Atagoyama Takeshi

Atagoyama Takeshi - 愛宕山 武司 (born January 11, 1936 - May 5, 2000) was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Yawatahama, Ehime. He made his debut in May 1951 and last wrestled for Takasago stable. He reached the makuuchi division in March 1957. His highest rank was maegashira 3 and he retired in January 1962.

## **Career**

### **Early Career**

After graduating from Atago Junior High School, Ozawa joined Takasago stable with the help of maegashira Maenoyama who also came from Yawatahama, Ehime. Initially wrestling under the shikona "Osawa" (大澤), he made his professional debut in May 1951. He later changed his shikona to "Atagoyama" (愛宕山) which is derived from a mountain in his hometown. He was promoted to sandanme in January 1953 and makushita in May 1954. In his first makushita tournament, Atagoyama won the makushita yusho with a perfect 8-0 record. In September 1955 he won the makushita yusho again at the rank of makushita 26 and was promoted to juryo for the following 1956 tournament.

### **Juryo Career**

In his first tournament as a sekitori, Atagoyama finished with a strong 10-5 record. After three more winning records, Atagoyama was ranked at the top of juryo in January 1957 and he managed a strong 11-4 record in this tournament which earned him a promotion for makuuchi in March 1957.

### **Makuuchi Career**

Atagoyama was ranked in the top division for a total of 17 tournaments. In July 1959 he fractured his left ankle and subsequently withdrew from the tournament. In the following September 1959 tournament, he got off to a strong start winning 11 of his first 13 bouts, but he went on to lose final two matches and missed out on a special prize. Nevertheless, he was promoted to a career-best maegashira 3 rank, but he could only manage 5 wins at this rank. In the following January 1960 tournament, Atagoyama sprained his right knee and had to withdraw from the tournament. After overcoming this injury, Atagoyama began to suffer from diabetes and kidney disease and eventually fell back down to juryo in July 1960. Continuing to sit out, he fell down to makushita in November 1960 and retired from sumo in January 1962.

## **Retirement from Sumo**

Atagoyama retired from sumo in January 1962. After retiring from sumo, Atagoyama was engaged in real estate in Tokyo. He died on May 5, 2000, at the age of 64.

## **Fighting Style**

Atagoyama was proficient in both yotsu-sumo (grappling) and oshi-sumo (pushing and thrusting) techniques. His favored grip on his opponent's mawashi was migi-yotsu, a left hand outside, right hand inside position. His most often used winning kimarite was oshidashi (push out), followed by yorikiri (force out). He was also fond of employing tsuppari, or a series of rapid thrusts to the chest.

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 265-257-47/520 (51 basho)
* **Makuuchi:** 104-120-31/222 (17 basho)
* **Juryo:** 71-49/120 (9 basho)
* **Makushita:** 43-45-16/88 (14 basho)
* **Sandanme:** 27-21/48 (6 basho)
* **Jonidan:** 18-21/39 (4 basho)
* **Shinjo:** 2-1/3 (1 basho)

### **Championships**

* 1 **Juryo** Championship (September 1957)
* 2 **Makushita** Championships
	+ 1st (September 1955)
	+ 2nd (May 1954)

## **Shikona History**

* Osawa (1951.05 - 1952.01)
* Atagoyama Takeshi (1952.05 - 1960.11)
* Osawa (1961.01 - 1962.01)

## **Gallery**

Atagoyama with his kesho-mawashiAtagoyama prepares for his upcoming match (c. 1959)
## **Sources**

* Atagoyama Takeshi Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Atagoyama Takeshi Rikishi Information