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Wakashima Gonshirō
若島 権四郎
Personal information
Born	Katō Daigorō (1876-01-19)January 19, 1876 Chiba, Japan
Died	October 23, 1943(1943-10-23) (aged 67)
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight	116 kg (256 lb)
Career
Stable	Tateyama → Tomozuna → Nakamura
Record	82-33-13draws (Makuuchi)
Debut	May, 1891
Highest rank	Yokozuna (April, 1905)
Retired	January, 1907
Championships	4 (Osaka makuuchi, unofficial)
* Up to date as of October 2007.

Wakashima Gonshirō (Japanese: 若島 権四郎, January 19, 1876 – October 23, 1943) was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture. He was the sport's 21st yokozuna and the first official yokozuna from the Osaka Sumo Association.

Early life and career

Wakashima was born in Ichikawa-city, Chiba, under the name of Katō Daigorō (加藤大五郎). His date of birth has been dated either August 2, 1874, or January 19, 1876. Known for his large body, he was recruited by former Tokyo-sumo ōzeki Wakashima Kyūzaburō and started wrestling in Tokyo under the shikona, or ring name, of Matsuwaka (松若). His master died while he was promoted to juryō, and he had to be transferred to Tomozuna stable.

While touring in Ōgaki, Gifu Prefecture, he was hit by the Great Nōbi Earthquake and was only alive thanks to the efforts of his brother, Tatekō, who died in the earthquake. To pay homage to his brother, Matsuwaka changed his shikona to Tatekō (楯甲). He reached the top makuuchi division in 1896, peaking at maegashira 7 and never reaching sanyaku.

Tatekō was really popular among the public. Being renown as handsome, and having a good voice, he was popular with the ladies and was a regular member of the pleasure quarters. This affected his training and Tatekō never practiced much. In the hope of arousing a burst of pride in Tatekō, his master transmitted to him his master's old shikona: Wakashima (若島). After he contracted smallpox and was unable to budge, he escaped from Tokyo-sumo, cut his topknot, and entered the Kusakaze stable in Kyoto, then moved to the Nakamura stable in Osaka, where he settled.

In the Osaka Sumo Association, Wakashima ascended rapidly. He was quickly promoted to komusubi and reached the ōzeki rank in 1901.

Yokozuna career

In 1903, he was granted a yokozuna license by the Yoshida family. At the time he was the only wrestler active in Osaka sumo to ever receive this recognition. It is believed he was awarded an unofficial Osaka Sumo Association yokozuna license by the Gojō family [ja] in January 1903, though the evidence of this actually occurring is obscure. In June 1903, he fought against wrestlers from the Tokyo Sumo Association. He gave a very strong performance, defeating yokozuna Umegatani Tōtarō II and emerged as a threat to the dominance of the strongest yokozuna in Tokyo sumo, Hitachiyama.

Retirement from sumo

Following a bicycle accident in 1905, he contracted a head injury and declared himself kyūjō for the whole of 1906. In 1907, his condition worsened to the point that his brain would not support a bout against another yokozuna and Wakashima chose to retire. After his retirement, he once became a chairman of the Osaka Sumo Association, but soon after, he chose to run a theatrical troupe and became an entertainer. However, management was left roughly to others, and by the beginning of the Taishō era (1912-1926), he had reached the end of his touring activities. In 1925, he was elected as a town councilor of Yonago, Tottori Prefecture. On his way to the Sumo Association in Tokyo, he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage in Kobe and died on October 23, 1943.

Fighting style

Although he was not able to beat Tokyo yokozuna Hitachiyama, he had gained enough strength to be able to compete with Ōzutsu and Umegatani on equal footing and is considered a leading figure in the revival of Osaka-sumo. His flashy ring style, which included powerful pulling throws, and the sharpness of his strong thrusts, made him a threat even to Tokyo-sumo top wrestlers.

Top division record

Tokyo sumo top division record

Osaka sumo top division record

• Osaka sumo existed independently for many years before merging with Tokyo sumo in 1926. 1–2 tournaments were held yearly, though the actual time they were held was often erratic.
• In his first Osaka tournament Wakashima competed at makuuchi, but was unranked.

*Championships for the best record in a tournament were not recognized or awarded in Osaka sumo before its merger with Tokyo sumo, and the unofficial championships above are historically conferred. For more information, see yūshō.

See also

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

References

1. ^ Atsuo Tsubota. "Biographies of Yokozuna (19th to 25th)" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 27 June 2002. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
2. ^ "21st Yokozuna Wakashima Gonshirō - Time-Line". Ozumo database (in Japanese). Retrieved 18 February 2023.
3. ^ "68 Yokozuna in 400 Years". Le Monde Du Sumo. June 2005. Retrieved 2007-10-10.
4. "Wakashima Daigoro Rikishi Information". Sumo References. Retrieved 2007-10-10.
5. Atsuo Tsubota. "The 21st Yokozuna, Wakashima Gonshiro Results Chart" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 22 July 2011.

• 1876 births
• 1943 deaths
• Japanese sumo wrestlers
• Yokozuna
• People from Ichikawa, Chiba
• Sumo people from Chiba Prefecture