Wakabayama Tsuyoshi - 若葉山 強 (born November 7, 1946) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Shinjo, Yamagata. He made his debut in July 1962 and wrestled for Tokitsukaze stable. He reached the juryo division in January 1965. His highest rank was juryo 5 and he retired in January 1968.
Early Life[]
Ito was born in Mogami District in Yamagata prefecture. In junior high school, he played the positions of outfielder and pitcher and was the fourth batter. After graduating junior high school, he joined professional sumo, entering Tokitsukaze stable, and made his professional debut in July 1962.
Career[]
Initially wrestling under the shikona "Itogawa" (伊藤川), he won the jonokuchi yusho with a perfect 7-0 record in his first professional tournament. He was promoted to sandanme in January 1963 and makushita in September 1963. In his first makushita tournament, he finished with a perfect 7-0 record, but missed out on the yusho after losing to Wakanoshima in the playoff. Nevertheless, in November 1964 he won the makushita yusho and was promoted to juryo for the following January 1965 tournament.
At the time of his juryo promotion, he was only 18 years and 1 month old, and became the first sekitori born after World War II. He was ranked in juryo for a total of 14 tournaments. In July 1966 he was given the prestigious shikona "Wakabayama" (若葉山) which had been previously used by two other sekitori. His highest rank was juryo 5 which he achieved in January 1967, however, after two consecutive losing records, he was demoted down to makushita in May 1967. He retired from sumo after the January 1968 tournament at the young age of 21.
Retirement from Sumo[]
Keirin Career[]
After leaving sumo, he attended the Japan Institute of KEIRIN (JIK) and was a member of the 28th graduating class. He made his debut on February 14, 1971, at the Kawasaki Velodrome in Kawasaki, Kanagawa. At his highest, he was ranked at the A1 class. He raced a total of 2738 races and finished with 221 wins.
Fighting Style[]
Wakabayama 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: 171-170-2/340 (34 basho)
- Juryo: 100-108-2/207 (14 basho)
- Makushita: 42-49/91 (13 basho)
- Sandanme: 17-11/28 (4 basho)
- Jonidan: 5-2/7 (1 basho)
- Jonokuchi: 7-0/7 (1 basho)
Championships[]
- 1 Makushita Championship (November 1964)
- 1 Jonokuchi Championship (September 1962)
Shikona History[]
- Ito Tsuyoshi (1962.07 - 1962.07)
- Itogawa Tsuyoshi (1962.09 - 1966.05)
- Wakabayama Tsuyoshi (1966.07 - 1968.01)
Gallery[]
