Ichinoya Tōtarō

Ichinoya Tōtarō (Japanese: 一ノ矢 藤太郎, born Tōtarō Fukushi (福士　藤太郎, Fukushi Tōtarō), March 25, 1856 – February 15, 1923) was a Japanese sumo wrestler from Minamitsugaru District, Aomori Prefecture (now Inakadate, Aomori), Japan. His highest rank was ōzeki. He is the third ōzeki from Aomori Prefecture and the first promoted at this rank in 55 years, after Akitsukaze's promotion in 1834.[1]

In this Japanese shikona name, the surname is Ichinoya.
This article is about sumo wrestler from Minamitsugaru District, Aomori Prefecture. For others, see Ichinoya.
Ichinoya Tōtarō
一ノ矢 藤太郎
Ichinoya (left) faces Nishinoumi I (right) in a sumo match in 1887
Personal information
BornTōtarō Fukushi
(1856-03-25)March 25, 1856
Minamitsugaru District, Aomori Prefecture, Japan
DiedFebruary 15, 1923(1923-02-15) (aged 66)
Height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight95 kg (209 lb)
Career
StableTakasago
Record67-33-76-4 draws/10 holds (Makuuchi)
DebutMay, 1880
Highest rankŌzeki (January, 1889)
Championships2 (Makuuchi, unofficial)
* Up to date as of September 2023.

Career

Ichinoya became the disciple of Takasago Uragorō, the founder of the current incarnation of Takasago stable, in May 1880. In May 1883, he was promoted to sumo's highest division, makuuchi, after only 6 tournaments in the lower divisions. Since his ascension to this division, there has always been at least one wrestler from Aomori prefecture in the makuuchi division.[1][2] In his first tournament in this division, he won the championship. Ichinoya rose rapidly through the ranks, reaching rank of komusubi in 1887 for the January tournament. Gaining a reputation as a prodigy, he was considered along with Nishinoumi I and Ōdate, as one of the Takasago Sanbagarasu (高砂三羽烏), meaning "The Takasago Trio", to emphasize the potential of these three wrestlers.[3] At this tournament, he won his second championship. However, as the yūshō system was not introduced until 1909, these championship victories are now considered unofficial. After this championship, he was promoted directly to the rank of sekiwake and, following two good tournaments in 1888, he was promoted to the second-highest rank in professional sumo, ōzeki. Ichinoya's ōzeki career, however, only lasted two tournaments and he was demoted back to sekiwake for the January 1890 tournament. Following his demotion, he continued to wrestle in the san'yaku ranks for another three years before retiring as a wrestler after the May 1892 tournament.

After retiring, he did not remain in the Sumo Association, but returned to his homeprefecture of Aomori and toured around the countryside, leading a local sumo group, living to the age of 66.[3] Many people admired Ichinoya and Takasago stable began to become popular and well received by younger generations. For this reason, he was nicknamed Aomori sumo ōkoku chūkō no so (青森相撲王国中興の祖), meaning 'Founder of the Aomori Sumo Kingdom', since he is credited in part with the importance of the prefecture's wrestlers in the highest ranks of the sport.[4]

In 1953, his grandson (Ryōichi Sudo) also became a professional wrestler within Kasugano stable. He adopted his grandfather's shikona, or ring name, in March 1957 and became Ichinoya Tōtarō II. Promoted to makuuchi in 1961, his highest rank was maegashira 4.[5]

Top division record
  • The actual time the tournaments were held during the year in this period often varied.
Ichinoya Tōtarō[6]
- Spring Summer
1883 Unknown West Maegashira #10
7–2–1
Unofficial
 
1884 West Maegashira #6
3–4–1
1d-1h
 		 West Maegashira #6
2–3–3
2h
 
1885 West Maegashira #3
4–3–1
1d-1h
 		 West Maegashira #2
0–0–10
 
1886 West Maegashira #5
6–3–1
 		 West Maegashira #1
6–3–1
 
1887 West Komusubi #1
8–1–1
Unofficial
 		 West Sekiwake #1
3–1–6
 
1888 West Sekiwake #1
4–1–4
1h
 		 West Sekiwake #1
7–0–1
2d
 
1889 West Ōzeki #1
3–2–4
1h
 		 West Ōzeki #1
6–3–1
 
1890 West Sekiwake #1
1–3–5
1h
 		 East Sekiwake #1
0–0–10
 
1891 East Komusubi #1
5–3–2
 		 East Komusubi #1
0–0–10
 
1892 East Komusubi #1
2–1–4
3h
 		 East Komusubi #1
Retired
0–0–10
Record given as win-loss-absent    Top Division Champion Top Division Runner-up Retired Lower Divisions

Key:d=Draw(s) (引分);   h=Hold(s) (預り)
Divisions: Makuuchi — Jūryō — Makushita — Sandanme — Jonidan — Jonokuchi

Makuuchi ranks: Yokozuna — Ōzeki — Sekiwake — Komusubi — Maegashira

*Championships for the best record in a tournament were not recognized or awarded before the 1909 summer tournament, and the unofficial championships above are historically conferred. For more information, see yūshō.

See also

Notes
1.^ As of September 2023, 140 years later, the record still stands with Takarafuji, Ōnoshō and Nishikifuji still competing in sumo's top division.

References
  1. "Wrestlers from Aomori Prefecture by rank". SumoDB. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  2. 多くの横綱や名力士を輩出した「相撲王国」青森県　関取ゼロに現実味. Sankei Sports (in Japanese). 8 September 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  3. "一の矢 藤太郎（読み）イチノヤ トウタロウ - 20世紀日本人名事典 「一の矢 藤太郎」の解説". Nichigai Associates "Encyclopedia of 20th Century Japanese" (in Japanese). Retrieved 12 September 2023 – via Kotobank Encyclopedia.
  4. "大相撲名門列伝シリーズ(3) 高砂部屋" [Ozumo Famous Biographies Series (3) Takasago stable]. Sumo Magazine. Baseball Magazine, Inc. (September 2017): 11.
  5. "Ichinoya Totaro II". SumoDB. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  6. "Ichinoya Totaro Rikishi Information". Sumo Reference.
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