Oiwazan Daigoro

Oiwazan Daigoro - 大岩山 大五郎 (born May 20, 1919 - December 5, 1980) was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Chuo, Tokyo. He made his debut in May 1937 and wrestled for Tatsunami stable. He reached the makuuchi division in November 1946. His highest rank was maegashira 9 and he retired in March 1954.

## **Career**

### **Early Career**

At the age of 17, Funabashi entered Tatsunami stable and made his debut in May 1937, wrestling under the shikona "Oiwazan" (大岩山). He was promoted to sandanme in January 1940 and makushita in May 1943. In 1942, he briefly wrestled under the shikona "Azumaiwa" (東岩) before reverting back to Oiwazan. He reached juryo in November 1944, but was demoted back down to makushita after only one tournament. He returned to juryo in November 1945 after winning the makushita yusho in the previous June 1945 tournament. Upon his return to juryo, Oiwazan finished with a strong 7-3 record and was promoted to makuuchi for the following November 1946 tournament.

### **Makuuchi Career**

Oiwazan struggled in the top division due to his extreme near sightedness and his highest rank was maegashira 9 which he reached in October 1948. Although he was unable to advance to the top makuuchi ranks, Oiwazan was still popular because he performed the bow twirling ceremony. He was demoted back down to juryo in September 1950, but returned to makuuchi in September 1951 after winning the juryo yusho in the previous May 1951 tournament. In May 1952, Oiwazan finished with a 12-3 record and was runner-up to Azumafuji's 13-2 record. However, Oiwazan was not awarded a special prize and he eventually fell back down to juryo in September 1953. He retired from sumo in March 1954 to avoid an inevitable demotion back down to makushita.

## **Retirement from Sumo**

Oiwazan remained in sumo as an elder of the Japan Sumo Association, working as a coach at Dewanoumi stable under the name Naruto Oyakata. He served as a long-time instructor at the sumo training school.

### **Death**

Oiwazan died on December 5, 1980, at a hospital in Minato, Tokyo, due to sepsis. He was 61 years old.

## **Fighting Style**

Oiwazan was a yotsu-sumo wrestler who preferred grappling to pushing and thrusting techniques. He favored a migi-yotsu (left hand outside, right hand inside) position when gripping his opponent's mawashi (belt). His favorite kimarite were tsuridashi (lift out), uwatenage (overarm throw), and utchari (backward pivot throw).

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 196-252/448 (41 basho)
* **Makuuchi:** 91-143/234 (17 basho)
* **Juryo:** 48-62/110 (8 basho)
* **Makushita:** 18-8/26 (4 basho)
* **Sandanme:** 29-27/56 (7 basho)
* **Jonidan:** 8-7/15 (2 basho)
* **Jonokuchi:** 2-5/7 (1 basho)

### **Championships**

* 1 **Juryo** Championship (May 1951)
* 1 **Makushita** Championship (June 1945)

## **Shikona History**

* Oiwazan (1937.05 - 1941.05)
* Azumaiwa (1942.01 - 1942.05)
* Oiwazan Raigoro (1943.01 - 1945.11)
* Oiwazan Daigoro (1946.11 - 1946.11)
* Oiwazan Kinji (1947.06 - 1947.11)
* Oiwazan Daigoro (1948.05 - 1948.10)
* Hagoromo Tensho (1949.01 - 1949.10)
* Oiwazan Kinshiro (1950.01 - 1951.05)
* Oiwazan Kinji (1951.09 - 1954.03)

## **Sources**

* Oiwazan Daigoro Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Oiwazan Daigoro Rikishi Information