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(born January 11, 1948) is a former sumo wrestler and professional wrestler from Nanao, Ishikawa, Japan. He was sumo's 54th ''yokozuna.'' He won a total of 14 tournament championships or ''yūshō'' during his career and retired in March 1981. He was later head coach of Hanakago stable, but was forced to leave the sumo world and turned to professional wrestling. ==Sumo career== After graduating from Nihon University where he was an amateur sumo champion he made his professional debut in January 1970 at the age of 22, joining Hanakago stable which was just a short distance from his university sumo club. He was given ''makushita tsukedashi'' status, meaning he could begin in the third highest ''makushita'' division. He was undefeated in his first 14 matches and reached the ''jūryō'' division after just two tournaments. He was promoted to the top ''makuuchi'' division in January 1971. After finishing as runner-up in the November 1971 and January 1972 tournaments he was promoted to ''sekiwake'' and took his first top division championship or ''yūshō'' in May 1972. He was promoted to ''ōzeki'' shortly afterwards and after winning his second championship with a perfect 15-0 score in May 1973 he was promoted to ''yokozuna''. He took his first ''yūshō'' as a yokozuna in September, and in November 1973 he became the first wrestler ever to withdraw from a tournament while still managing to win it. Wajima won three championships in 1974 but then went into a slump, and did not take another title until March 1976. In the late 1970s he was somewhat overshadowed by fellow ''yokozuna'' Kitanoumi, five years his junior. While Wajima had had a good personal record against him, holding a 19-10 advantage up to the end of 1977, Kitanoumi began to win their later encounters and overtook him in terms of championships won. Wajima took his fourteenth and final championship in November 1980, and retired in March 1981. Wajima was an unconventional wrestler in many ways. He was the only man ever to go as far as ''yokozuna'' without adopting a traditional ''shikona,'' instead fighting under his own surname of Wajima throughout his entire career. He was the first and to date only former collegiate competitor to be promoted to ''yokozuna'' (he was nicknamed the "Sumo Genius" because of his college background). His other departures from sumo norms included having his hair permed before growing a topknot, staying in luxury hotels and driving a Lincoln Continental whilst on regional sumo tours (''jungyo''), and associating himself with outsiders such as the yakuza and going out on late night drinking sessions. He was a great friend of Takanohana, whom he had known since his university days. The two were promoted to ''ōzeki'' simultaneously in November 1972. 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「Wajima Hiroshi」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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