Miyagiyama Fukumatsu

Miyagiyama Fukumatsu - 宮城山 福松 (born February 27, 1895 - November 19, 1943) was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Yamame, Iwate. He made his debut in June 1910 and last wrestled for Takadagawa stable. He reached the makuuchi division in 1916 and has two top division championships. He was the 29th yokozuna and he retired in March 1931.

## **Early Life**

Fukumatsu Sato was born in the town of Yamame (currently Ichinoseki) in Iwate prefecture. He was always strong since childhood and when a carriage carrying his father fell into a ditch, he carried the carriage up with ease to help his father. He was active in amateur sumo while helping out with horse-drawn carriages and agriculture prior to joining professional sumo.

## **Career**

### **Early Career**

In the fall of 1909, he was recruited into Dewanoumi stable by yokozuna Hitachiyama. He made his professional debut in June 1910 using the shikona name Iwategawa (岩手川). However, he was punched by Kyushuzan Juro and escaped from Tokyo sumo in May 1912. He did not abandon the idea of becoming a wrestler and moved to Osaka sumo.

### **Osaka Sumo Career**

He subsequently joined Takadagawa stable which was an Osaka sumo stable. In January 1913 he began using the ring name Miyagiyama (宮木山), before changing it to Miyagiyama Fukumatsu in May 1914.

Miyagiyama reached the top makuuchi division in 1916 and he was promoted to ozeki after only 2 tournaments. In January 1920, he won his first championship with an 8-1-1draw record. In March 1921, he fought against wrestlers in Tokyo sumo and defeated sekiwake Genjiyama, ozeki Tsunenohana, yokozuna Onishiki and Kyushuzan. Around this time he reconciled with Kyushuzan.

In June 1921, he won the championship with an 8–2 record. In January 1922, he won the championship with a perfect 10–0 record. After winning two consecutive championships, he was awarded a yokozuna licence. He was absent from two tournaments in 1923 due to a phlegmon on the middle finger of his right hand. In January 1926, he won the championship with a 9–1 record.

### **Tokyo Sumo Career**

In 1927, Osaka Sumo Association disbanded and its wrestlers merged with Tokyo sumo. At that time, Osaka sumo's level was very low and he was not considered to be strong enough. However, he felt he had to save the honor of Osaka sumo as yokozuna. Although his strength had already declined, he fought tooth and nail and won 2 championships in Tokyo sumo as part of the Osaka contingent of wrestlers. The first of these, in January 1927, was the first tournament to be held under the auspices of the Dai Nihon Ozumo Kyokai (now the Japan Sumo Association). Considering that he had been retained as a yokozuna simply because there was no precedent for demoting one and to allow Osaka sumo to save face, it was regarded as a sensational result.

## **Retirement from Sumo**

After retiring, he remained in the Japan Sumo Association as an elder under the name Shiratama (later Shibatayama) and established Shiratama Stable (later renamed Shibatayama stable). He also served as a ringside judge during official tournaments. He was unable to produce any top division wrestlers and the stable was closed after his death in 1943. Afterward, the 62nd yokozuna Onokuni became the 12th holder of the Shibatayama name and he opened the modern Shibatayama stable.

### **Death**

He died on November 19, 1943, at the age of 48 due to kidney disease and a cerebral hemorrhage.

## **Fighting Style**

Miyagiyama 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 yorikiri (force out). He also regularly employed uwatenage (overarm throw) and tsuridashi (lift out).

## **Record**

### **Divison Results**

This only contains his Tokyo-sumo career statistics

* **Total:** 104-76-26-1d/176 (22 basho)
* **Makuuchi:** 90-70-26-1d/156 (17 basho)
* **Sandanme:** 3-2/5 (1 basho)
* **Jonidan:** 7-3/10 (2 basho)
* **Jonokuchi:** 4-1/5 (1 basho)

### **Championships**

* 2 Official **Makuuchi** Championships
	+ 1st (January 1927)
	+ 2nd (October 1928)
* 4 Unofficial **Makuuchi** Championships (Osaka Sumo)
	+ 1st (January 1920)
	+ 2nd (June 1921)
	+ 3rd (January 1922)
	+ 4th (January 1926)

## **Shikona History**

* Iwategawa (1910.06 - 1912.05)
* Miyagiyama (1913.01 - 1914.01)
* Miyagiyama Fukumatsu (1914.05 - 1931.03)

## **Gallery**

Miyagiyama Fukumatsu - (Retrieved from the Nihon Sumo Kyokai)
## **Sources**

* Miyagiyama Fukumatsu Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Miyagiyama Fukumatsu Rikishi Information