Onomatsu Midorinosuke

Onomatsu Midorinosuke - 阿武松 緑之助 (born 1791 - January 20, 1852) was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Shitsumi, Noto. He made his debut in March 1815 and wrestled for Takekuma stable. He reached the makuuchi division in October 1822 and has five top division championships. He was the 6th yokozuna and he retired in November 1835.

## **Early Life**

He was born in Shitsumi, Noto, and his birthdate remains ambiguous with sources claiming it to be either 1791 to 1794. Furthermore, his birth name remains ambiguous, but was claimed to be Sasaki Jokichi (佐々木 長吉). His family were farmers and packhorse drivers. He moved to Edo in 1815. While working at a konnyaku (yam cake) shop in Yanagibashi, Edo, he aspired to become a sumo wrestler and subsequently entered Edo sumo.

## **Career**

### **Early Career**

He joined Takekuma stable and made his professional debut in March 1815 under the shikona "Koyanagi Chokichi" (小柳 長吉). After four years in the unsalaried ranks, he was promoted to juryo in March 1819. In January 1822, he posted a 6-2-1draw-1no result record at the rank of juryo 2 and was promoted to makuuchi for the following October 1822 tournament.

### **Makuuchi Career**

In his top division debut, he finished with a 6-3-1draw record. He won the equivalent of his first tournament championship in January 1824 from the maegashira ranks, emerging with a 8-1-1draw record (though this was before the championship system established in 1909). He was then promoted to komusubi for the following October 1824 tournament and won his second championship in January 1825 with an 8-2 record. He was then promoted to sekiwake in October 1825 and ozeki in October 1826.

### **Ozeki Career**

In his ozeki debut, he won the equivalent of his third championship with a 8-0-1-1draw record. He was given the shikona "Onomatsu Midorinosuke" (阿武松 緑之助) in the following March 1827 tournament. He won his fourth championship in November 1827 with a perfect 6-0 record.

### **Yokozuna Career**

Onomatsu was awarded a yokozuna license in February 1828. On March 25, 1829, Ienari Tokugawa was present to see Onomatsu defeat Inazuma. He was only able to win one more championship as a yokozuna (his fifth championship in October 1834).

He retired in November 1835. In the top makuuchi division, he won 142 bouts and lost 31 bouts, recording a winning percentage of 82.1. The 7th yokozuna Inazuma was his rival. His overall career record was quite far behind Inazuma, but his record over Inazuma was five wins (including two other than honbasho), four losses, five draws and one hold.

## **Retirement from Sumo**

After retiring from sumo, Onomatsu remained in the Japan Sumo Association as an elder under the name Onomatsu. He died as an active coach on January 20, 1852. His exact age at the time of his death remains unknown due to the ambiguity of birth date, but it is likely that he was in his late fifties or early sixties.

## **Fighting Style**

Onomatsu was a yotsu-sumo wrestler who prefers grappling to pushing and thrusting techniques. He favored yori, or forcing techniques. Because he grew up in a poor family, he attempted to win bouts by fair means or foul. To shake competitors' confidence, he would often do matta, or waiting, at the initial charge, or tachi-ai of his sumo bouts. He was often criticized for his fighting style. Even so, he was popular in Edo.

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 163-36-37-25draws-8holds-3no results/235 (29 basho)
* **Makuuchi:** 142-31-37-24draws-8holds-1no result/206 (26 basho)
* **Juryo:** 21-5-1draws-2no result/29 (3 basho)

### **Championships**

* 5 Unofficial **Makuuchi** Championships
	+ 1st (January 1824)
	+ 2nd (January 1825)
	+ 3rd (October 1826)
	+ 4th (November 1827)
	+ 5th (October 1834)

## **Shikona History**

* Koyanagi Chokichi (1815.03 - 1826.10)
* Onomatsu Midorinosuke (1827.03 - 1835.11)

## **Gallery**

19th century Woodblock print of Onomatsu enjoying a meal
## **Sources**

* Onomatsu Midorinosuke Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Onomatsu Midorinosuke Rikishi Information