Tamanoumi Umekichi

Tamanoumi Umekichi - 玉ノ海 梅吉 (born November 30, 1912 - October 23, 1988) was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Omura, Nagasaki. He made his debut in October 1930 and last wrestled for Nishonoseki stable. He reached the makuuchi division in January 1935 and has three kinboshi. His highest rank was sekiwake and he retired in November 1945.

## **Early Life**

Umekichi Kagehira was born on November 30, 1912, in what is now Omura, Nagasaki. Since he suffered from near-sightedness, he could not partake in his family's pearl cultivation business, however, he already had a well-toned physique and was recommended to give sumo a try. In 1930 Kagehira travelled to Tokyo and was recruited into Tatsunami stable with the help of sekiwake Hishuzan.

## **Career**

### **Early Career**

He made his professional debut in October 1930 under the shikona "Tamanoumi" (玉ノ海). He won the jonokuchi yusho in May 1931 with a perfect 6-0 record. He was promoted to makushita in January 1934 where he won the makushita yusho with a strong 10-1 record and he was immediately promoted to juryo for the following May 1934 tournament. In his juryo debut, Tamanoumi finished with an 8-3 record and was promoted to makuuchi for the following January 1935 tournament.

### **Makuuchi Career**

Tamanoumi was seen as a new hopeful and projected to become a future ozeki. He was promoted to komusubi in May 1937 and sekiwake in the following January 1938 tournament. However, he finished with a losing record in this tournament and was demoted back down to the maegashira ranks for the May 1938 tournament. Nevertheless, in this tournament Tamanoumi defeated Yokozuna's Musashiyama and Minanogawa to earn his first and second career kinboshi. However, on December 4, 1938, his stablemaster Tamanishiki suddenly passed away and he was named the successor of Nishonoseki stable despite still being an active wrestler. He was promoted back to the san'yaku ranks for the following January 1939 tournament where he defeated a prime Yokozuna Futabayama. In January 1941, Tamanoumi finished with an 11-4 record while ranked at maegashira 6. He was promoted to komusubi for the following May 1941 tournament where he finished with a strong 13-2 record and was runner-up to Haguroyama's 14-1 record. Nevertheless, he was promoted back to sekiwake for the January 1942 tournament where he finished with a strong 10-5 record. He was on the verge of an ozeki promotion, however, he suffered a cold in the following May 1942 tournament and he had to withdraw 12th day. Furthermore, he was concurrently serving as the head of his stable which made his extremely busy. If it was not for Tamanishiki's sudden death, many believed that Tamanoumi would have definitely become an ozeki. He ultimately retired from sumo in November 1945 after sitting out of the previous three tournaments.

## **Retirement from Sumo**

After retiring, Tamanoumi could now focus his full concentration on Nishonoseki stable. During his tenure as stablemaster, he produced wrestlers such as Onoumi, Rikidozan, and Kotonishiki. However, in 1945 he was arrested on suspicion of war crimes due to an incident in 1943, but it turned out to be a misunderstanding. Although Tamanoumi was released immediately, he did not fully understand why he was being accused of being a war criminal and he went to the Japan Sumo Association for answers, however, they did not provide him with any help. Due to the cold treatment of the Sumo Association and his disliking of Dewanoumi Oyakata (former komusubi Ryogoku) he handed his stable over to Ozeki Saganohana and left the Sumo Association in May 1951.

### **Commentary Career**

After leaving the Sumo Association, Tamanoumi became a sumo commentator for the NHK live sumo broadcasts. He became popular for his unique raspy voice and harsh critiques of sumo wrestlers. He retired from commentary upon reaching 70 and lived a comfortable life in Amagasaki, Hyogo.

### **Death**

Tamanoumi died on October 23, 1988, at the Hospital of Hyogo College of Medicine in Nishinomiya, Hyogo, due to heart failure. He was 75 years ago. Coincidentally, the 46th Yokozuna Asashio Taro III died on the exact same day as well.

## **Fighting Style**

Tamanoumi 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, or force out.

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 192-121-51-1draw/311 (37 basho)
* **Makuuchi:** 141-101-51-1draw/240 (23 basho)
* **Juryo:** 8-3/11 (1 basho)
* **Makushita:** 10-1/11 (1 basho)
* **Sandanme:** 15-10/25 (4 basho)
* **Jonidan:** 9-3/12 (3 basho)
* **Jonokuchi:** 9-3/12 (w basho)

### **Championships**

* 1 **Makushita** Championship (January 1934)
* 1 **Jonokuchi** Championship (May 1931)

### **Achievements**

* **Kinboshi:** 3 (1) Musashiyama, (1) Minanogawa, (1) Terukuni

## **Sources**

* Tamanoumi Umekichi Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Tamanoumi Umekichi Rikishi Information