Ozutsu Manemon

Ozutsu Manemon - 大砲 万右エ門 (born November 28, 1869 - May 27, 1918) was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Shiroishi, Miyagi. He made his debut in January 1887 and wrestled for Oguruma stable. He reached the makuuchi division in June 1892 and has two top division championships. He was the 18th yokozuna and he retired in January 1908.

## **Early Life**

Manji Kakubari was born as the second son of a farmer in the village of Misawa in Iwashiro province (modern day Shiroishi, Miyagi). Since the age of 13, he was able to lift rice straw bales easily which led to a recruitment into Oguruma stable.

## **Career**

### **Early Career**

He made his professional debut in January 1887 and initially wrestled under the shikona name Misawataki (三沢滝) in May 1884 in honor of his hometown. Upon promotion to juryo in January 1892, he was given the shikona "Ozutsu Manemon" (大砲 万右エ門). He produced a strong 8-1-1draw record in his sekitori debut and was promoted directly to makuuchi in June 1892.

### **Makuuchi Career**

Ozutsu was tall compared to other wrestlers of his time. Although he was not very strong at first, he was rapidly promoted and reached sekiwake only three tournaments after entering the top makuuchi division. In the summer of 1895, he won his first championship, however, championships were not recognized until 1909 making this unofficial. He was eventually promoted to ozeki in May 1899.

### **Ozeki Career**

Ozutsu never managed to lose a match during his stint as an ozeki, however, he did sit out of many matches or ended the match with either a draw or hold. Nevertheless, after four tournaments ranked as ozeki, his promotion to yokozuna was confirmed after the January 1901 tournament.

### **Yokozuna Career**

In his yokozuna debut in May 1901, Ozutsu won the equivalent of his second championship as the yusho system has still not been established. However, his strength rapidly declined after taking part in the Russo-Japanese War. He was absent for three tournaments due to the war. However, former yokozuna Umegatani Totaro I had taught him that yokozuna must not be defeated, so he recorded many draws late in his career. In the May 1907 tournament, he drew in all of his nine bouts. He retired in the next tournament. In the top makuuchi division, he won 98 bouts and lost 29 bouts, recording a winning percentage of 77.2. He also recorded 51 draws.

## **Retirement from Sumo**

After retiring from sumo, Ozutsu remained in the Japan Sumo Association as an elder under the name Matsuchiyama. He later established Matsuchiyama stable. The stable closed down upon his death from diabetes in 1918 with all of the personnel transferring to Dewanoumi stable.

## **Fighting Style**

Ozutsu 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). He was also fond of employing tsuppari, a series of rapid thrusts to the chest.

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 106-30-138-52d-4a/192 (33 basho)
* **Makuuchi:** 98-29-138-51d-4a/182 (32 basho)
* **Juryo:** 8-1-1d/10 (1 basho)

### **Championships**

* 2 Unofficial **Makuuchi** Championships
	+ 1st (June 1895)
	+ 2nd (May 1902)

## **Shikona History**

* Misawataki (1887.01 - 1891.05)
* Ozutsu Manemon (1892.01 - 1908.01)

## **Gallery**

Ozutsu poses with his kesho-mawashiOzutsu's tegata
## **Sources**

* Ozutsu Manemon Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Ozutsu Manemon Rikishi Information