Kitanoumi Toshimitsu - 北の湖 敏満 (born May 16, 1953 - November 20, 2015) was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Sobetsu, Hokkaido. He made his debut in January 1967 and wrestled for Mihogaseki stable. He reached the makuuchi division in January 1972 and has 3 special prizes, 1 kinboshi and 24 top division championships. He was the 55th yokozuna and he retired in January 1985.
Early Life[]
Obata was born on May 16, 1953, in the town of Sobetsu in Hokkaido Prefecture. He was the seventh of eight siblings, and the fourth son, and his father worked for the Japan Agricultural Cooperatives in the Usu District in Hokkaido. He practiced judo and due to his big stature, he was recruited for professional sumo and he joined Mihogaseki stable.
Career[]
Early Career[]
He made his professional debut in January 1967 at the age of 13 and had to finish his junior high school education at Ryogoku Junior High School. He was given the shikona "Kitanoumi" (北の湖). In January 1968, he won all seven matches, but missed out on the jonidan yusho after losing to Abenoyama in the playoff. Nevertheless, he was promoted to sandanme in the following March 1968 tournament and makushita in March 1969. In March 1971, he produced a 5-2 record at the rank of makushita 1 and was promoted to juryo in the following May 1971 tournament.
Juryo Career[]
At 17 years 11 months, he was the youngest ever sekitori in the modern era (later broken by Takahanada). He produced a solid 9-6 record in his first tournament as a sekitori, but followed with a 6-9 record. Nevertheless, he bounced back and posted two consecutive winning records to earn a promotion to makuuchi.
Makuuchi Career[]
Kitanoumi at the time of his top division debut was only 18 years 7 months old and was agin the youngest sekitori and both the juryo and makuuchi divisions. He could only manage a 5-10 record in his top division debut and was demoted back down to juryo. Nevertheless, he returned to makuuchi in the following tournament and was promoted to komusubi in January 1973, however, he could only manage four wins in his san'yaku debut. In the following tournament, he produced a 9-6 record and was awarded his first Fighting Spirit prize. In May 1973 tournament, he defeated yokozuna Kitanofuji to earn his only career kinboshi.
In September 1993, he produced an 8-7 record at the rank of komusubi and was promoted to sekiwake in the following November tournament where he posted a strong 10-5 record to earn his first Outstanding Performance prize. In January 1974, he won his first makuuchi yusho with a spectacular 14-1 record and he was promoted to ozeki in the following March 1974 tournament.
Ozeki Career[]
In his ozeki debut, Kitanoumi finished with a solid 10-5 record. In the following May 1974 tournament, he won his second yusho with a strong 13-2 record. He followed this record with another 13-2 record, but missed out on the yusho after losing to Wajima in the playoff. Nevertheless, he secured yokozuna promotion after the tournament in July 1974 after only three tournaments ranked as ozeki. At 21 years 2 months, he was the youngest ever yokozuna, beating the previous record held by Taiho by one month.
Yokozuna Career[]
Kitanoumi was the most successful wrestler in sumo for the rest of the 1970s. His dominance, and perceived stern demeanor, meant that he was not that popular with the general public. When he was defeated by underdog Takanohana in a playoff for the championship in September 1975, the audience threw so many zabuton—or cushions—into the ring in delight, that Kitanoumi said he could "hardly see the ceiling". He was known for not offering a defeated opponent a hand to get back to their feet, and was also notoriously monosyllabic when being interviewed by reporters.
His best year was 1978, when he won 5 of the 6 tournaments and won 82 out of a possible 90 bouts, a record that stood until 2005. His chief rival during these years was Wajima, but Kitanoumi was much more consistent. He was heavy at 169 kg, was extremely strong and had excellent balance. He was also remarkably injury free and rarely missed a tournament. From July 1973 until September 1981 he chalked up 50 consecutive kachi-koshi, or tournament records of at least 8 wins out of 15, which was a record for the top division until 2015, when Hakuho reached 51 consecutive kachi-koshi.
By the beginning of the 1980s he had a new rival, Chiyonofuji, who earned promotion to ozeki and then yokozuna by defeating him in decisive matches in January and July 1981. In November 1981 Kitanoumi withdrew from a tournament for the first time. After that his record was patchy, with many absences. His 24th and final title came in May 1984, with a perfect 15–0 record. This was seen by many as a fitting end to a great career and he wanted to retire after that tournament, but was persuaded by the Sumo Association to carry on until the opening of the new Ryogoku Kokugikan stadium in January 1985. Three days into the tournament, without winning a match, he announced his retirement. He had been ranked as a yokozuna on the banzuke in 63 tournaments, which remained the most in history until Hakuho surpassed it in May 2018. During his career he had won 951 matches, the most in history at the time (he was overtaken by Oshio in 1987). Of those victories, 804 came in the top division (a record broken by Chiyonofuji in 1991), and 670 of those came at the yokozuna rank.
Retirement from Sumo[]
Kitanoumi Oyakata (c. 2013)
Kitanoumi was honored for his great achievements by being offered membership of the Japan Sumo Association without having to purchase a share (ichidai toshiyori). He was the second rikishi after Taiho to be given this honor. As a result, he was able to keep his sumo name after retirement. He opened up his own training stable, Kitanoumi stable, taking several wrestlers from Mihogaseki stable who had already been under his wing. Kitanoumi stable is one of the largest in sumo, and has produced a handful of top division wrestlers over the years, such as maegashira Ganyu, Kitazakura and Kitataiki. He also inherited Russian wrestler Hakurozan, who joined the stable in 2006.
In 2002 Kitanoumi became head of the Sumo Association. He was the first chairman under the age of 50 in half a century, and his appointment was widely welcomed; however, he came under pressure after a series of scandals hit sumo. These included the behavior of yokozuna Asashoryu, who was suspended for two tournaments in 2007 but then allowed to return to Mongolia, the death of junior wrestler Tokitaizan at Tokitsukaze stable, and the dismissal of several top wrestlers for using cannabis. When it became clear in September 2008 that one of them was his own wrestler Hakurozan, whom he had previously backed, Kitanoumi resigned his post, apologizing for "the trouble I have caused to the Sumo Association and to fans". He remained on the board of directors, in charge of running the Osaka tournament,but had to resign from that position in April 2011 after another of his wrestlers, Kiyoseumi, was found guilty of match-fixing and forced to retire from sumo. After Hanaregoma stepped down in February 2012, Kitanoumi returned to the role of chairman, becoming the first person to head the association twice.
Death[]
Kitanoumi died of colorectal cancer and multiple organ failure on the evening of November 20, 2015. He was in Fukuoka for the Kyushu tournament and was taken to the hospital for anemia in the morning, after which his condition deteriorated. A memorial service was held on December 22 at the Ryogoku Kokugikan.
Fighting Style[]
Kitanoumi defeats Asahifuji by uwatenage (overarm throw)
Kitanoumi 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. He was also fond of employing uwatenage, or overarm throw.
Record[]
Division Results[]
- Total: 951-350-107/1293 (109 basho)
- Makuuchi: 804-247-107/1043 (78 basho)
- Juryo: 43-32/75 (5 basho)
- Makushita: 54-37/91 (13 basho)
- Sandanme: 24-18/42 (6 basho)
- Jonidan: 21-14/35 (5 basho)
- Jonokuchi: 5-2/7 (1 basho)
Championships[]
- 24 Makuuchi Championships
- 1st (January 1974)
- 2nd (May 1974)
- 3rd (January 1975)
- 4th (May 1975)
- 5th (January 1976)
- 6th (May 1976)
- 7th (November 1976)
- 8th (March 1977)
- 9th (September 1977)
- 10th (January 1978)
- 11th (March 1978)
- 12th (May 1978)
- 13th (July 1978)
- 14th (September 1978)
- 15th (January 1979)
- 16th (March 1979)
- 17th (September 1979)
- 18th (March 1980)
- 19th (May 1980)
- 20th (July 1980)
- 21st (March 1981)
- 22nd (May 1981)
- 23rd (January 1982)
- 24th (May 1984)
Achievements[]
- Special Prizes: Outstanding Performance Prize (2), Fighting Spirit Prize (1)
- Kinboshi: (1) Kitanofuji
- Record: 2nd most tournaments ranked at yokozuna (63 tournaments)
- Record: 3rd most championship playoffs (8 championship playoffs)
- Record: 4th most top division wins (804 top division wins)
- Record: Tied for 4th most undefeated championships (7 undefeated championships)
- Record: Tied for 4th most wins in a calendar year (82/90 bouts won in 1978)
- Record: 5th most career championships (24 championships)
- Record: 5th most career wins (951 career wins)
- Record: 5th highest modern era win ratio (76.5%)
- Record: Tied for 5th most consecutive championships (5 consecutive championships)
- Record: Tied for 8th most wins in a calendar year (80/90 bouts won in 1977)
- Record: 10th most consecutive top division bouts (863 consecutive bouts)
Shikona History[]
- Kitanoumi Toshimitsu (1967.01 - 1985.01)
Gallery[]
