Ōzutsu Man'emon


Ōzutsu Man'emon was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Shiroishi, Miyagi Prefecture. He was the sport's 18th yokozuna.

Career

His real name was Kakubari Manji, before changing his given name to Man'emon. In sumo, he began using the shikona name Misawataki in May 1884 in honour of his hometown. Ōzutsu 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. He changed his ring name to Ōzutsu in 1888. His strength increased and he was promoted to ōzeki in May 1899.
He had never lost any bouts as ōzeki and was awarded a yokozuna licence by the house of Yoshida Tsukasa in April 1901. In May 1902, he had the best record in the tournament with no defeats. 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 Tōtarō 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.
Ōzutsu means "cannon" in Japanese but its reading is usually taihō, and the name of yokozuna Taihō Kōki means "big phoenix".

Top division record

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