Hitachiyama Taniemon

was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture. He was the sport's 19th yokozuna from 1903 till 1914. His great rivalry with Umegatani Tōtarō II created the "Ume-Hitachi Era" and did much to popularise sumo. He is remembered as much for his exploits in promoting the sport as for his strength on the dohyō. In his later years as head coach of Dewanoumi stable he trained hundreds of wrestlers, including three yokozuna. Many consider him the most honorable yokozuna in sumo history, which earned him the nickname , or "sumo saint".

Early career

Hitachiyama was born as , on January 19, 1874, to a samurai family which belonged to the Mito Domain. His family was dismissed by the Meiji restoration authorities and was ruined financially. He moved to Tokyo and became dependent on his uncle. He attempted to enter Waseda University where his uncle was employed. At around this time, however, his uncle observed that he was able to lift a rock weighing 58 kan, or . His uncle advised him to become a sumo wrestler. At that time, sumo was not seen as a sport of much regard, so his father opposed the idea. Despite his father's protestation, he joined Dewanoumi stable in 1890.

He made his professional debut in June 1892. However, he fell in love with his head coach's niece; and when he was refused permission to wed her, he ran away from Tokyo sumo in the summer of 1894.

Yokozuna

Hitachiyama once won 27 bouts in a row, lost one to Araiwa Kamenosuke in his first tournament as yokozuna, then went on another winning streak of 32 bouts. He started his powerful techniques only after his opponents' attack. His fighting style is now seen as a model of yokozuna. He also introduced bushidō into sumo, and raised the status of sumo wrestlers in society. He also performed the yokozuna dohyō-iri in an innovative way. Unlike yokozuna before him, he would at first hold out both arms after he made a clap, and after he did the sumo-style leg stomps, he would raise only his right arm. In the course of his career, he would have the best record in 8 tournaments, but only his last one is counted as an actual championship after the system was established in 1909

Later years

After his retirement in May 1914, he became the stablemaster of Dewanoumi stable. It had been a minor heya when he had first joined it, but even while still an active wrestler Hitachiyama had trained many wrestlers, such as later yokozuna Tachiyama Mineemon, even though they were not members of his stable. He was a masterful recruiter and coach. He had such charisma and personality that he was able to tempt many wrestlers away from the less successful Osaka and Kyoto based sumo associations, which caused friction between the rival organisations. As head coach he produced many top division wrestlers, including no fewer than three yokozuna: Ōnishiki Uichirō, Tochigiyama Moriya and Tsunenohana Kan'ichi. At the stable's peak he was in charge of two hundred wrestlers. To feed them, he devised the chankonabe style of food preparation which still prevails in sumo today.

He died suddenly in 1922 at the age of 48. As a much respected figure in the sumo world, he was the first yokozuna for whom the Japan Sumo Association organised a formal funeral. Championships for the best record in a tournament were not recognized or awarded before the 1909 summer tournament and the above championships that are labelled "unofficial" are historically conferred. For more information see yūshō.