Maedayama Eigorō
39th yokozuna, known for harite technique and controversial retirement.
Maedayama Eigorō was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Ehime Prefecture. He became the sport's 39th yokozuna. His career was marked by controversy and a rapid rise to the top rank, but also by a short, turbulent tenure at sumo's highest level.
Quick Facts
- Birth name
- Hagimori Kanematsu
- Born
- 4 May 1914
- Birthplace
- Ehime, Japan
- Died
- 17 August 1971
- Weight
- 116.5 kg / 257 lb
- Record
- 306–153–39
- Debut
- January 1929
- Update
- June 2020
Facts from the source article.
Career
Born Hagimori Kanematsu in Nishiuwa District, Maedayama first crossed paths with future yokozuna Futabayama Sadaji in the spring of 1926 during a school trip to Ōita, where Futabayama was competing in a track meet and had not yet joined Tatsunami stable. After joining Takasago stable in the autumn of 1927, Maedayama encountered Futabayama again, and the two began regular practice sessions once Maedayama entered sumo. He debuted professionally in January 1929 under the ring name Yoshigiyama, then switched to Sadamisaki Eigorō in May 1930. In January 1935, he adopted the surname Maedayama to honor the surgeon who saved his career after an injury forced him to miss the entire 1934 season. He climbed to the top makuuchi division in January 1937. By May 1938, after finishing as tournament runner-up, he was promoted straight from the fourth komusubi rank to ōzeki—the fastest such rise since Ōnishiki in 1916. In January 1941, he defeated ōzeki Haguroyama and yokozuna Futabayama. His signature move was the harite, or face slap, which sparked controversy, but Futabayama defended it as a legitimate sumo technique. During the war years, when tournaments were scarce, Maedayama remained an ōzeki and claimed his only top-division championship in the autumn of 1944 with a 9–1 record. He was promoted to yokozuna in June 1947 after a three-way playoff involving fellow ōzeki Azumafuji and yokozuna Haguroyama. At thirty-three, his yokozuna tenure was brief; he won no further tournament titles, posting only two winning scores. Known as a temperamental and contentious figure, he was forced to retire by the Japan Sumo Association in October 1949 after withdrawing from a tournament citing illness, only to be later photographed at a baseball game with Lefty O'Doul.
Retirement from sumo
Maedayama took over as head coach of Takasago stable in 1941 while he was still an active wrestler, something that is no longer allowed. After retiring, he officially changed his name to Takasago Oyakata. In 1964, he brought Takamiyama from Hawaii into the stable, making him the first foreigner to find success in professional sumo. Without approval from the Sumo Association's directors, he traveled across the United States to promote the sport. He trained yokozuna Asashio Tarō III, who reached the top rank in 1959, and ōzeki Maenoyama Tarō in 1970. In 1967, he let Chiyonoyama's Kokonoe stable join his faction, which made the Takasago ichimon stronger. He grew more peaceful in his later years and died on August 17, 1971, from cirrhosis of the liver, missing Takamiyama's historic championship win in 1972. After his death, foreign wrestlers like ōzeki Konishiki and yokozuna Asashōryū later joined the stable.
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