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Minanogawa Tōzō (男女ノ川 登三, September 17, 1903 – January 20, 1971) was a sumo wrestler from Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan. He was the sport's 34th ''yokozuna''. ==Career== He had lost his father in the Russo-Japanese War at the age of two, and worked as a labourer to support his mother. Already tall at the age of 15, very large for Japanese youths in his time, he was spotted by Takasago stable's Akutsugawa.〔 He made his debut in January 1924 and reached the second highest ''jūryō'' division after only six tournaments in January 1927. He initially relied on pushing techniques, or ''oshi-sumo'', but began to develop a more rounded technique after being given instruction by former ''sekiwake'' Kiyosegawa.〔 He was promoted to the top ''makuuchi'' division in January 1928. In 1929 Akutsugawa, the wrestler who had discovered him, retired and encouraged him to join his newly established Sadogatake stable.〔 However Takasago's stablemaster did not want his promising ''rikishi'' to leave and even changed Minanogawa's ''shikona'' to the prestigious Asashio Tarō to obligate him to stay. Eventually a compromise was worked out and Minanogawa divided his time between the two stables.〔 He made ''komusubi'' in January 1930, and had two consecutive runner-up scores in October 1930 and January 1931, the second from the third highest ''sekiwake'' rank. Along with the lean and handsome Musashiyama he was one of the most popular men in sumo in this time.〔 However, in 1931 he suffered a series of knee injuries, and in 1932 was caught up in the so-called "Shunjūen Incident", when a number of top division wrestlers went on strike. Minanogawa was out of the Japan Sumo Association for four tournaments and he and his followers held a number of their own rival tournaments with knockout rounds.〔 He returned to the Sumo Association in 1933 and immediately took his first tournament championship with an unbeaten record, defeating Musashiyama, ''ōzeki'' Shimizugawa and ''yokozuna'' Tamanishiki, all of whom had stayed with the Association during the strike.〔 He reverted to the Minanogawa ring name and won his second championship in January 1934. This earned him promotion to ''ōzeki''. He was promoted to ''yokozuna'' after a 9-2 runner-up score in January 1936, just one tournament after Musashiyama, and it was suggested that the double promotion was as a result of a deal between the Takasago and Dewanoumi factions.〔 Although his record at ''yokozuna'' rank was not as bad as Musashiyama, who managed only one ''kachi-koshi'' winning score as a grand champion, Minanogawa was unable to win any further championships, and was overshadowed by Tamanishiki and the dominant Futabayama. He was never able to beat Futabayama as a ''yokozuna'' and had only one win over Tamanishiki. In May 1938 he could win only six out of 13 bouts, and became one of the very few ''yokozuna'' to compete in a full tournament and turn in a ''make-koshi'' losing score. By 1941 he was 36 years old and suffering from injuries, and he wanted to retire, but was asked to stay on until Maenoyama or Akinoumi were ready to replace him. He eventually retired in January 1942, a tournament in which Akinoumi produced a strong 13-2 record.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Minanogawa Tōzō」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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