Kashiwado Tsuyoshi

Kashiwado Tsuyoshi (Japanese: 柏戸 剛, November 29, 1938 – December 8, 1996) was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Yamagata Prefecture. He was the sport's 47th yokozuna, fighting at the sport's highest rank from 1961 to 1969. After his retirement he became an elder of the Japan Sumo Association and ran his own training stable from 1970 until his death.

Kashiwado Tsuyoshi
柏戸 剛
Kashiwado, 1961
Personal information
BornTsuyoshi Togashi
(1938-11-29)November 29, 1938
Yamagata Prefecture, Japan
DiedDecember 8, 1996(1996-12-08) (aged 58)
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight139 kg (306 lb)
Career
StableIsenoumi
Record715-295-140
DebutSeptember, 1954
Highest rankYokozuna (September, 1961)
RetiredJuly, 1969
Elder nameKagamiyama
Championships5 (Makuuchi)
1 (Jūryō)
1 (Makushita)
Special PrizesFighting Spirit (2)
Technique (4)
Outstanding Performance (2)
* Up to date as of June 2020.

Career

Born Tsuyoshi Togashi (富樫 剛) in what is now part of the city of Tsuruoka in the northern prefecture of Yamagata, he made his professional debut in September 1954, joining Isenoumi stable. He initially fought under his real name and rose rapidly up the rankings, reaching the top makuuchi division in September 1958. In only his fourth top division tournament, coinciding with his adoption of the shikona surname Kashiwado, he was runner-up to yokozuna Tochinishiki with a 13–2 record and earned special prizes for Fighting Spirit and Technique. He made the sanyaku ranks in November 1959, earning promotion to ōzeki in September 1960 and becoming the first wrestler from his home prefecture to achieve this rank in 72 years, since Ōdate's promotion in 1888.[1] Kashiwado took his first top division yūshō or championship in January 1961. After taking part in a playoff for the championship in September of that year, he was promoted to yokozuna, joining the aging pair of Asashio III and Wakanohana who were soon to retire.

Kashiwado's handprint displayed on a monument in Ryōgoku, Tokyo

Kashiwado changed the spelling of his ring name to 柏戸 健志 in May 1962, but changed it back in November 1964. He went on to win five top division championships in total, a long way behind the thirty-two captured by his rival Taihō, who was promoted to yokozuna simultaneously with him. He was however a tournament runner-up on no fewer than fifteen occasions.[2] Kashiwado suffered from many injury problems during his career, which led to him being dubbed the "glass yokozuna". He failed to complete four tournaments in a row from January to July 1963. However he made a spectacular comeback in September 1963, winning his first championship as a yokozuna with a perfect 15–0 record. He was listed as a yokozuna on the banzuke for 47 tournaments, which puts him in equal seventh place on the all-time list.[3] He was popular among sumo crowds, appealing to those who found Taihō too dominant.[4] The eight years in which the two shared the yokozuna rank was known as the Hakuhō era, a combination of their names (Haku is another reading of Kashi.)[4] Their head-to-head record was fairly even, standing at 18–16 in Taihō's favour by May 1967, before Taihō won their last five matches in a row as Kashiwado began to fade.[2]

Fighting style

Kashiwado's favoured kimarite or techniques were migi-yotsu (a left hand outside, right hand inside grip on the opponents mawashi), yorikiri (force out) and tsukidashi (thrust out). In all, about sixty percent of his wins were by either force out or force out and down (yoritaoshi).

Retirement from sumo

After retiring from active competition in July 1969 Kashiwado remained in the sumo world as an elder, and he opened up his own stable, Kagamiyama, in November 1970. In July 1975 he oversaw the simultaneous promotion of Zaonishiki and Konuma to jūryō. He coached Tagaryū to the sekiwake rank, and a top division championship in September 1984. He also served as a director of the Sumo Association and was head of the judges committee until 1994.[5] He died of liver failure in 1996, at the age of 58. Taihō was at Kashiwado's bedside and was distraught over his death.[6] The former Tagaryū took over the running of Kagamiyama stable, which still exists as of 2020, but with only two wrestlers.[2]

Career record

  • The Kyushu tournament was first held in 1957, and the Nagoya tournament in 1958.
Kashiwado Tsuyoshi[7]
Year in sumo January
Hatsu basho, Tokyo
March
Haru basho, Osaka
May
Natsu basho, Tokyo
July
Nagoya basho, Nagoya
September
Aki basho, Tokyo
November
Kyūshū basho, Fukuoka
1954 x x x Not held
33
Maezumo

 
Not held
1955 East Jonokuchi #12
62
 
East Jonidan #37
62
 
West Sandanme #84
53
 
Not held East Sandanme #62
25
 
Not held
1956 East Sandanme #66
71
 
West Sandanme #20
62
 
West Makushita #69
80P
Champion

 
Not held West Makushita #17
44
 
Not held
1957 West Makushita #16
53
 
West Makushita #8
44
 
East Makushita #8
71
 
Not held West Makushita #1
53
 
West Jūryō #22
87
 
1958 East Jūryō #21
78
 
West Jūryō #22
123
Champion

 
West Jūryō #10
114PPP
 
East Jūryō #4
123
 
East Maegashira #20
96
 
West Maegashira #17
87
 
1959 East Maegashira #16
87
 
West Maegashira #13
132
FT
East Maegashira #4
510
 
East Maegashira #8
96
 
East Maegashira #3
123
F
East Komusubi #1
87
 
1960 East Komusubi #1
96
T
West Sekiwake #2
96
O
West Sekiwake #1
105
T
East Sekiwake #1
114
TO
West Ōzeki #1
123
 
East Ōzeki #1
114
 
1961 West Ōzeki #1
132
 
East Ōzeki #1
123
 
East Ōzeki #1
105
 
West Ōzeki #1
114
 
West Ōzeki #1
123PP
 
East Yokozuna #2
123
 
1962 West Yokozuna #1
105
 
East Yokozuna #2
114
 
West Yokozuna #1
114
 
West Yokozuna #1
114
 
West Yokozuna #1
114
 
West Yokozuna #1
123
 
1963 West Yokozuna #1
Sat out due to injury
0015
West Yokozuna #1
519
 
West Yokozuna #1
Sat out due to injury
0015
West Yokozuna #1
Sat out due to injury
0015
West Yokozuna #1
150
 
East Yokozuna #1
105
 
1964 West Yokozuna #1
123
 
West Yokozuna #1
141
 
West Yokozuna #1
1113
 
West Yokozuna #1
Sat out due to injury
0015
East Yokozuna #2
429
 
East Yokozuna #2
249
 
1965 West Yokozuna #1
Sat out due to injury
0015
West Yokozuna #2
Sat out due to injury
0015
West Yokozuna #2
96
 
East Yokozuna #2
123
 
East Yokozuna #2
123PP
 
West Yokozuna #1
1113
 
1966 West Yokozuna #2
141
 
East Yokozuna #1
105
 
West Yokozuna #1
123
 
West Yokozuna-Ōzeki #1
123
 
West Yokozuna #1
132P
 
West Yokozuna #1
105
 
1967 West Yokozuna #1
123
 
East Yokozuna #2
114
 
West Yokozuna #1
132
 
West Yokozuna #1
141
 
East Yokozuna #1
96
 
East Yokozuna #2
114
 
1968 East Yokozuna #2
96
 
West Yokozuna #1
96
 
East Yokozuna #1
447
 
East Yokozuna #1
105
 
East Yokozuna #1
96
 
West Yokozuna #1
114
 
1969 West Yokozuna #1
105
 
West Yokozuna #1
96
 
East Yokozuna #1
96
 
West Yokozuna #1
Retired
13
Record given as win-loss-absent    Top Division Champion Top Division Runner-up Retired Lower Divisions

Sanshō key: F=Fighting spirit; O=Outstanding performance; T=Technique     Also shown: =Kinboshi; P=Playoff(s)
Divisions: Makuuchi Jūryō Makushita Sandanme Jonidan Jonokuchi

Makuuchi ranks: Yokozuna Ōzeki Sekiwake Komusubi Maegashira

See also

References

  1. "Wrestlers from Yamagata Prefecture by rank". SumoDB. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  2. Gunning, John (26 January 2020). "Kashiwado carved out place despite presence of legend". Japan Times. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  3. Japan Sumo Association Banzuke Topics, May 2008. Retrieved on 2008-05-02 Archived 2012-04-11 at the Wayback Machine
  4. Sharnoff, Lora (1993). Grand Sumo. Weatherhill. p. 51. ISBN 0-8348-0283-X.
  5. Kirkup, James (12 December 1996). "Obituary: Kashiwado". The Independent. Retrieved 1 March 2011.
  6. Nobuaki Omi (2008-07-09). "Squabbling yokozuna need history lesson". Daily Yomiuri Online. Retrieved 2008-07-09.
  7. "Kashiwado Tsuyoshi Rikishi Information". Sumo Reference. Retrieved 2012-07-29.
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