Kiyokuni Katsuo

清 國 勝雄
Kiyokuni Katsuo

Personal data
real name	Sato Tadao
Born	November 20, 1941
place of birth	Ogachi, Akita Prefecture
Career
Heya	Isegahama
Career record	706-507-32
debut	November 1963
Highest rank	Ōzeki (July 1969)
Tournament victories	1 (makuuchi)
resignation	January 1974

Kiyokuni Katsuo ( Japanese 清 國 勝雄 ; born November 20, 1941 in Ogachi (today: Yuzawa ), Akita Prefecture as Satō Tadao ( 佐藤 忠雄 )) is a former Japanese sumo wrestler and sports official. Kiyokuni is an uncle of the wrestler Tamanoshima .

Kiyokuni was an avid judoka even as a teenager . Through a schoolmate who was a nephew of the former yokozuna Terukuni , who was looking for offspring for his wrestling stable Isegahama-Beya at the time, he was able to introduce himself to him and was invited to Tokyo and signed up there. He fought in September 1956 as Wakaikuni Tadao ( 若 い 國 忠雄 ) his first official fight. In January 1962 he took the name Umenosato Tadao ( 梅 ノ 里 忠雄 ) and in May the name Kiyokuni Tadao ( 清 國 忠雄 ). He was a comparatively light wrestler - he weighed less than 100 kg at this time - and was only able to become a sekitori in 1963 , ie to reach the juryo division. After that, however, three basho were enough for him to advance into the makuuchi division.

As early as March 1964, Kiyokuni was, if only temporarily, Sekiwake. In May he took the name Kiyokuni Katsuo, changed back to Kiyokuni Tadao in March 1965 and back to the name Kiyokuni Katsuo in November 1967. He hovered in the years between the lower sanyaku -Rängen and upper maegashira positions until from about 1968 found his form and in July 1969 even reached its (single) tournament. He was then promoted to kizeki and was able to hold this title until the end of his career in 1974. He completed a total of 62 tournaments in makuuchi and won three prizes for special performance ( Shukun-Sho ) and four technical prizes ( Gino-Sho ). Following his wrestling career, he took over his old wrestling stable in 1977 as an oyakata (stable master) and was elected to the board of directors of the sumo association in 1978 .

In September 2004, the Shukan Post news magazine relied on him when it reported on alleged doping and arranged fights. The association said an investigation had not confirmed the magazine's claims. Isegahama Oyakata, who in the magazine also described today's Japanese wrestlers as a "bunch of sissies", was removed from his post as director.

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