Wakanami Jun

Wakanami Jun (born Jun Tomiyama, 1 March 1941 - 17 April 2007) was a sumo wrestler from Iwai, Ibaraki, Japan. His highest rank was komusubi. He won a top division tournament championship in March 1968. He was also a sumo coach.

Career

He joined the Tatsunami stable in March 1957 and reached the top makuuchi division in May 1963. He was small, at just 178 cm and 103 kg, but he was very popular with sumo fans. In July 1964 he reached his highest rank of komusubi, which he was to hold on three occasions. He was runner-up to Kashiwado in the July 1967 tournament. In March 1968, ranked as a maegashira, he won the championship in the top division with a 13-2 record. Yokozuna Taihō and Sadanoyama were absent through injury, and he did not have to face anyone ranked higher than sekiwake during the tournament. He was promoted to komusubi for the following tournament but could manage only two wins there. He fought in the makuuchi division for 52 tournaments in total. He won four special prizes, two for fighting spirit and two for technique. He fell briefly to the jūryō division in 1969 and won the second division championship, becoming the first wrestler to do this after winning the top division championship. He retired in March 1972.

Retirement from sumo

He stayed in the sumo world after retirement as a coach at his stable, and was known as Onaruto and then Tamagaki Oyakata. His nephew was also a sumo wrestler in the Tatsunami stable, and reached a highest rank of makushita 2 before retiring in March 2010. He also used the Wakanami shikona, as well as the similar-sounding Wakainami.

Wakanami died in a Tokyo hospital following complications from pneumonia.

Career record

• The Nagoya tournament was first held in 1958.

See also

• Glossary of sumo terms
• List of sumo tournament top division champions
• List of sumo tournament second division champions
• List of past sumo wrestlers

References