Azumafuji Kinichi

Azumafuji Kinichi - 東富士 欽壹 (born October 28, 1921 - July 31, 1973) was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Taito, Tokyo. He made his debut in January 1936 and wrestled for Takasago stable. He reached the makuuchi division in May 1943 and has 6 top division championships. He was the 40th yokozuna and he retired in September 1954.

## **Early Life**

Born in Tokyo City's Shitaya Ward (currently Taito Ward in the Tokyo Metropolis), Kin'ichi Inoue worked at the ironworks with his family ever since he was a child. Because of this, he gained a strong reputation in his neighborhood which eventually garnered the attention of Fujigane Oyakata (former komusubi Wakaminato). He was recruited into Takasago stable and he made his professional debut in January 1936 at the age of 14.

## **Career**

### **Early Career**

Wrestling under the shikona "Azumafuji" (東富士), even though he made his debut in January 1936, he did not wrestle his first actual tournament until January 1938. He reached sandanme in May 1939 and makushita in May 1940. In May 1941, he won the makushita yusho with an 8-1 record at the rank of makushita 2 and was promoted to juryo in January 1942.

### **Juryo Career**

In his first tournament as a sekitori, Azumafuji finished with a strong 12-3 record. Two tournaments later in January 1943, he won the juryo yusho with an outstanding 14-1 record at the rank juryo 2 and was promoted to makuuchi in May 1943.

### **Makuuchi Career**

Azumafuji produced a solid 10-5 record in his top division debut. In the following January 1944 tournament, he withdrew from the tournament on the 11th day due to back pains. Nevertheless, he reached the rank of sekiwake in November 1944. In his sekiwake debut, Azumafuji finished runner-up to Maedayama with a 9-1 record. In the following June 1945 tournament, Azumafuji was runner-up again with a 6-1 record. He was promoted to ozeki for the subsequent November 1945 tournament.

### **Ozeki Career**

In his ozeki debut, Azumafuji scored a strong 9-1 record. In June 1947 he posted another 9-1 record, but missed out on the yusho after losing to Maedayama in the playoff. Nevertheless, he won his first yusho in May 1948 with a 10-1 record. He followed with a 10-1 runner-up performance in October 1948 and was promoted to yokozuna in January 1949.

### **Yokozuna Career**

Going against historical trends, he managed to win a championship in his debut yokozuna tournament, in January 1949. However, he followed with a lackluster 8-7 record as he lost final five matches.

On the 12th day of the September 1951 tournament, Azumafuji recorded an azukari, or hold, a rare result. On that day, he had come down with acute pneumonia but he forced himself to continue in the tournament as he had only one loss. Azumafuji fought with then ozeki Yoshibayama twice, but the outcome still could not be determined. After the second bout, Azumafuji could not stand up any more and conceded defeat, but the gentlemanly Yoshibayama insisted that the fairest result was to declare a hold, which was confirmed by the officials. Azumafuji went on to win the tournament, his fourth championship.

Azumafuji won his sixth and final championship in September 1953, and struggled with injuries after that. In September 1954, ozeki Tochinishiki seemed certain to win his second consecutive championship. Azumafuji suddenly announced his retirement at that tournament, not wishing to hinder Tochinshiki's promotion to yokozuna. Had he remained, Tochinishiki would have become the fifth active yokozuna, an unprecedented situation. Tochinishiki reportedly asked Azumafuji to reconsider his decision, but to no avail.

## **Retirement from Sumo**

### **Professional Wrestling Career**

Azumafuji was the first yokozuna to turn to Western-style professional wrestling, in 1955. This occurred after a dispute in the Japan Sumo Association between two other elders, Takasago and Tatsunami, which he wished to escape. In April 1955 he won the Hawaiian Tag Team title in Honolulu alongside another former sumo wrestler turned professional wrestler, Rikidozan. In 1956 he defeated former judoka Toshio Yamaguchi to win the Japanese Heavyweight tournament. This tournament was supposed to give him a shot at Rikidozan, at the time the Japanese Heavyweight Champion, but the match never took place.

### **Later Career**

After retiring from professional wrestling in November 1958, he managed an apartment before becoming a sumo commentator for Fuji TV and Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS). He later became a salaryman and established the company "Finance Fuji" (ファイナンス・フジ) in the Ginza district of Tokyo. He served as the president of the company and went on to open branches in Nagoya, Sendai, Sapporo, and Shizuoka.

### **Death**

He died on July 31, 1973, at the age of 51 due to colon cancer.

## **Fighting Style**

Azumafuji was a yotsu-sumo wrestler who prefers grappling to pushing and thrusting techniques. He favored a hidari-yotsu (right hand outside, left hand inside) position when gripping his opponent's mawashi (belt). His most common kimarite was yorikiri, or force out. He was also fond of employing uwatedashinage, or pulling overarm throw.

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 335-137-54-1d-1a/466 (46 basho)
* **Makuuchi:** 261-104-54-1d-1a/359 (31 basho)
* **Juryo:** 33-12/45 (3 basho)
* **Makushita:** 19-6/25 (3 basho)
* **Sandanme:** 10-6/16 (2 basho)
* **Jonidan:** 8-6/14 (2 basho)
* **Jonokuchi:** 4-3/7 (1 basho)

### **Championships**

* 6 **Makuuchi** Championships
	+ 1st (May 1948)
	+ 2nd (January 1949)
	+ 3rd (May 1950)
	+ 4th (September 1951)
	+ 5th (May 1952)
	+ 6th (September 1953)
* 1 **Juryo** Championship (January 1943)
* 1 **Makushita** Championship (May 1941)

## **Gallery**

Azumafuji Kinichi - (Retrieved from the Nihon Sumo Kyokai)Azumafuji's handprint displayed on a monument in Ryogoku, Tokyo
## **Sources**

* Azumafuji Kinichi Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Azumafuji Kinichi Rikishi Information