Chiyonoumi Shigeo - 千代の海 茂夫 (born October 21, 1945) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Fukushima, Hokkaido. He made his debut in March 1963 and last wrestled for Kokonoe stable. He reached the juryo division in November 1973. His highest rank was juryo 7 and he retired in July 1974.
Career[]
He made his professional debut in March 1963, wrestling for Dewanoumi stable. In January 1965, he won the sandanme yusho with a perfect 7-0 record and was promoted to makushita in the following March 1965 tournament. In September 1966 he changed his shikona to "Chiyonoumi" (千代の海). He transferred to the recent established Kokonoe stable in 1967. From May 1973 to September 1973, he served as the bow-twirler to mark the end of the tournament days. Upon promotion to juryo in November 1973, he stepped down on his bow-twirling duties as they are usually performed by low-ranking sumo wrestlers.
In his first tournament as a sekitori, he finished with a solid 9-6 record and was promoted to the rank of juryo 7 in the following January 1974 tournament. However, he followed with two consecutive losing records and was demoted back down to makushita in May 1974 after three tournaments in juryo. He announced his retirement shortly after in July 1974.
Retirement from Sumo[]
After retiring, he opened up a chanko restaurant called "Sumo Cuisine Chiyonoumi" (相撲料理千代の海) in his wife's hometown of Hakata-ku, Fukuoka. Many celebrities such as Yoji Yamada, Sayuri Yoshinaga and Sadaharu Oh ate at his restaurant. In 2017, he closed down his restaurant. In an interview with Nikkan Sports, he cited that his knees were becoming weak and it was hard to run a restaurant at his age.
Fighting Style[]
Chiyonoumi was a yotsu-sumo wrestler who prefers grappling to pushing and thrusting techniques. He favored a hidari-yotsu (right hand outside, left hand inside) position when gripping his opponent's mawashi (belt). His most common kimarite was yorikiri, or force out.
Record[]
Division Results[]
- Total: 257-236-7/493 (69 basho)
- Juryo: 16-29/45 (3 basho)
- Makushita: 160-155-7/315 (46 basho)
- Sandanme: 52-32/84 (12 basho)
- Jonidan: 24-18/42 (6 basho)
- Jonokuchi: 5-2/7 (1 basho)
Championships[]
- 1 Sandanme Championship (January 1965)
Shikona History[]
- Okabe Shigeo (1963.03 - 1966.07)
- Chiyonoumi Shigeo (1966.09 - 1973.01)
- Okabe Shigeo (1973.03 - 1973.09)
- Chiyonoumi Shigeo (1973.11 - 1974.07)
Gallery[]
