Aobayama Tokuo - 青葉山 徳雄 (born February 4, 1913 - March 1, 1972) was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Sendai, Miyagi. He made his debut in January 1929 and wrestled for Jinmaku stable. He reached the makuuchi division in May 1937 and has one kinboshi. His highest rank was maegashira 4 and he retired in January 1944.
Career[]
Early Career[]
Tokuo Abe joined Jinmaku stable and made his professional debut in January 1929 under the shikona "Aobayama" (青葉山). He won the jonidan yusho in January 1931 with a perfect 6-0 record. He was subsequently promoted to sandanme where he won the sandanme yusho in January 1933. In May 1934, Aobayama won the makushita yusho with a dominant 11-0 record and was promoted to juryo for the following January 1935 tournament. After two years in juryo, he was promoted to makuuchi in May 1937.
Makuuchi Career[]
Aobayama was ranked in the top division for a total of 14 tournaments, reaching as high as maegashira 4 in January 1941. In May 1941, he defeated yokozuna Minanogawa to earn his first and only kinboshi. He retired from sumo in January 1944 in order to avoid an inevitable demotion back down to juryo.
Retirement from Sumo[]
Two years before retiring, Aobayama inherited both the Jinmaku elder stock and Jinmaku stable. Upon retiring in January 1944, he became a full-time stablemaster, however, he handed the stable over to Onogawa Oyakata (former maegashira Kinkazan) in 1954 and he subsequently transferred to Dewanoumi stable where he worked as a coach. He left the sumo world all together in January 1959.
Fighting Style[]
Aobayama was a yotsu-sumo wrestler who prefers grappling to pushing and thrusting techniques. He favored a migi-yotsu (left hand outside, right hand inside) position when gripping his opponent's mawashi (belt). His most common kimarite was yorikiri, or force out.
Record[]
Division Results[]
- Total: 130-144-3-3d/276 (24 basho)
- Makuuchi: 77-119-3-3d/198 (14 basho)
- Juryo: 30-25/55 (5 basho)
- Makushita: 11-0/11 (2 basho)
- Sandanme: 6-0/6 (1 basho)
- Jonidan: 6-0/6 (1 basho)
Championships[]
- 1 Makushita Championship (May 1934)
- 1 Sandanme Championship (January 1933)
- 1 Jonidan Championship (January 1931)
Achievements[]
- Kinboshi: (1) Minanogawa
Shikona History[]
- Aobayama Tokuo (1929.01 - 1944.01)
Gallery[]
