Onishiki Uichiro

Onishiki Uichiro - 大錦 卯一郎 (born November 25, 1891 - May 13, 1941) was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture. He made his debut in January 1910 and last wrestled for Dewanoumi stable. He reached the makuuchi division in May 1915 and has and five top division championships. He was the 26th yokozuna and he retired in January 1923.

## **Early Life**

Uichiro Hosokawa was born the eldest son of a priest in Osaka on November 25, 1891. Unusual for a sumo wrestler, he graduated from junior high school and was very smart. In addition, he attended preparatory Army school due to his outstanding motor skills, but failed due to being too big. One day, Hosokawa wrote a letter to Hitachiyama, requesting to meet him. He later received an invitation into Dewanoumi stable, which he ultimately accepted.

## **Career**

### **Early Career**

He made his professional debut in January 1910 and was given the shikona "Onishiki Uichiro" (大錦 卯一郎). In June 1911, he won the jonidan yusho with a perfect 5-0 record and eventually reached juryo in January 1914. In May 1914, he won the juryo yusho with a perfect 7-0 record and was promoted to makuuchi in January 1915.

### **Makuuchi Career**

In his top division debut, Onishiki finished runner-up to Otori with an 8-1-1 record and was promoted to komusubi in June 1915. In his san'yaku debut, he finished runner-up to Tachiyama with a 9-1 record and was promoted straight to ozeki in January 1916 after only two tournaments in makuuchi.

### **Ozeki Career**

Onishiki posted a strong 8-2 record in his ozeki debut and followed with a 7-3 record in May 1916. In his third ozeki tournament in January 1917, he won the makuuchi championship with a perfect 10-0 record and his promotion to yokozuna was confirmed after the tournament.

### **Yokozuna Career**

Onishiki produced a dominant 9-1 showing in his yokozuna debut and was runner-up in the following January 1918 tournament. He won his second yusho in January 1920 with a 8-1-1draw record. He followed up in May 1920 by winning his third yusho with a 9-1 record. He won his third consecutive, and fourth overall yusho in the subsequent January 1921 tournament with a perfect 10-0 record. After missing out the January 1922 tournament due to a cold, he returned in May 1922 and won his fifth and final championship with a 8-1-1draw performance.

He lost only 16 bouts in his entire career. He won five top division tournament championships and was runner-up in four others. He was very smart in comparison with most sumo wrestlers of his era, and so he was very strong and recorded the high winning percentage of 88.1. He also recorded only three draws.

## **Retirement from Sumo**

However, his career suddenly ended. In January 1923, sumo wrestlers went on strike against the Tokyo Sumo Association. The walkout is called the Mikawajima Incident (三河島事件, Mikawajima-Jiken). Onishiki attempted to mediate, but failed. After police intervention, the striking wrestlers achieved their demands of better retirement pay. Because he felt responsibility for the incident, Onishiki retired from being an active sumo wrestler and left the sumo world. He was critical about tradition in the sumo world.

After his retirement, he entered Waseda University and studied political science and economics. After the graduation, he worked at the Hochi Shimbun as a sumo essayist and also ran an inn called "Hosokawa Ryokan" (細川旅館). He died on May 13, 1941, at the age of 49.

## **Fighting Style**

Onishiki 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). He usually used yori (forcing) and tsuri (lifting). Weighing 143 kg (315 Ib), he was consistently one of the heaviest wrestlers of his time.

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 134-16-32-3draws-2holds/155 (21 basho)
* **Makuuchi:** 119-16-32-3draws/138 (17 basho)
* **Juryo:** 10-0-2holds/12 (2 basho)
* **Jonidan:** 5-0/5 (1 basho)

### **Championships**

* 5 **Makuuchi** Championships
	+ 1st (January 1917)
	+ 2nd (January 1920)
	+ 3rd (May 1920)
	+ 4th (January 1921)
	+ 5th (May 1922)
* 1 **Juryo** Championship (May 1914)
* 1 **Jonidan** Championship (June 1911)

## **Gallery**

Onishiki Uichiro - (Retrieved from the Nihon Sumo Kyokai)
## **Sources**

* Onishiki Uichiro Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Onishiki Uichiro Rikishi Information