Background
Kajinosuke Tanikaze was born on September 8, 1750 in Miyagi, Japan. Original personal name: Yoshiro.
梶之助 谷風
Kajinosuke Tanikaze was born on September 8, 1750 in Miyagi, Japan. Original personal name: Yoshiro.
When the Edo Sumo Troupe visited his hometown he became a pupil of Seki-no-to, a professional wrestler. He made his debut in sumo in 1769 when he was 19.
He became the № 2 champion wrestler (1776) and took to himself the name of Tanikaze-Kajinosuke. He was awarded the title Yokozuna, the highest rank in sumo (1789). He defeated Kisaburo Onogawa (1791) in the presence of Shogun Ienari Tokugawa, to become the 1st Grand Champion of the nation. Incidentally, this was the first sumo match to be held in the presence of a Shogun.
Physical Characteristics: With a height of 189 cm and a weight of 169 kg, he was extremely large in comparison with most Japanese men of his era.