Daitenryu Mitsunori

Daitenryu Mitsunori - 大天龍 光則 (born October 13, 1928) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Tara, Saga. He made his debut in May 1948 and wrestled for Nishonoseki stable. He reached the makuuchi division in January 1953 and has one special prize as well as three kinboshi. His highest rank was maegashira 2 and he retired in January 1962.

## **Career**

### **Early Career**

Recruited by ozeki Saganohana, he made his professional debut in May 1948, wrestling for Nishonoseki stable. He initially wrestled under the shikona "Taranishiki" (多良錦) which is derived from his hometown of Tara in Saga prefecture, and he won the jonidan yusho in his very first tournament with a 6-0 record. He was promoted to sandanme in January 1949 and makushita in May 1950. After two tournaments in makushita he was promoted to juryo in January 1951.

### **Juryo Career**

In his first tournament as a sekitori, Taranishiki finished with a losing record and subsequently changed his shikona to "Daitenryu" (大天龍). After the shikona change, he posted five consecutive winning records and was promoted to makuuchi in January 1953.

### **Makuuchi Career**

He initially struggled in makuuchi and was demoted back down to juryo in January 1954 after four tournaments due to appendicitis. He returned to makuuchi in March 1954 and was runner-up to Mitsuneyama with an 11-4 record. In addition, he was awarded the Fighting Spirit prize. He also earned a total of three kinboshi, defeating Yokozuna's Yoshibayama, Kagamisato, and Tochinishiki. In September 1957, he changed his shikona to "Kaizan" (海山) and was promoted to a career-best rank of maegashira 2 in May 1958. He remained in the top division for a total of 42 tournaments and won a total of 298 matches. Upon falling back down to juryo in September 1961, he reverted his shikona back to Daitenryu. He retired from sumo three tournaments later in January 1962.

## **Retirement from Sumo**

Upon retirement from active competition, he became an elder in the Japan Sumo Association, under the name Kumagatani. He later borrowed the name Hamakaze, but still left the sumo world in May 1964 after failing to acquire the stock.

After leaving the sumo world, he ran a sushi restaurant in Minato, Tokyo, a Japanese restaurant called "Kaizan" (海山) in Ota, Tokyo, and a pension (lodging) called "Pension Taro" (ペンションタロー) in Kusatsu, Gunma.

## **Fighting Style**

Daitenryu 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). His most common kimarite was yorikiri, or force out. He was also fond of employing uwatenage, or overarm throw.

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 429-441-8/868 (60 basho)
* **Makuuchi:** 298-332/630 (42 basho)
* **Juryo:** 69-73-8/140 (10 basho)
* **Makushita:** 20-10/30 (2 basho)
* **Sandanme:** 32-25/57 (4 basho)
* **Jonidan:** 6-0/6 (1 basho)
* **Shinjo:** 4-1/5 (1 basho)

### **Championships**

* 1 **Jonidan** Championship (October 1948)

### **Achievements**

* **Special Prizes:** Fighting Spirit Prize (1)
* **Kinboshi:** 3: (1) Tochinishiki, (1) Kagamisato, (1) Yoshibayama

## **Shikona History**

* Tominaga Akimitsu (1948.05 - 1948.05)
* Taranishiki Akimitsu (1948.10 - 1951.01)
* Daitenryu Mitsunori (1951.05 - 1957.05)
* Kaizan Taro (1957.09 - 1961.07)
* Daitenryu Mitsunori (1961.09 - 1962.01)

## **Gallery**

Daitenryu with his kesho-mawashiDaitenryu during his time as Kaizan (c. 1958)
## **Sources**

* Daitenryu Mitsunori Japanese Wikipeda Article
* Daitenryu Mitsunori Rikishi Information