| Mienoumi Tsuyoshi | |
|---|---|
| 三重ノ海 剛司 | |
 Mienoumi in 2010 | |
| Personal information | |
| Born | Gorō Ishiyama (1948-02-04)February 4, 1948 (age 77) Matsusaka, Mie,Allied-occupied Japan |
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft11+1⁄2 in) |
| Weight | 135 kg (298 lb) |
| Career | |
| Stable | Dewanoumi |
| Record | 695–525–56 (1 draw) |
| Debut | July, 1963 |
| Highest rank | Yokozuna (July, 1979) |
| Retired | November, 1980 |
| Elder name | Musashigawa |
| Championships | 3 (Makuuchi) 1 (Sandanme) |
| Special Prizes | Outstanding Performance (5) Fighting Spirit (1) Technique (3) |
| Gold Stars | (5) Wajima (2) Kitanoumi Kotozakura Kitanofuji |
| * Up to date as of June 2020. | |
Mienoumi Tsuyoshi (Japanese:三重ノ海 剛司,Hepburn:Mienoumi Tsuyoshi, born February 4, 1948 asGorō Ishiyama (石山五郎,Ishiyama Gorō)) is a Japanese former professionalsumo wrestler fromMatsusaka, Mie. He was the 57thyokozuna of the sport. After retiring he founded theMusashigawa stable and was a chairman of theJapan Sumo Association. He was the first rikishi in history who was demoted from the rank of Ozeki but still managed the promotion to Yokozuna.[1]
His father was a construction worker who competed in amateur sumo tournaments.[2] The young Mienoumi didjudo in junior high school and was introduced to a sumo coach atDewanoumi stable, but was initially rejected due to his short stature.[2] He contacted the stable again a few years later, and this time was accepted by Dewanoumi Oyataka himself, the formerDewanohana Kuniichi.[2] His first bout was in July 1963, aged just 15. At first fighting under his real name, he took on theshikona of Mienoumi in July 1966, but did not adopt the Tsuyoshi given name until September 1976. After being personally trained by the new Dewanoumi Oyakaya, formeryokozunaSadanoyama,[2] he developed his technique and was promoted to thejūryō division in March 1969, andmakuuchi, the top division, in September 1969. In July of the following year, he reached the rank ofkomusubi, defeating twoyokozuna (Taihō andTamanoumi) and receiving his firstprize for Outstanding Performance. He was promoted tosekiwake in the next tournament in September 1970.
Mienoumi suffered from a chronicliver problem throughout his career, and although he tried to keep it under control by changing his diet, it was a factor in his eventual retirement.[2]
In September 1974, his 11th day match withFutagodake was declared a draw (hikiwake). This is the last draw in the top division to date. Mienoumi won his firstmakuuchi tournament oryūshō in November 1975 and was promoted toōzeki the following January. At the time of his promotion, he was the firstōzeki from Mie Prefecture to be promoted since the firstSakaigawa in 1857, 119 earlier.[3] He lost a majority of bouts in the next two tournaments, resulting in an automatic demotion back tosekiwake, but a good result of 10 wins to 5 losses in the next tournament was sufficient to restore him toōzeki.
In May 1979 he was a runner-up for the fourth time, toWakanohana with a 13–2 record. He followed that up with a superb 14–1 record in the following tournament, defeating Wakanohana,Kitanoumi andWajima, only losing the championship in a playoff to Wajima on the final day. In September 1979 he was finally promoted toyokozuna. The 97 tournaments it took him to do so is the slowest ever progress to sumo's top rank. Hisoyakata declared that he would be happy with just one moreyūshō before Mienoumi's retirement.[2] In the event, Mienoumi won his second and third tournaments asyokozuna, the latter with a perfect record, but after this had several absences due to injury and illness, fighting a full fifteen bouts in only four tournaments asyokozuna, before retiring in November 1980. He has the lowest win–loss ratio of any post-waryokozuna.
Upon retirement Mienoumi took the name of Musashigawa Oyakata and establishedMusashigawa stable in 1981. Until then Dewanoumi stable had discouraged any breaking away, and he was the first from Dewanoumi in 62 years to amicably set up a new stable.[2] By 2000 Musashigawa stable had become one of the strongest stables in sumo with ayokozuna,Musashimaru, and threeōzeki,Dejima,Musōyama andMiyabiyama. Musashigawa performed an earlykanreki dohyō-iri in 2007 (normally performed on ayokozuna's 60th birthday) to mark the 25th anniversary of the founding of Musashigawa stable.[4] On September 8, 2008, he became the chairman of theJapan Sumo Association following the resignation of Kitanoumi.[5] One of his first actions was to demand a controversial tightening up of the rules for thetachi-ai, or initial charge, which led to many false starts in the September 2008 tournament.[6] Following a series of scandals involving wrestlers gambling and associating with organised crime members, he was suspended for the July 2010 tournament and announced his resignation the following month. He also cited health concerns, as he had been undergoing treatment for stomach cancer.[7] In September 2010 he also stood down as head of Musashigawa stable, although he remained a coach there. Formerōzeki Musōyama is now head coach of what is now Fujishima stable.[8] In December 2012 he announced that the former Musashimaru would inherit his elder name when Musashigawa reached 65 years of age in February 2013.[9] Upon retiring he became the director of the Sumo Museum at theRyōgoku Kokugikan,[10] a position he held for exactly ten years before stepping down in February 2023 on the occasion of his 75th birthday. He remarked upon his pride at being in the sumo world for 60 years, and that eight of his disciples were currently elders of the Sumo Association.[11]
Mienoumi was married in September 1974.[2]
Mienoumi was ayotsu-sumo wrestler who preferred grapplingtechniques to pushing or thrusting. His favourite grip on his opponent'smawashi washidari-yotsu, a left hand inside and right hand outside position. He regularly won byyori-kiri (force out) anduwatedashinage (pulling overarm throw).[2]
| Year | January Hatsu basho,Tokyo | March Haru basho,Osaka | May Natsu basho,Tokyo | July Nagoya basho,Nagoya | September Aki basho,Tokyo | November Kyūshū basho,Fukuoka |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | x | x | x | (Maezumo) | (Maezumo) | East Jonokuchi #30 4–3 |
| 1964 | East Jonidan #102 4–3 | West Jonidan #81 3–4 | West Jonidan #98 2–1–4 | East Jonidan #112 5–2 | East Jonidan #57 3–4 | West Jonidan #66 3–4 |
| 1965 | West Jonidan #88 5–2 | East Jonidan #39 2–5 | East Jonidan #61 5–2 | East Jonidan #8 3–4 | East Jonidan #13 4–3 | West Sandanme #88 5–2 |
| 1966 | East Sandanme #52 1–6 | West Sandanme #83 2–5 | East Jonidan #10 3–3–1 | East Jonidan #23 5–2 | East Sandanme #80 5–2 | East Sandanme #39 4–3 |
| 1967 | East Sandanme #30 5–2 | West Makushita #98 4–3 | East Sandanme #27 5–2 | West Makushita #57 3–4 | East Sandanme #5 7–0 Champion | East Makushita #11 3–4 |
| 1968 | West Makushita #15 3–4 | East Makushita #18 4–3 | West Makushita #13 4–3 | West Makushita #8 4–3 | West Makushita #6 2–5 | West Makushita #16 6–1 |
| 1969 | East Makushita #5 6–1 | East Jūryō #12 9–6 | West Jūryō #7 10–5 | East Jūryō #3 9–6 | East Maegashira #11 8–7 | East Maegashira #5 8–7 |
| 1970 | West Maegashira #3 4–11 | West Maegashira #9 8–7 | West Maegashira #6 11–4 | West Komusubi #1 8–7 O | West Sekiwake 6–9 | West Maegashira #1 5–10 |
| 1971 | West Maegashira #3 6–9 | West Maegashira #4 5–10 | East Maegashira #11 10–5 | West Maegashira #3 7–8 | East Maegashira #4 10–5 F | West Komusubi #1 11–4 T |
| 1972 | East Sekiwake #1 8–7 | West Sekiwake #2 8–7 | West Sekiwake #2 9–6 | East Sekiwake #2 5–2–8 | East Maegashira #1 4–11 | East Maegashira #7 8–7 |
| 1973 | West Maegashira #3 11–4 O★ | West Komusubi #1 10–5 T | West Sekiwake #1 8–7 | West Sekiwake #1 4–11 | West Maegashira #2 8–7 ★ | West Maegashira #1 4–11 |
| 1974 | East Maegashira #6 8–7 | West Maegashira #3 8–7 | East Maegashira #1 5–9–1 | West Maegashira #5 5–10 | West Maegashira #10 11–3–1draw | East Maegashira #2 5–10 |
| 1975 | West Maegashira #6 10–5 O★★ | East Maegashira #1 11–4 O★ | West Sekiwake #1 9–6 | East Sekiwake #1 8–7 | East Sekiwake #2 11–4 | East Sekiwake #1 13–2 OT |
| 1976 | East Ōzeki #1 8–7 | West Ōzeki #1 2–6–7 | East Ōzeki #2 2–8–5 | West Sekiwake #2 10–5 | East Ōzeki #2 9–6 | East Ōzeki #2 8–7 |
| 1977 | East Ōzeki #2 8–7 | West Ōzeki #2 8–7 | East Ōzeki #3 5–10 | East Ōzeki #3 8–7 | West Ōzeki #2 7–8 | West Ōzeki #2 9–6 |
| 1978 | East Ōzeki #2 10–5 | West Ōzeki #1 8–7 | East Ōzeki #2 11–4 | East Ōzeki #1 9–6 | East Ōzeki #1 10–5 | East Ōzeki #1 10–5 |
| 1979 | East Ōzeki #1 11–4 | East Ōzeki #1 10–5 | East Ōzeki #1 13–2 | East Ōzeki #1 14–1–P | East Yokozuna #2 11–4 | West Yokozuna-Ōzeki #1 14–1 |
| 1980 | East Yokozuna #1 15–0 | East Yokozuna #1 1–4–10 | West Yokozuna #2 10–5 | West Yokozuna #2 4–6–5 | East Yokozuna #2 Sat out due to injury 0–0–15 | West Yokozuna #2 Retired 0–3 |
| Record given aswins–losses–absences Top division champion Top division runner-up Retired Lower divisions Non-participation Sanshō key:F=Fighting spirit;O=Outstanding performance;T=Technique Also shown:★=Kinboshi;P=Playoff(s) | ||||||
| Preceded by | 57thYokozuna 1979–1980 | Succeeded by | ||
| Yokozuna is not a successive rank, and more than one wrestler can hold the title at once | ||||
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Chairman of the Japan Sumo Association 2008–2010 | Succeeded by |