25 Facts About Kitanoumi Toshimitsu

Kitanoumi Toshimitsu, born Toshimitsu Obata, was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler.

Kitanoumi Toshimitsu was the dominant wrestler in the sport during the 1970s.

Kitanoumi Toshimitsu won 24 tournament championships during his career and was one of a series of truly great yokozuna who came from Hokkaido, the largest and northernmost prefecture of Japan.

Kitanoumi Toshimitsu was chairman of the Japan Sumo Association from 2002 until 2008, and again from 2012 until his death.

Kitanoumi Toshimitsu joined Mihogaseki stable, and was promoted to sumo's second highest juryo division in May 1971 and the top makuuchi division a year later.

Kitanoumi Toshimitsu won his first top division yusho or tournament championship in January 1974 and was promoted to ozeki immediately afterwards.

Kitanoumi Toshimitsu secured promotion to yokozuna just three tournaments after that.

Kitanoumi Toshimitsu was the most successful wrestler in sumo for the rest of the 1970s.

Kitanoumi Toshimitsu was known for not offering a defeated opponent a hand to get back to their feet, and was notoriously monosyllabic when being interviewed by reporters.

Kitanoumi Toshimitsu was remarkably injury free and rarely missed a tournament.

In November 1981 Kitanoumi Toshimitsu withdrew from a tournament for the first time.

Kitanoumi Toshimitsu had been ranked as a yokozuna on the banzuke in 63 tournaments, which remained the most in history until Hakuho surpassed it in May 2018.

Kitanoumi Toshimitsu was honored for his great achievements by being offered membership of the Japan Sumo Association without having to purchase a share.

Kitanoumi Toshimitsu was the second rikishi after Taiho to be given this honor.

Kitanoumi Toshimitsu opened up his own training stable, Kitanoumi stable, taking several wrestlers from Mihogaseki stable who had already been under his wing.

Kitanoumi Toshimitsu stable became one of the largest in sumo, and produced a handful of top division wrestlers over the years, such as maegashira Ganyu, Kitazakura and Kitataiki.

Kitanoumi Toshimitsu inherited Russian wrestler Hakurozan, who joined the stable in 2006.

Kitanoumi Toshimitsu was the first chairman under the age of 50 in half a century, and his appointment was widely welcomed; however, he came under pressure after a series of scandals hit sumo.

When it became clear in September 2008 that one of them was his own wrestler Hakurozan, whom he had previously backed, Kitanoumi Toshimitsu resigned his post, apologizing for "the trouble I have caused to the Sumo Association and to fans".

Kitanoumi Toshimitsu remained on the board of directors, in charge of running the Osaka tournament, but had to resign from that position in April 2011 after another of his wrestlers, Kiyoseumi, was found guilty of match-fixing and forced to retire from sumo.

Kitanoumi Toshimitsu died of colorectal cancer and multiple organ failure on the evening of November 20,2015.

Kitanoumi Toshimitsu was in Fukuoka for the Kyushu tournament and was taken to the hospital for anemia in the morning, after which his condition deteriorated.

Kitanoumi Toshimitsu preferred to grip his opponent's belt over pushing and thrusting.

Kitanoumi Toshimitsu's favored grip was hidari-yotsu.

Kitanoumi Toshimitsu did not employ a wide variety of winning techniques, using only twenty-one different kimarite over the course of his career.