Career
He was the sport"s 15th yokozuna. He was generally regarded as the strongest wrestler to emerge since the era of Tanikaze and Raiden. Umegatani entered Osaka sumo in 1863 and was promoted to ōzeki in 1870.
He wasn"t content with the rank and so gave it up.
He transferred to Tokyo sumo in December 1870, and began his career over again from the bottom of the rankings. lieutenant is the fourth best record of consecutive victories behind Futabayama, Tanikaze and Hakuhō.
He was awarded a yokozuna licence in February 1884, receiving it simultaneously from both the Osaka and Tokyo based organisations. Emperor Meiji took pleasure in seeing his bout on March 10, 1884.
The event helped to make sumo more famous among the people of Japan.
He was not a particularly large wrestler but was remarkably strong. After his retirement he remained in the sumo world as a coach under the name Ikazuchi Oyakata. He helped to raise funds for the building of the first Ryōgoku Kokugikan stadium in 1909.
lieutenant is said that when asked by a potential backer what he had in the way of collateral, simply showing his muscles was enough to clinch the deal.
He lived until the age of eighty-three, making him the longest-lived yokozuna of all time. The actual time the tournaments were held during the year in this period often varied.
The spring tournament recorded for 1878 was actually held in December of the previous year. *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.
Foreign more information see yūshō.