Chiyonofuji Mitsugu

, born June 1, 1955, as in Hokkaidō, Japan, is a former champion sumo wrestler and the 58th yokozuna of the sport.

Chiyonofuji was one of the greatest yokozuna of recent times, winning 31 tournament championships, second only to Taihō. He was particularly remarkable for his longevity in sumo's top rank, which he held for a period of ten years from 1981 to 1991. He won more tournaments in his thirties than any other wrestler and retired in his mid-thirties, in contrast to most recent yokozuna who have tended to retire around 30. He is the only professional sumo wrestler to have scored more than 1000 wins over his professional career, with over 800 of them coming in Makuuchi, sumo's top division.

In a sport where weight is often regarded as vital, Chiyonofuji was quite light at around 120 kg. He relied on a superior technique and muscle to defeat opponents. He was the lightest yokozuna since Tochinoumi in the 1960s.

Early life

He was born in Fukushima, a town in the Matsumae District on the northerly island of Hokkaidō. He was the son of a fisherman. At school he excelled in athletics events, particularly running. He was scouted at the age of 15 by former yokozuna Chiyonoyama, then the head of Kokonoe stable, who hailed from the same town. Chiyonoyama promised him a trip to Tokyo in an airplane, which excited the young Akimoto as he had never flown before. At the time of making his debut he weighed just . In 1977 Chiyonoyama died and another Hokkaidō native, former yokozuna Kitanofuji, took over the stable.

Becoming Chiyonofuji

His name (千代の富士貢) was given to him by his stable master and was formed from the shikona of the two previous yokozuna from his stable, Chiyonoyama and Kitanofuji. It is also an ode to his determination. As a young wrestler, Chiyonofuji was plagued by shoulder injuries. He was remarkable in his willingness to go the extra mile and train relentlessly beyond the level of his peers. Literally translated, 千代富士 means in English "1,000 generations of Fuji." "1,000 generations" is an idiom for "forever," and Fuji (Mount Fuji) is a national symbol sometimes associated with heroism. Hence, his master asked him to take the moniker as a challenge and a request - Chiyonofuji may be translated as "Please, always be our hero." His nickname was "The Wolf", due to the piercing stare he gave his opponents in the pre-bout rituals. This nickname also seems to capture his character in his day-to-day life. Many have spoken of him as a man most comfortable in times of solitude.

Early career

Chiyonofuji began his career in September 1970. He reached the second highest (Juryo) division in November 1974 and was promoted to Makuuchi in September 1975. However, he lasted only one tournament before being demoted again, and subsequent injuries led to him falling back to the unsalaried ranks. He finally won promotion back to the top division in January 1978. He won the Kantosho, or fighting spirit prize, in the May 1978 tournament and was promoted to sumo's fourth highest rank of Komusubi. During his early top division career he was often compared with Takanohana I, another lightweight wrestler who was similarly popular with sumo fans. Takanohana had first come across Chiyonofuji whilst on a regional tour and encouraged him to give sumo a try. Later, he also advised Chiyonofuji to give up smoking, which helped him put on some extra weight.

After establishing himself in the top division Chiyonofuji suffered another injury in 1979 which led to his briefly falling back to Juryo, but he fully recovered by 1980. Encouraged by his stablemaster, he began to rely not just on throwing techniques, which increased the risk of reinjuring his shoulders, but also on gaining ground quickly and forcing out his opponents. Showing much more consistency, he won the prestigious Ginosho, or technique award, in three successive tournaments from July to November 1980. In January 1981 he went undefeated for 14 consecutive days and on the final day of the tournament faced Yokozuna Kitanoumi, who had dominated sumo since the mid-1970s and held an 8-1 head-to-head advantage over him. Chiyonofuji lost the initial match but defeated Kitanoumi in the subsequent playoff. This earned him his first yusho, or tournament title, and also saw him promoted to sumo's second-highest rank of Ozeki. His second title that July, which included another defeat of Kitanoumi, saw him promoted to Yokozuna.

Yokozuna

Chiyonofuji had to pull out of his first tournament as a Yokozuna with an injury, but he returned to win the championship in November, defeating Asashio in a playoff. He later said that this victory was the foundation upon which he built his subsequent success as a yokozuna. He was to win the Kyushu tournament eight years in a row from 1981 to 1988, a record dominance of any of the six honbasho.

As his rival Kitanoumi went into a long slump, Chiyonofuji dominated sumo in 1982, winning four of the six tournaments. However, over the next two years, another Yokozuna Takanosato, emerged to challenge him, and he also suffered a number of injury problems. He was restricted to just one championship in the nine tournaments held from May 1983 to September 1984. But Kitanoumi retired in January 1985, with the aging Takanosato following a year later, and Chiyonofuji resumed his dominance. In 1986 he won five out of the six tournaments held, the first time this had been done since Kitanoumi in 1978. Despite being older and lighter than nearly all his opponents, his strength, skill, and phenomenal will to win meant he was almost unbeatable.

In 1988 he went on a winning streak of 53 bouts, second in sumo history only to Futabayama's 69. The sequence began on the 7th day of the May 1988 tournament and continued through the July and September 1988 tournaments, ending only on the final day of the November 1988 tournament when he was defeated by Onokuni. Had he won that bout, he would have been the first wrestler ever to win three consecutive tournaments with 15-0 records. Nonetheless, his winning run was the best ever in the postwar period, surpassing the 45 bouts won by Taiho in 1968 and 1969. In July 1989 he took his 28th championship in a playoff from his stablemate Hokutoumi, marking the first time ever that two yokozuna from the same stable had met in competition. Shortly before the tournament began he had lost his youngest daughter to sudden infant death syndrome. In September 1989 Chiyonofuji surpassed Oshio's record of 964 career wins and in March 1990 won his 1000th match. His final goal was Taiho's record of 32 tournament titles, but his 31st championship in November of that year proved to be his last.

In the opening tournament of 1991, Chiyonofuji surpassed Kitanoumi's record of 804 top division wins but injured himself on the second day and had to withdraw. He returned in May, but he lost on the opening day of the tournament to the 18-year-old rising star Takahanada (later Yokozuna Takanohana II). It was estimated that half of the Japanese population watched the match on TV. Ironically Takahanada's father Takanohana I had retired in 1981 shortly after losing to Chiyonofuji. After losing another match with Takatoriki two days later Chiyonofuji announced his own retirement, a few weeks short of his 36th birthday.

Retirement from the ring

In 1989 Chiyonofuji had been offered ichidai-toshiyori or "one generation elder" status in recognition of his great achievements, meaning he could keep his sumo name after retirement, as with Taiho and Kitanoumi before him. However, he had already made arrangements to assume the Kokonoe-oyakata name, and he took over the position of head (oyakata) of the Kokonoe stable from Kitanofuji in April 1992. Under his direction, the Kokonoe-beya has produced Chiyotaikai, who has been ranked as ozeki for more tournaments than any other wrestler, and two other top division wrestlers, Chiyotenzan and Chiyohakuho. He also serves as a shinpan, or judge during tournament matches. In February 2008 he joined the board of directors of the Japan Sumo Association.