Tsunenohana Kan'ichi

Tsunenohana Kan'ichi ( Japanese 常 ノ 花 寛 市 , proper Yamanobe Kan'ichi 山野 辺 寛 一 ; * August 12, 1896 in Okayama ; † November 28, 1960 ) was the 31st yokozuna and one of the defining Japanese sumo athletes 1920s.

The fighter of the traditional sumo stable Dewanoumi-beya began his career at the age of 14. In 1915 he fought his way up to the sekitori ranks, and in the 1917 summer tournament he was promoted to the makuuchi division. Several years passed before he was promoted to yokozuna. He received this honor only in 1924 and completed a total of 21 tournaments as a grandmaster.

When Tsunenohana resigned in 1930, it was the first news of a yokozuna's resignation to be broadcast on the radio in Japan. Tsunenohana then worked for the Fujishima-beya until 1949, later for the Dewanoumi-beya as Dewanoumi Hidemitsu. From 1944 he was chairman of the board of the young Japanese sumo association and at the same time the first former wrestler to hold this position. In 1957, in protest against internal clashes, he tried to kill himself in his office, but was discovered and rescued. After his recovery, he continued to work in an advisory position at the association until he died in 1960.

Web links

• Datasheet on the website of the Japanese Sumo Federation

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus Tsunenohana is the family name, Kan'ichi the first name.