Quick Facts
Biography
Inazuma Raigorō (稲妻雷五郎, 1802 – March 29, 1877) was a sumo wrestler from Inashiki, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. He was the sport's 7th yokozuna. Inazuma means lightning in Japanese.
Career
His birth date is ambiguous. According to a strong theory, he was born in 1802. Another claimed that he was born in 1795. If the former is correct, he was the youngest yokozuna until the promotion of Umegatani Tōtarō II in 1903. If the latter is correct, he died at the age of 82.
He was worked under Matsudaira clan in Izumo, where legendary sumo wrestler Raiden worked. Inazuma entered Edo sumo in February 1821 and was promoted to the top makuuchi division in October 1824. He reached the highest rank of ōzeki on ability alone, after only 6 tournaments (some ōzeki of the period were merely given the rank because of their size or status). Ōnomatsu Midorinosuke was his rival. They differed in that Inazuma hated false starts at the tachi-ai, or the initial phase of sumo bouts.
As an Osaka based wrestler, Inazuma was awarded a yokozuna licence by the Gojo family in July 1828. This licence was disputed, but, in September 1830, he was also awarded a yokozuna licence by the house of Yoshida-tsukasa, and thus has been accepted as an official yokozuna.
In the top makuuchi division, he won 130 bouts and lost only 13 bouts, achieving a winning percentage of 90.9. After his retirement, he moved to Matsue but he returned to Tokyo in the Meiji period.
Top division record
- The actual time the tournaments were held during the year in this period often varied.
| - | Spring | Winter | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1824 | x | West Maegashira #5 7–0–2 1h Unofficial | ||||
| 1825 | West Komusubi 5–2–3 | West Komusubi 8–1–1 Unofficial | ||||
| 1826 | West Sekiwake 6–1–2 1d | West Sekiwake 7–0–1 1d 1h | ||||
| 1827 | West Sekiwake 5–0–2 Unofficial | Not enrolled | ||||
| 1828 | Not enrolled | West Ōzeki 4–1–5 | ||||
| 1829 | West Ōzeki 6–0–1 Unofficial | West Ōzeki 8–0–1 1d Unofficial | ||||
| 1830 | West Ōzeki 8–0–2 Unofficial | West Ōzeki 6–1–2 1h | ||||
| 1831 | West Ōzeki 3–1–6 | West Ōzeki 8–0 Unofficial | ||||
| 1832 | Not held | West Ōzeki 8–0–1 1d Unofficial | ||||
| 1833 | West Ōzeki 9–0 1d Unofficial | Not enrolled | ||||
| 1834 | Not enrolled | Not enrolled | ||||
| 1835 | West Ōzeki 5–0–3 2d | West Ōzeki 6–2–2 | ||||
| 1836 | Sat out | West Ōzeki 3–0–7 | ||||
| 1837 | West Ōzeki 5–0–4 1d Unofficial | West Ōzeki 5–1–1 2d 1nr | ||||
| 1838 | West Ōzeki 3–0–3 | Sat out | ||||
| 1839 | West Ōzeki 1–3–5 1d | West Ōzeki Retired 4–0–3 3d | ||||
| Record given as win-loss-absent Top Division Champion Retired Lower Divisions Key: d=Draw(s) (引分); h=Hold(s) (預り); nr=no result recorded Yokozuna (not ranked as such on banzuke until 1890) Ōzeki — Sekiwake — Komusubi — Maegashira | ||||||
*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.