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Sakaigawa Namiemon
境川 浪右衛門 (初代)
Personal information
Born	Genjirō Furumura 1819 Kuwana District, Shima Province, Japan
Died	September 8, 1867(1867-09-08) (aged 47–48)
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight	140 kg (310 lb)
Career
Stable	Mihogaseki → Sakaigawa
Record	123-38-40-11 draws/2 holds
Debut	October, 1843
Highest rank	Ōzeki (November, 1857)
Retired	October, 1861
Elder name	Sakaigawa
Championships	2 (Makuuchi, unofficial)
* Up to date as of September 2023.

Sakaigawa Namiemon (Japanese: 境川浪右衛門, born Genjirō Furumura (古村 源次郎, Furumura Genjirō), 1819 – September 8, 1867) was a Japanese sumo wrestler from Kuwana District, Shima Province (now Kuwana, Mie Prefecture). His highest rank was ōzeki. He was the first wrestler from Mie prefecture to reach this rank and the only titleholder before Mienoumi's promotion in 1976, 119 years later.

Career

Little is known about Sakaigawa who, despite having attained the rank of ōzeki, is often overshadowed by his apprentice and illustrious successor in the name of Sakaigawa, the 14th yokozuna Sakaigawa Namiemon.

Sakaigawa began his wrestling career with the Mihogaseki stable in the Osaka-based sumo association. Eventually, he decided to leave Osaka and move to Edo, being recruited by the Sakaigawa stable, run by former maegashira Kimigatake [ja], in 1843. That same year he fought for the first time in October under the shikona, or ring name, Masuizan Iwanosuke (増位山 岩之助). He reached the makuuchi division in March 1850 and established himself as a good wrestler, winning the equivalent of two tournaments between 1851 and 1856. However, as the yūshō system was not introduced until 1909, these championship victories are now considered unofficial. According to sources, he scouted a young boy who worked at a liquor store, hence persuading future-yokozuna Sakaigawa Namiemon to become a professional wrestler, between 1847 or 1857. In February 1851 he was given the ring name Mutsugamine Iwanosuke (六ツヶ峰 岩之助). In 1854, he made his san'yaku debut, being promoted at komusubi.

In 1856, he officially inherited the Sakaigawa stable from his master, who had died two years earlier. He then took the name Sakaigawa Namiemon (境川浪右衛門) and continued to wrestle while looking after his apprentices under the two-licence system. In November 1857 he was the first wrestler in Mie Prefecture to be promoted to the rank of ōzeki. In total, he held the rank of ōzeki for three years. Sakaigawa decided to retire in October 1861, devoting himself entirely to training his wrestlers.

Sakaigawa died on 8 September 1867. As a master, he raised Sakaigawa (then known as Masuizan), who reached the rank of yokozuna in 1877, into the makuuchi division. His stable remained without a master for some time, but was probably led by Sakaigawa II, who renamed himself Sakaigawa Namiemon in 1870, three years after the death of his master, officially inheriting the stable.

Top division record

• The actual time the tournaments were held during the year in this period often varied.

*Championships for the best record in a tournament were not recognized or awarded before the 1909 summer tournament and the above championships that are labelled "unofficial" are historically conferred. For more information see yūshō.

See also

• Glossary of sumo terms
• List of past sumo wrestlers
• List of ōzeki

References

1. "Wrestlers from Mie Prefecture by rank". Sumo Reference. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
2. Atsuo Tsubota. "Biographies of Yokozuna (14th to 18th)" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 5 March 2002. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
3. "急性肝炎を克服、その先に訪れた「初優勝」「大関昇進」…元横綱三重ノ海の「相撲と故郷」". Yomiuri Shimbun (in Japanese). 10 July 2023. Archived from the original on 9 September 2023. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
4. "Sakaigawa Namiemon Rikishi Information". Sumo Reference. Archived from the original on 2023-10-04. Retrieved 2023-09-29.

• 1819 births
• Japanese sumo wrestlers
• Ōzeki
• Sumo people from Mie Prefecture
• 1867 deaths