Onosato Mansuke

Onosato Mansuke - 大ノ里 萬助 (born April 1, 1892 - January 22, 1938) was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Fujisaki, Aomori. He made his debut in January 1912 and wrestled for Dewanoumi stable. He reached the makuuchi division in May 1918 and has two kinboshi. His highest rank was ozeki and he retired in January 1932.

## **Early Life**

Mansuke Tennai was born on April 1, 1892, in the town of Fujisaki in Aomori prefecture. Although he was rather small, Tennai loved sumo wrestling and in the summer of 1910, when the Sumo Association came to Hirosaki, Aomori, on tour, Tennai admired the look of sekiwake Ayagawa Goroji and decided to join professional sumo. In 1911, he travelled to Tokyo and joined Dewanoumi stable despite opposition from those around him.

## **Career**

### **Early Career**

He made his professional debut in January 1912 and was given the shikona "Onosato" (大ノ里). He steadily climbed the ranks of the lower divisions and was promoted to sandanme in January 1914 and makushita in January 1915. He reached the elite sekitori ranks upon promotion to juryo in May 1916 and was promoted to makuuchi in May 1918.

### **Makuuchi Career**

In only his second makuuchi tournament, Onosato finished with an 8-1-1hold record and was runner-up to yokozuna Tochigiyama who finished with a 9-0-1 record. In January 1920, he defeated yokozuna Otori to earn his first kinboshi. Onosato was promoted to komusubi in January 1922 and sekiwake in May 1922, however, he was unable to maintain his san'yaku rank. In May 1923, he defeated yokozuna Nishinoumi III to earn his second kinboshi. He was promoted back to sekiwake for the following tournament and in May 1924, Onosato finished with a 9-2 runner-up performance and was promoted to ozeki for the following January 1925 tournament.

### **Ozeki Career**

In March 1927, Onosato finished with a 9-2 record and was runner-up to stablemate Tsunenohana's 10-1 record. He finished with his fourth and final runner-up performance in May 1930. He began to struggle in his later career due to his small build and age. His retirement coincided with the Shunjuen Incident where many wrestlers went on strike, demanding reform from the Sumo Association. Although Onosato never won a championship in his career, he was still praised for his enthusiasm to train, gentle personality, and guidance towards young wrestlers.

## **Retirement from Sumo**

Upon retiring from sumo, Onosato continue to wrestle for the Kansai Sumo Association which was created by the sumo wrestlers who left the Japan Sumo Association due to the Shunjuen Incident. He retired from active competition in 1935 and continued to work for the Kansai Sumo Assocition until its dissolution in 1937. He died shortly after in Dalian, Manchuria, on January 22, 1938, at the age of 45.

On August 1, 1960, a monument dedicated to Onosato was unvieled at Kashima Shrine in his hometwon of Fujisaki, Aomori.

## **Fighting Style**

Onosato was a tsuki/oshi specialist, who prefers pushing and thrusting at his opponents rather than fighting on the mawashi or belt. He was also fond of employing hazuoshi, or pushing up with hands under opponent's armpits. His most common kimarite was katasukashi, or under shoulder swing down.

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 262-160-22-8d-4a/434 (50 basho)
* **Makuuchi:** 217-147-22-6d-4a/374 (37 basho)
* **Juryo:** 18-7/25 (4 basho)
* **Makushita:** 11-2-2d/15 (3 basho)
* **Sandanme:** 8-2/10 (2 basho)
* **Jonidan:** 4-1/5 (1 basho)
* **Jonokuchi:** 4-1/5 (1 basho)

### **Achievements**

* **Kinboshi:** 2: (1) Otori, (1) Nishinoumi III

## **Sources**

* Onosato Mansuke Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Onosato Mansuke Rikishi Information