Masumiyama Go

Masumiyama Go - 増巳山 豪 (born January 17, 1922 - May 11, 1995) was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Kushimoto, Wakayama. He made his debut in January 1939 and wrestled for Mihogaseki stable. He reached the makuuchi division in May 1950. His highest rank was maegashira 13 and he retired in November 1958.

## **Early Life**

Masumiyama was born in the coastal town of Kushimoto in Wakayama prefecture. After graduating from an elementary school in Kobe, he worked for a company before moving to Tokyo at the age of 16 to join Mihogaseki stable.

## **Career**

### **Early Career**

He made his professional debut in January 1939 and was given the shikona "Kumanoura" (熊ノ浦) which is derived from the Kumano Sea, a scenic spot near his hometown. He was promoted to sandanme in May 1942 and makushita in May 1943. In May 1944, he was drafted into the Imperial Japanese Army for military service and he did not return to sumo until November 1946. In May 1948, he was given the shikona "Masumiyama" (増巳山) and was promoted to juryo two tournaments later in January 1949.

### **Juryo Career**

In his first tournament as a sekitori, Masumiyama finished with a 7-6 record. In January 1950, he won the juryo yusho with a superb 13-2 record at the rank of juryo 7 and was promoted to makuuchi for the following May 1950 tournament.

### **Makuuchi Career**

Masumiyama finished with an 8-7 record in his top division debut and was promoted to a career-best rank of maegashira 13 in September 1950. He struggled to progress any further and was ranked in makuuchi for a total of nine tournaments. His last top division appearance was in September 1954 and he wrestled in juryo for the remaining four years of his career.

## **Retirement from Sumo**

After a disastrous 1-14 record in September 1958 which sent him back down to makushita in November 1958, Masumiyama ultimately retired from sumo. Upon retirement from active competition, he became an elder in the Japan Sumo Association, under the name Onomatsu. He later acquired the Matsuchiyama name and reached the Sumo Association's mandatory retirement age in January 1987.

### **Death**

He died on May 11, 1995, at a hospital in Sumida, Tokyo, due to kidney cancer. He was 73 years old.

## **Fighting Style**

Masumiyama was a tsuki/oshi specialist, who prefers pushing and thrusting at his opponents rather than fighting on the mawashi or belt. He was fond of employing tsuppari, a series of rapid thrusts to the chest. His most common winning kimarite or technique was hatakikomi (slap down) followed by tsukidashi (thrust out).

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 322-343-17-1d/666 (56 basho)
* **Makuuchi:** 54-81/135 (9 basho)
* **Juryo:** 209-219-4-1d/429 (29 basho)
* **Makushita:** 28-18-13/46 (9 basho)
* **Sandanme:** 12-4/16 (2 basho)
* **Jonidan:** 15-17/32 (4 basho)
* **Jonokuchi:** 4-4/8 (1 basho)

### **Championships**

* 1 **Juryo** Championship (January 1950)

## **Shikona History**

* Kumanoura (1939.01 - 1940.01)
* Hidenoumi (1940.05 - 1947.11)
* Masumiyama Hidemi (1948.05 - 1948.10)
* Masumiyama Go (1949.01 - 1952.01)
* Masumiyama Akimasa (1952.05 - 1958.11)

## **Sources**

* Masumiyama Go Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Masumiyama Go Rikishi Information