Unryū Kyūkichi

was a Japanese sumo wrestler from Yanagawa, Chikugo Province. He was the sport's 10th yokozuna. Although the name of the style of the yokozuna 's in-ring ceremony is named after him, the fact that he himself practiced this style is highly debated.

Early life and career He was born in Yanagawa, Fukuoka, but would later change his name to . He lost his parents and grandmother in 1833 and had to work to help his three younger siblings. In 1841, a group from Edo-sumo, led by Oitekaze (an active ōzeki who was also a stablemaster), made a tour in Kyūshū to distract people after a period of famine. They went around and spotted the young man during an amateur tournament. Kyūkichi was reluctant to step into the ring, but Oitekaze was stunned by his ability to easily take over his opponents. There, he wrestled for the Yanagawa Domain and was promoted to the top makuuchi division in February 1852. but Tachiyama's style is called Shiranui-style now and Unryū is credited with inventing the Shiranui-style. The common theory is that the names of the Unryū and Shiranui styles were switched. This was due to sumo scholar Kozo Hikoyama, who without researching properly, labelled Tachiyama's style as being that of Shiranui Kōemon, whereas it was in fact created by Unryū. Hikoyama was such an authority that no one contradicted him, and the Shiranui name has stuck. Some believe that the Unryū and Shiranui ring-entering ceremonies were so beautiful that only the names were retained in later generations and that the names were switched because they were not thoroughly investigated when the style were officially named. and a photograph of Shiranui posing in the Unryū-style. Championships for the best record in a tournament were not recognized or awarded before the 1909 summer tournament and the above unofficial championships are historically conferred. For more information see yūshō.