Ayanobori Takezo

Ayanobori Takezo - 綾昇 竹藏 (born May 20, 1908 - July 14, 1969) was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Sendai, Miyagi. He made his debut in January 1925 and wrestled for Dewanoumi stable. He reached the makuuchi division in January 1934 and has 3 kinboshi. His highest rank was sekiwake and he retired in June 1945.

## **Early Life**

Oba was born on May 20, 1908, in Aoba Ward, Sendai, Miyagi. Prior to joining professional sumo, he worked at a tax office during the day and attended night school. He later joined Chiganoura stable.

## **Career**

### **Early Career**

He made his professional debut in January 1925 and was given the shikona "Ayanobori" (綾昇). In May 1928, he won the jonidan yusho with a perfect 6-0 record. He reached makushita in January 1930 and was promoted to juryo in May 1931. He left sumo in 1932 due to a strike called the "Shunjuen Incident", which was largely unsuccessful, so he returned to sumo in January 1933. Upon returning to sumo in January 1933, he won the juryo yusho with a 10-1 record and was promoted to makuuchi in January 1934.

### **Makuuchi Career**

In his makuuchi debut, Ayanobori finished with a strong 8-3 performance and was runner-up to Minanogawa's 9-2 record. In May 1935, he finished with a strong 9-2 record and was runner-up again, this time to Tamanishiki's 10-1 record. He was promoted to komusubi for the following January 1936 tournament. In May 1937 he finished with his third runner-up performance with a 10-3 record. Furthermore, he earned a total of three kinboshi, defeating yokozuna's Minanogawa, Futabayama, and Haguroyama. He was promoted to sekiwake in January 1939, but he could only manage a 2-11 record. He retired from sumo in June 1945.

## **Retirement from Sumo**

After retiring, he remained in sumo as an elder of the Japan Sumo Association, working as a coach at Dewanoumi stable under the name Chiganoura Oyakata. He later switched to the Minezaki name in 1955, but he left the sumo world all together in January 1958. After leaving the sumo world, he opened up a puffer fish and chanko restaurant called "Yagura" (やぐら) in Tokyo.

## **Fighting Style**

Ayanobori 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 were uchigake (inside leg trip), shitatenage (underarm throw), utchari (backward pivot throw), and sotogake (outside leg trip).

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 245-193-29-1d/435 (51 basho)
* **Makuuchi:** 143-133-29-1d/273 (24 basho)
* **Juryo:** 28-16/44 (5 basho)
* **Makushita:** 22-9/31 (6 basho)
* **Sandanme:** 20-13/33 (6 basho)
* **Jonidan:** 29-19/48 (8 basho)
* **Jonokuchi:** 3-3/6 (1 basho)

### **Championships**

* 1 **Juryo** Championship (January 1933)
* 1 **Jonidan** Championship (May 1928)

### **Achievements**

* **Kinboshi:** (3) Minanogawa, Futabayama, Haguroyama

## **Shikona History**

* Ayanobori Takezo (1925.01 - 1931.03)
* Ayanobori Takejiro (1931.05 - 1933.05)
* Ayanobori Takezo (1934.01 - 1945.06)

## **Sources**

* Ayanobori Takezo Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Ayanobori Takezo Rikishi Information