Looking for the last
great sumo champ? Then take a step back in time, to an era before Takanohana and Akebono.
Sumo today may boast a wealth of competitive wrestlers, yet there' no individual who can
claim to be the king of the ring. If you want a past master, then Chiyonofuji, "The
Wolf", is your man. Quite simply, sumo in the 1980s was Chiyonofuji.
Born in Hokkaido in 1955, Chiyonofuji Mitsugu made his wrestling debut at the age of
fifteen. His early career was far from auspicious. He was hampered by his relatively
diminutive stature (a "mere" 183cm in height and 127kg in weight) and by a
nagging shoulder injury. It wasn't until 1974 that he was spotted by Tokyo scouts, and
invited to join the Kokonoe stable.
Once in Tokyo, however, Chiyonofuji excelled. He developed explosive speed and strength,
and a muscular frame more akin to a bodybuilder than a sumo rikishi. He moved steadily up
the divisions and in 1981 won two successive tournaments, sealing his promotion to the
highest rank, yokozuna. Over the next ten years he would break the record for the most
bouts won by a senior wrestler (807) and amass 31 championship victories, only one short
of Taiho's all-time record (and at present, eleven more than Takanohana). In 1989 he won
his 968th career fight, the highest total ever, and was awarded the National Medal of
Honor.
What made Chiyonofuji exceptional was his domination not only of tournaments but of
individual fights as well. He won several championships in immaculate style, 15-0
(contrast this with Takanohana and Akebono, who in the last Tokyo basho [tournament lost
five fights between them). Most famously, in 1987 he remained unbeaten for a staggering 53
bouts in a row. Only Futabayama has managed a longer streak, and his 69 consecutive
victories came at a time when just two tournaments were held each year. In modern sumo,
few wrestlers remain injury-free long enough to fight 53 times in succession, let alone
win them all.
In the ring itself, Chiyonofuji seemed to have a mental advantage over other fighters,
thanks to his intense, wolf-like stare. His approach at the tachi-ai, or initial charge,
was very different from today's wrestlers: rather than pushing and slapping, Chiyonofuji
would come out and pounce on his opponent's mawashi (belt). If his opponent then had the
slightest lapse in concentration, Chiyonofuji would bundle him down onto the dohyo floor.
In victory or defeat, The Wolf invariably left the arena betraying little, if any,
emotion.
Chiyonofuji retired in 1991, and is now head of the Kokonoe stable. His undisputed mastery
of sumo did not, perhaps, endear him to all Japanese fans; certainly he was not as popular
as underdogs like the bulbous Konishiki or the sprightly Terao. Yet Chiyonofuji reigned
supreme in a decade when sumo first received real international recognition-and for this
reason alone, he is probably the most famous champion of all. It's nice to know that
something good came out of the eighties.
Looking for the last
great sumo champ? Then take a step back in time, to an era before Takanohana and Akebono.
Sumo today may boast a wealth of competitive wrestlers, yet there' no individual who can
claim to be the king of the ring. If you want a past master, then Chiyonofuji, "The
Wolf", is your man. Quite simply, sumo in the 1980s was Chiyonofuji.
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