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 with a combined record of only 10 wins against 35 losses. He was runner-up to Kashiwado in the July 1967 tournament.

In March 1968, ranked as a maegashira, he won the championship (yūshō) in the top division with a 13–2 record, finishing ahead of ōzeki Yutakayama and Tamanoshima. Yokozuna Taihō was out through injury and Sadanoyama announced his retirement, and Wakanami did not have to face anyone ranked higher than sekiwake during the tournament. It was not a popular victory, as the public had wanted the well-liked Yutakayama to finally win his first yūshō (which he never managed to achieve), and it led to demands that low ranking maegashira challenging for the yūshō be matched against all the other contenders in the crucial final days of the tournament, now a standard practice. 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 earned three kinboshi or gold stars for defeating yokozuna. 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.

Fighting style

Although small by sumo standards, Wakanami was very strong in his arms and back, and liked to try tsuri (lifts) even on very heavy opponents like Takamiyama. He was also known for his agility, and his ability to spin on the edge of the dohyō. During his tournament victory he won five of his matches by utchari (ring edge throw). One of his chief rivals was sekiwake Myōbudani with whom he had several spirited matches.

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. Wakanami left the Sumo Association upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 65 in March 2006, although he had been hospitalized since December 2004 after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage. 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 was known as Wakainami for most of his career, but was told he could drop the "i" and use his uncle's shikona if he reached the jūryō division. He never did, but after visiting his uncle in hospital in September 2005, was given permission to use the Wakanami shikona before his uncle retired.

Wakanami died in a Tokyo hospital following complications from pneumonia on 17 April 2007.

Career record

  • The Nagoya tournament was first held in 1958.
Wakanami Jun
YearJanuary Hatsu basho, TokyoMarch Haru basho, OsakaMay Natsu basho, TokyoJuly Nagoya basho, NagoyaSeptember Aki basho, TokyoNovember Kyūshū basho, Fukuoka
1957x(Maezumo)East Jonokuchi #15 6–2Not heldWest Jonidan #79 4–4East Jonidan #71 6–2
1958West Jonidan #34 5–3East Jonidan #16 3–5East Jonidan #22 7–1West Sandanme #83 5–3East Sandanme #68 5–3East Sandanme #52 6–2
1959West Sandanme #32 5–3East Sandanme #19 6–2West Makushita #83 5–3East Makushita #67 5–3East Makushita #63 6–2West Makushita #44 6–2
1960East Makushita #33 5–3West Makushita #26 6–2West Makushita #15 5–3East Makushita #7 4–3West Makushita #5 4–3East Makushita #4 3–4
1961West Makushita #5 7–0–P ChampionWest Jūryō #16 9–6East Jūryō #11 8–6–1East Jūryō #10 Sat out due to injury 0–0–15East Makushita #4 0–3–4East Makushita #27 5–2
1962West Makushita #16 4–3West Makushita #14 7–0–P ChampionWest Jūryō #16 9–6West Jūryō #6 8–7East Jūryō #5 9–6West Jūryō #2 5–10
1963East Jūryō #7 8–7East Jūryō #5 12–3–PWest Maegashira #13 9–6East Maegashira #9 10–5 FWest Maegashira #1 5–10East Maegashira #6 7–8
1964East Maegashira #7 7–8West Maegashira #7 7–8West Maegashira #8 11–4 FWest Komusubi #1 5–10East Maegashira #3 3–12 ★East Maegashira #11 8–7
1965East Maegashira #7 6–9West Maegashira #9 5–10West Maegashira #13 8–7East Maegashira #10 7–8West Maegashira #11 8–7East Maegashira #8 6–9
1966East Maegashira #13 10–5East Maegashira #7 5–10West Maegashira #13 7–8East Maegashira #14 8–7East Maegashira #10 8–7West Maegashira #5 4–11
1967East Maegashira #12 10–5East Maegashira #5 9–6East Maegashira #2 2–13East Maegashira #6 11–4 TEast Maegashira #1 6–9West Maegashira #3 4–11
1968West Maegashira #9 8–7East Maegashira #8 13–2 TEast Komusubi #1 2–13West Maegashira #4 7–8West Maegashira #5 9–6West Maegashira #3 4–11
1969West Maegashira #8 5–10West Maegashira #11 6–9East Maegashira #13 6–9East Jūryō #4 7–8West Jūryō #5 12–3 ChampionWest Maegashira #11 8–7
1970West Maegashira #7 7–8East Maegashira #8 7–8East Maegashira #11 9–6West Maegashira #4 4–11 ★East Maegashira #8 8–7East Maegashira #3 5–10
1971East Maegashira #5 10–5West Komusubi 3–12West Maegashira #5 9–6West Maegashira #1 3–12West Maegashira #9 7–8East Maegashira #11 8–7
1972East Maegashira #6 5–10West Maegashira #10 Retired 2–13xxxx
Record given as wins–losses–absences Top division champion Top division runner-up Retired Lower divisions Non-participation Sanshō key: F=Fighting spirit; O=Outstanding performance; T=Technique Also shown: ★=Kinboshi; P=Playoff(s) Divisions: Makuuchi — Jūryō — Makushita — Sandanme — Jonidan — Jonokuchi Makuuchi ranks: Yokozuna — Ōzeki — Sekiwake — Komusubi — Maegashira

See also