Masuiyama Daishirō I

増位山大志郎 Masuiyama Daishirō
Personal information
Born	Shinmatsu Sasada November 3, 1919(1919-11-03) Himeji, Japan
Died	October 21, 1985(1985-10-21) (aged 65)
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight	111 kg (240 lb)
Career
Heya	Dewanoumi
Record	199-126-23
Debut	January, 1935
Highest rank	Ōzeki (January, 1949)
Retired	January, 1950
Yūshō	2 (Makuuchi) 1 (Juryo) 1 (Makushita)
Sanshō	Outstanding Performance (1) Technique (1)
Kinboshi	2
* Career information is correct as of July 2008.

Masuiyama Daishirō (3 November 1919 – 21 October 1985) was a sumo wrestler from Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. His highest rank was ozeki. After his retirement he was the head coach of Mihogaseki stable and produced yokozuna Kitanoumi among other wrestlers.

Career

Born Kumiaki Sawaka, he joined Dewanoumi stable in 1935 and initially fought under the shikona of Hamanishiki, before changing to Masuiyama in 1937. After winning the makushita tournament championship or yusho in 1939 he was promoted to juryo and only two tournaments later, after picking up another championship, he was promoted to the top makuuchi division for the January 1941 tournament. In January 1942 he defeated yokozuna Haguroyama to earn his first gold star or kinboshi. He finished with a losing record but good performances over the next three tournaments took him to komusubi and then sekiwake in 1944. In the first postwar tournament held in a bomb-damaged Kokugikan in June 1945 he could manage only two wins and dropped back to the maegashira ranks, but he was runner-up to Haguroyama in November 1946 with a fine 11-2 record. After earning his first sanshō or special prize for Technique he returned to the sanyaku ranks, and in October 1948 he won his first top division championship. He took advantage of the poor condition of the three yokozuna and finished with a 10-1 record, defeating ozeki Azumafuji in a playoff. After the tournament Azumafuji was promoted to yokozuna and Masuiyama was elevated to ozeki. In his second tournament at ozeki rank Masuiyama took his second and final championship, defeating yokozuna Haguroyama, Azumafuji and Maedayama on three consecutive days to finish 13-2. He defeated maegashira Hajimayama, a fellow member of Dewanoumi stable, in another playoff on the final day.

Retirement from sumo

This was to be the last tourney Masuiyama was to complete. After pulling out of the next two tournaments through injury he retired in January 1950 at the age of 30, having spent only four tournaments at ozeki rank. He became head coach of the small Mihogaseki stable. After a long period without success,^[1] he eventually managed to produce some strong sekitori, including Kitanoumi who reached yokozuna in 1974, and his eldest son, Masuiyama Daishiro II, who was born in 1948, entered his father's stable in 1967 alongside Kitanoumi and reached the ozeki rank in 1980. In November 1984 Masuiyama reached the mandatory retirement age set by the Japan Sumo Association and passed on control of Mihogaseki stable to his son. He died less than one year later. Kitanoumi, his most successful wrestler, missed his own father's funeral to attend Masuiyama's.^[1]

Top division record

	New Year	Summer	Autumn
1941	East Maegashira #16 (10-5)	East Maegashira #8 (5-10)	no tournament held
1942	West Maegashira #10 (6-9)☆	West Maegashira #12 (10-5)	no tournament held
1943	East Maegashira #7 (8-7)	West Maegashira #3 (10-5)	no tournament held
1944	East Komusubi (11-4)	West Sekiwake (4-6)	West Komusubi (4-6)
1945	no tournament held	East Maegashira #3 (2-3-2)	East Maegashira #8 (5-5)
1946	no tournament held	no tournament held	East Maegashira #6 (11-2)
1947	no tournament held	Sat out	West Maegashira #2 (8-3)T☆
1948	no tournament held	East Komusubi (7-4)	West Sekiwake (10-1-P)O
1949	West Ozeki (7-6)	West Ozeki (13-2-P)	East Ozeki (3-6-6)
1950	West Ozeki (4-6-5) (Retired)	x	x

• 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)
• "P" designates a win or loss of additional playoff bout(s) for the championship because two or more wrestlers finished with identical records

Green Box=Tournament Championship

F= Fighting Spirit Prize

O= Outstanding Performance Prize

T= Technique Prize

☆= Number of Kinboshi

See also

• Glossary of sumo terms
• List of past sumo wrestlers
• List of sumo tournament winners

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Sharnoff, Lora (1993). Grand Sumo. Weatherhill. ISBN 0-8348-0283-x. 
2. ^ "Masuiyama Daishiro". Sumo Reference. http://sumodb.sumogames.com/Rikishi.aspx?r=3832. Retrieved 2008-07-31. 

External links

• Complete career record

Persondata
Name	Sasada, Shinmatsu
Alternative names	Masuiyama, Daishiro, I
Short description	Sumo wrestler
Date of birth	3 November 1919
Place of birth	Himeji, Japan
Date of death	21 October 1985
Place of death