Nishonoseki stable (二所ノ関部屋,Nishonoseki-beya) (1911–2013) was astable ofsumo wrestlers, part of the Nishonoseki group of stables (ichimon) named after it. It first appeared in the late eighteenth century and was re-established in 1935 by the 32ndyokozunaTamanishiki while still active.
The formerōzekiSaganohana produced the stable's greatest wrestler,yokozunaTaihō, who won a record for the time of 32yūshō or tournament championships between 1961 and 1971. The stable's last head coach, formersekiwakeKongō, took charge in 1976, when he was adopted by the widow of the previous head. He was also on the board of directors of theJapan Sumo Association.
The stable's fortunes declined in later years. It had nosekitori wrestlers after the retirement ofDaizen in 2003 and at the end had just three active wrestlers, all insandanme or below (and one of whom,Kasachikara, was 41 years old, and the second oldest active wrestler in sumo). Thenaturalisation of a Chinese bornrikishi,Ryūtei, opened up another spot in the stable for a foreigner, and a Mongolian wrestler was recruited in March 2010,Kengo, but he retired in May 2011 having missed several tournaments due to suffering a traumatic brain injury.
In February 2010 general affairs manager Yoshiyuki Inoguchi, a former wrestler for the stable from 1975 to 1993 under theshikona of Nijodake, was found hanged in an apparent suicide.[1]
The stable closed after the January 2013 tournament, due to the ill health of the stablemaster at the time and the lack of a suitable successor to him at the time.[2] All three of its wrestlers retired, with the rest of the personnel (except Fujigane-oyakata) moving toMatsugane stable.
The name of the stable was written in three-storey-high characters down the front of the building. It has since been demolished to make way for apartment blocks. But was later reformed in 2021 after a 8 year dormancyNishonoseki stable (2021) in a new place and location.[3]