his ōzeki promotion and his engagement.

Wakahaguro was expected to quickly push on to yokozuna promotion, but his second tournament as an ōzeki ended with an extremely disappointing 7–8 record. After this it was clear that Wakahaguro had neither the consistency nor the determination to reach sumo's highest rank, and he was to be overtaken by two younger rivals, Taihō and Kashiwado. In November 1960 Wakahaguro managed to defeat Taihō for the first time in five attempts but could not prevent him from winning his first championship. Wakahaguro's 12–3 runner-up performance was the last time he was able to challenge for a tournament title. In January 1961 it was Kashiwado's turn to win his first championship, and Wakahaguro could produce only a 10–5 score. After a poor 5–10 record in July 1961 he missed the September tournament through injury. In November 1961, the same tournament in which both Taihō and Kashiwado made their yokozuna debuts, Wakahaguro lost his ōzeki rank after managing only a 5–10 record on his comeback. The rules in place at the time meant three consecutive make-koshi or losing scores would result in demotion, and his absences in September were counted as losses.

Retirement from sumo

Wakahaguro spent the last three years of his career in the maegashira ranks, but he was beset by personal problems, including a gambling addiction. He retired in March 1965 and left the sumo world completely as he had no elder stock in the Japan Sumo Association and the regulation allowing ex-ozeki to stay under their fighting names for a grace period did not exist at the time. Heavily in debt, he was further disgraced in May 1965 after being caught attempting to sell smuggled handguns to gangsters, which he had acquired in Los Angeles whilst on an overseas tour.[1] He was tried, convicted and given an 18-month suspended prison sentence.[1] A formal retirement ceremony was impossible in such circumstances so a private one was done quietly at a hotel in Miura city.

Death

Divorced from his wife and separated from his children, Wakahaguro spent his last years working at a sumo fan's restaurant in Okayama city. He died suddenly of a stroke at the age of 34.

Fighting style

Wakahaguro was an oshi-sumo specialist, for which his distinctive round, fleshy body type or anko-gata was ideally suited. He won over 40 percent of his matches by a straightforward oshi-dashi, or push out.[2]

Top division record

  • The Kyushu tournament was first held in 1957, and the Nagoya tournament in 1958.
Wakahaguro Tomoaki[3]
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
1955 x East Maegashira #19
78
 
West Maegashira #20
78
 
Not held West Maegashira #21
114
 
Not held
1956 East Maegashira #12
69
 
East Maegashira #15
123PP
F
West Maegashira #2
87
Not held East Maegashira #1
96
T
Not held
1957 West Komusubi #1
69
 
East Maegashira #2
96
West Sekiwake #2
78
 
Not held West Komusubi #1
87
 
East Komusubi #1
96
O
1958 East Sekiwake #2
87
 
West Sekiwake #1
69
 
East Maegashira #1
69
 
West Maegashira #3
87
 
West Komusubi #1
96
 
West Sekiwake #1
510
 
1959 West Maegashira #1
105
 
East Komusubi #1
105
 
East Sekiwake #1
78
 
West Komusubi #1
114
 
West Sekiwake #2
123
T
East Ōzeki #1
132
 
1960 East Ōzeki #1
78
 
West Ōzeki #1
87
 
West Ōzeki #1
105
 
East Ōzeki #1
78
 
East Ōzeki #2
87
 
West Ōzeki #1
123
 
1961 East Ōzeki #1
105
 
East Ōzeki #2
96
 
West Ōzeki #2
87
 
West Ōzeki #2
510
 
West Ōzeki #2
Sat out due to injury
0015
East Ōzeki #2
510
 
1962 West Sekiwake #2
96
 
West Sekiwake #2
105
 
East Sekiwake #1
87
 
East Sekiwake #1
366
 
West Maegashira #6
411
 
West Maegashira #11
87
 
1963 West Maegashira #8
96
 
East Maegashira #2
69
 
West Maegashira #4
96
 
East Maegashira #1
213
 
West Maegashira #11
96
 
East Maegashira #5
69
 
1964 East Maegashira #8
78
 
East Maegashira #9
411
 
West Maegashira #14
87
 
East Maegashira #12
87
 
East Maegashira #9
87
 
West Maegashira #7
69
 
1965 East Maegashira #10
69
 
West Maegashira #13
Retired
00
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

References

  1. Adams, Andrew; Schilling, Mark (1985). Jesse: Sumo Superstar. Japan Times. ISBN 4-7890-0272-1.
  2. "Wins of Wakahaguro". Sumo Reference. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  3. "Wakahaguro Tomoaki Rikishi Information". Sumo Reference. Retrieved 17 September 2007.

See also

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