Daisetsu Mineto

Daisetsu Mineto - 大雪 嶺登 (born November 30, 1944 - April 16, 1980) was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Yubari, Hokkaido. He made his debut in September 1962 and last wrestled for Miyagino stable. He reached the makuuchi division in January 1970. His highest rank was maegashira 5 and he retired in January 1973.

## **Early Life**

Akita was born in the city of Yubari in Hokkaido prefecture. After graduating from Yubari City Chiyoda Junior High School, he worked for the bus company Yubari Tetsudo for around two years. In 1962, he was introduced to Miyagino stable by a member of the Hokkaido Prefectural Assembly. His mother strongly opposed Akita's decision to join sumo, but he insisted and moved to Tokyo to begin training.

## **Career**

### **Early Career**

He made his professional debut in September 1962 at the age of 17, initially wrestling under his surname Akita before changing it to "Yoshibamine" (吉葉嶺) in January 1963. He was promoted to sandanme in May 1963 and makushita in January 1965. By then, he changed his shikona to "Daisetsu" (大雪) which translates to heavy snow, because he comes from Hokkaido, the coldest prefecture in Japan. In November 1967, he won the makushita yusho with a perfect 7-0 record at the rank of makushita 17 which earned him a direct promotion to juryo (before the rules were changed to make makushita 15 the lowest rank for juryo promotion in 1977).

### **Juryo Career**

In his first tournament as a sekitori, Daisetsu finished the tournament with an 8-7 record and was able to establish himself as a sekitori. Daisetsu put up consistent, but unspectacular numbers which hindered his progression through the banzuke. Finally in November 1969, Daisetsu finished with a 9-6 record at the rank of juryo 1 and was promoted to makuuchi in the following January 1970 tournament.

### **Makuuchi Career**

Daisetsu was ranked in makuuchi for a total of 12 tournaments. He never reached the san'yaku ranks, nor earn a special prize or a kinboshi. In January 1971, he was nominated for a special prize as his record was 10-4 towards the end of the 14th day, but he lost his final match to Masuiyama to finish with a 10-5 record and thus missed out on the special prize. Nevertheless, he was promoted to the rank of maegashira 3 in the following tournament. This was to be his highest rank held as he finished with a 4-11 record in this tournament. His last tournament in the top division was in March 1972. He announced his retirement less than a year later in January 1973 after falling to the unsalaried ranks.

## **Retirement from Sumo**

Upon retiring from professional sumo, Daisetsu left the sumo world completely as he failed to obtain elder stock. After leaving, he opened up a chanko restaurant in the Waseda neighborhood of Shinjuku, Tokyo, called "Chanko Daisetsu" (ちゃんこ大雪).

### **Death**

Daisetsu died on April 16, 1980, at the age of 35 due to pancreatic cancer. His wife has since taken over the restaurant and it continues to operate as of 2014 (the location has since been moved near Bentencho Station in Shinjuku, Tokyo).

## **Fighting Style**

Daisetsu was a yotsu-sumo wrestler who prefers 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 most common kimarite was uwatenage, or overarm throw, followed by ketaguri, or pulling inside ankle sweep.

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 326-323-17/648 (63 basho)
* **Makuuchi:** 77-103/180 (12 basho)
* **Juryo:** 123-129-3/251 (17 basho)
* **Makushita:** 70-49-14/119 (19 basho)
* **Sandanme:** 41-36/77 (11 basho)
* **Jonidan:** 9-5/14 (2 basho)
* **Jonokuchi:** 6-1/7 (1 basho)

### **Championships**

* 1 **Makushita** Championship (November 1967)

## **Shikona History**

* Akita (1962.09 - 1962.11)
* Yoshibamine (1963.01 - 1964.05)
* Daisetsu Yoshio (1964.07 - 1970.09)
* Daisetsu Mineto (1970.11 - 1973.01)

## **Gallery**

Daisetsu prepares for his upcoming match (c. 1968)Daisetsu poses with his kesho-mawashiDaisetsu's kesho-mawashi on display outside his restaurant
## **Sources**

* Daisetsu Mineto Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Daisetsu Mineto Rikishi Information