Kitanoumi Toshimitsu

北 の 湖 敏 満
Kitanoumi Toshimitsu

Personal data
real name	Obata Toshimitsu
Born	May 16, 1953
place of birth	Sōbetsu, Hokkaidō Prefecture
Died	20th November 2015
size	1.79 m
Weight	169 kg
Career
Heya	Mihogaseki
Career record	951–350–107 804–247–107 (Makuuchi)
debut	January 1967
Highest rank	Yokozuna (July 1974)
Tournament victories	24 (makuuchi)
resignation	January 1985

Kitanoumi Toshimitsu , Japanese 北 の 湖 敏 満 , (born May 16, 1953 in Sōbetsu , Hokkaidō Prefecture as Obata Toshimitsu ( 小 畑 敏 満 ); † November 20, 2015 in Fukuoka ) was a Japanese sumo wrestler and the 55th yokozuna . From 2002 to 2008 and again from 2012 until his death, he was chairman of the sumo association .

Because of its origins, Kitanoumi is counted among the great sumo fighters from the island of Hokkaidō, who dominated the sport for decades. He received the title of yokozuna in 1974 at the age of just 21, setting a new age record. The list of his fighting records is also remarkable: In seven years of his tenure as a yokozuna he was able to record the most victories of all wrestlers in the respective year. Kitanoumi has won 24 tournaments throughout his career, seven of them without a loss.

In the early 1980s, Kitanoumi was plagued by a series of injuries. After a last tournament victory in 1984, he resigned from active sumo in 1985. Another rikishi from Hokkaido, Chiyonofuji , came into his inheritance.

Kitanoumi was able to follow up his career as an active athlete with another very successful activity away from the ring. He founded his own stable Kitanoumi-beya and rose in the hierarchy of Nihon Sumō Kyōkai: in 1988 he became Shimpan-bucho (Supreme Shimpan ) and in 2002 he took over the chairmanship of the Sumo Association.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ JSA chairman Kitanoumi dies at 62 , Japan Times of November 20, 2015

Web links

Commons : Kitanoumi Toshimitsu  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus Kitanoumi is the family name, Toshimitsu the first name.