Onigatani Saiji

鬼ヶ谷 才治 Onigatani Saiji
Personal information
Born	Saiji Suzuki April 19, 1855(1855-04-19) Ehime, Japan
Died	February 2, 1931(1931-02-02) (aged 75)
Height	1.63 m (5 ft 4 in)
Weight	80 kg (180 lb)
Career
Heya	Ikazuchi
Record	113-125-146-29draws-13holds
Debut	January, 1886
Highest rank	Komusubi (May 1891)
Retired	January, 1907
* Career information is correct as of May 2008.

Onigatani Saiji (鬼ヶ谷才治, April 19, 1855 – February 2, 1931) was a Japanese sumo wrestler who is known for being active in the top makuuchi division at the age of 51, which is a record after the beginning of the Meiji era.

Career

At first, he joined Tokitsukaze stable in Osaka sumo but was recruited by former yokozuna Umegatani I and moved to Ikazuchi stable in Tokyo sumo. From January 1887, he recorded 20-years' career in makuuchi. He had been the oldest active wrestler in makuuchi since January 1897 when he was 41 years old. He retired in January 1907 when he was 51 years old. He was specially awarded a silver cup by the Sumo Association. He also trained future yokozuna Umegatani II.^[1]

Top division record

	January	May
1887	Sat out	East Maegashira #8 (5-4-1)
1888	East Maegashira #4 (5-3-1-1hold)	East Maegashira #2 (3-4-3)
1889	East Maegashira #5 (3-4-2-1draw)	East Maegashira #4 (3-4-1-2holds)
1890	East Maegashira #3 (3-0-7)	West Maegashira #1 (4-3-1-1draw-1hold)
1891	West Maegashira #1 (4-5-1)	West Komusubi (5-3-1-1draw)
1892	West Komusubi (1-1-8)	West Maegashira #2 (0-2-7-1draw)*
1893	Sat out	West Maegashira #5 (3-6-1)
1894	West Maegashira #7 (2-4-1-2draws-1hold)	West Maegashira #10 (2-1-2-4draws-1hold)
1895	West Maegashira #8 (0-3-6-1draw)	West Maegashira #12 (5-0-4-1draw)*
1896	West Maegashira #4 (2-2-4-2draws)	West Maegashira #3 (2-7-1)
1897	West Maegashira #7 (1-1-7-1hold)	West Maegashira #10 (3-2-4-1draw)
1898	West Maegashira #7 (6-3-1)	East Maegashira #2 (2-2-6)
1899	West Maegashira #2 (1-8-1)	West Maegashira #4 (5-3-1-1draw)
1900	West Maegashira #3 (2-0-8)	West Maegashira #4 (4-3-1-1draw-1hold)
1901	East Maegashira #3 (2-6-1-1draws)	West Maegashira #6 (3-6-1)
1902	East Maegashira #8 (2-4-2-2draws)	East Maegashira #8 (5-2-1-1draw-1hold)
1903	East Maegashira #1 (0-1-9)	East Maegashira #5 (2-4-1-3draws)
1904	East Maegashira #10 (6-0-2-2holds)	Sat out
1905	East Maegashira #5 (3-5-1-1draw)	East Maegashira #7 (2-4-1-2draws-1hold)
1906	East Maegashira #9 (3-6-1)	East Maegashira #11 (1-3-5-1draw)
1907	retired	x

*tournament actually held one month later than listed.

• The wrestler's East/West designation, rank, and win/loss record are listed for each tournament.^[2]
• A third figure in win-loss records represents matches sat-out during the tournament (usually due to injury)
• an X signifies the wrestler had yet to reach the top division at that point in his career or a tournament after he retired

References

1. ^ Kuroda, Joe (June 2005). "Rikishi of Old: Umegatani II". Sumo Fan Magazine. http://www.sumofanmag.com/content/Issue_1/Rikishi_of_Old.htm. Retrieved 2008-07-17. 
2. ^ "Onigatani Saiji Rikishi Information". Sumo Reference. http://sumodb.sumogames.com/Rikishi.aspx?r=3488. Retrieved 2008-05-25. 

See also

• Glossary of sumo terms
• List of past sumo wrestlers

Persondata
Name	Suzuki Saiji
Alternative names	Onigatani, Saiji
Short description	Sumo wrestler
Date of birth	April 19, 1855
Place of birth	Ehime, Japan
Date of death	February 2, 1931
Place of death