Inazuma Raigorō

Inazuma Raigorō (Japanese: 稲妻 雷五郎, 1802 – March 29, 1877) was a Japanese sumo wrestler from Awazaki, Hitachi Province (now Inashiki, Ibaraki Prefecture). He was the sport's 7th yokozuna.

Inazuma Raigorō
稲妻 雷五郎
19th century print of Inazuma
Personal information
BornNemoto Saisuke
1802
Awazaki, Hitachi Province, Japan
DiedMarch 29, 1877(1877-03-29) (aged 75)
Tokyo Prefecture, Empire of Japan
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight142 kg (313 lb)
Career
StableSadogatake
Record130-13-73
14draws-3holds-1no result
(Makuuchi)
DebutFebruary 1821
Highest rankYokozuna (September 1830)
RetiredNovember 1839
Championships10 (Makuuchi, unofficial)
* Up to date as of October 2007.

Early life and career

Born Nemoto Saisuke (根本 才助), his birth date is ambiguous. Although the date of 1802 is commonly accepted, some say he was born between 1795 or 1798. If the former is correct, he was the youngest yokozuna until the promotion of Umegatani Tōtarō II in 1903. The details of his younger days are unclear.
He entered the Sadogatake stable in 1821, under the shikona, or ring name, Makinoshima (巻ノ嶋).[1] There, he began to wrestle for the Matsudaira clan, under which legendary sumo wrestler Raiden wrestled.[2] Other sources state that he only started wrestling for the Matsudaira clan after he left his stable for the Nishikiyama stables.[3] Uppon promotion to komusubi in 1824, he changed his ring name to Inazuma Raigorō (稲妻 雷五郎), meaning "lightning bolt" in Japanese. He reached the highest rank of ōzeki on ability alone, after only 6 tournaments (some ōzeki of the period were merely given the rank because of their size or status). Ōnomatsu is said to have been his rival and their competition established the golden age of sumo in the late Edo period.[3]
In 1828, the Gojō family offered him a yokozuna license and two years later he received one from the Yoshida family, and thus has been accepted as an official yokozuna.[1]

In the top makuuchi division, he won 130 bouts and lost only 13 bouts, achieving a winning percentage of 90.9.[4]

Retirement from sumo

After his retirement, he moved to Matsue but he returned to Tokyo in the Meiji period. He was known as a good calligrapher and a skilled writer, leaving behind him a lot of haiku.[1] He died on March 29, 1877. His last words were "Lightning (Inazuma (稲妻)) is passing away in the wind and the autumn sky".[1] He was buried in the graveyard of the Myoen-ji temple in Shibuya, Tokyo. A bronze statue of Inazuma was erected in front of the Inashiki Municipal Museum of History and Folklore.[5]

The sumo precepts

Inazuma is credited to have wrote the "Sumo Precepts" (sumo kun, 相撲訓), a combination of teachings related to sumo that warned rikishi against coarse behavior and taught them how to cultivate their fighting spirit. These precepts include notions like the cardinal values of Sumo (wisdom, humanity and courage) and disciplinary advices (wrestlers are not to indulge in the vices of alcohol and gambling). The "Sumo Precepts" also give advices to wrestlers when in bouts (do not show mercy to your opponent, do not underestimate him, do not fear him, do not scheme against him and follow your breathing while observing the moves).[1]

Top division record

  • The actual time the tournaments were held during the year in this period often varied.
Inazuma[6]
- Spring Winter
1824 x West Maegashira #5
702
1h
Unofficial

 
1825 West Komusubi
523
 
West Komusubi
811
Unofficial

 
1826 West Sekiwake
612
1d

 
West Sekiwake
701
1d 1h

 
1827 West Sekiwake
502
Unofficial

 
Not enrolled
1828 Not enrolled West Ōzeki
415
 
1829 West Ōzeki
601
Unofficial

 
West Ōzeki
801
1d
Unofficial

 
1830 West Ōzeki
802
Unofficial

 
West Ōzeki
612
1h

 
1831 West Ōzeki
316
 
West Ōzeki
80
Unofficial

 
1832 Not held West Ōzeki
801
1d
Unofficial

 
1833 West Ōzeki
90
1d
Unofficial

 
Not enrolled
1834 Not enrolled Not enrolled
1835 West Ōzeki
503
2d

 
West Ōzeki
622
 
1836 Sat out West Ōzeki
307
 
1837 West Ōzeki
504
1d
Unofficial

 
West Ōzeki
511
2d 1nr

 
1838 West Ōzeki
303
 
Sat out
1839 West Ōzeki
135
1d

 
West Ōzeki
Retired
403
3d
Record given as win-loss-absent    Top Division Champion Retired Lower Divisions

Key:   d=Draw(s) (引分);   h=Hold(s) (預り);   nr=no result recorded
Divisions: Makuuchi Jūryō Makushita Sandanme Jonidan Jonokuchi

Makuuchi ranks: 
Yokozuna (not ranked as such on banzuke until 1890)
Ōzeki Sekiwake Komusubi Maegashira

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

See also

References

  1. Atsuo Tsubota. "Biographies of Yokozuna (4th to 13th)" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 5 March 2002. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  2. 稲妻雷五郎の像 (in Japanese). Joyo Living. 2007-08-17. Retrieved 2008-07-04.
  3. "7th Yokozuna Inazuma Raigoro - Time-Line". Ozumo database (in Japanese). Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  4. Kuroda, Joe (February 2006). "A Shot At the Impossible-Yokozuna Comparison Through The Ages". sumofanmag.com. Retrieved 2008-06-22.
  5. "Sumo Yokozuna Inazuma Raigoro - Inashiki Municipal Museum of History and Folklore". Ibaraki Daisuki (in Japanese). 16 July 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  6. "Inazuma Raigoro Rikishi Information". Sumo Reference. Retrieved 2007-09-26.
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