Wakanami Jun

Wakanami Jun - 若浪順 (born March 1, 1941 - April 16, 2007) was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Iwai, Ibaraki. He made his debut in March 1957 and wrestled for Tatsunami stable. He reached the makuuchi division in May 1963 and has four special prizes, three kinboshi and one top division championship. His highest rank was komusubi and he retired in March 1972.

Early Life[]

Tomiyama was born to farmers in Iwai, Ibaraki. He was a strong kid and when he was in the second grade he was able to lift an 80 kg (176 Ib) gravestone. In junior high school he participated in many sports including baseball, judo, high jump and shot put. However, he aspired to become a sumo wrestler as he was a fan of the highly popular yokozuna Wakanohana I. After graduating junior high school he joined Tatsunami stable.

Career[]

Early Career[]

He made his professional debut in March 1957 and initially wrestled under his surname Tomiyama. He was promoted to sandanme in July 1958 and makushita in May 1959. In January 1961 he won the makushita yusho with a perfect 7-0 record at the rank of makushita 5 and was promoted to juryo for the following March 1961 tournament.

Juryo Career[]

His first juryo run lasted only two tournaments and he was demoted back down to makushita in September 1961. He changed his shikona to "Wakanami" (若浪) in January 1962 and won the makushita yusho in the following March tournament to earn a re-promotion to juryo in May 1962. He was promoted to makuuchi in May 1963.

Makuuchi Career[]

He was small, at just 178 cm and 103 kg, but he was very popular with sumo fans. In July 1964 he reached his highest rank of komusubi, which he was to hold on three occasions with a combined record of only 10 wins against 35 losses. He was runner-up to Kashiwado in the July 1967 tournament.

WkaanamiCelebratesYusho — Wakanami celebrates after winning the March 1968 tournament

In March 1968, ranked as a maegashira, he won the championship (yusho) in the top division with a 13–2 record, finishing ahead of ozeki Yutakayama and Tamanoshima. Yokozuna Taiho was out through injury and Sadanoyama announced his retirement, and Wakanami did not have to face anyone ranked higher than sekiwake during the tournament. It was not a popular victory, as the public had wanted the well-liked Yutakayama to finally win his first yusho (which he never managed to achieve), and it led to demands that low ranking maegashira challenging for the yusho be matched against all the other contenders in the crucial final days of the tournament, now a standard practice. He was promoted to komusubi for the following tournament but could manage only two wins there.

He fought in the makuuchi division for 52 tournaments in total. He won four special prizes, two for Fighting Spirit and two for Technique. He earned three kinboshi or gold stars for defeating yokozuna. He fell briefly to the juryo division in 1969 and won the second division championship, becoming the first wrestler to do this after winning the top division championship. He retired in March 1972.

Retirement from Sumo[]

He stayed in the sumo world after retirement as a coach at his stable, and was known as Onaruto and then Tamagaki Oyakata. Wakanami left the Sumo Association upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 65 in March 2006, although he had been hospitalized since December 2004 after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage. His nephew was also a sumo wrestler in the Tatsunami stable, and reached a highest rank of makushita 2 before retiring in March 2010. He was known as Wakainami for most of his career, but was told he could drop the "i" and use his uncle's shikona if he reached the juryo division. He never did, but after visiting his uncle in hospital in September 2005, was given permission to use the Wakanami shikona before his uncle retired.

Death[]

Wakanami died in a Tokyo hospital following complications from pneumonia on 17 April 2007.

Fighting Style[]

Although small by sumo standards, Wakanami was very strong in his arms and back, and liked to try tsuri (lifts) even on very heavy opponents like Takamiyama. He was also known for his agility, and his ability to spin on the edge of the dohyo. During his tournament victory he won five of his matches by utchari (ring edge throw). One of his chief rivals was sekiwake Myobudani with whom he had several spirited matches.