Daikirin
| Daikirin Takayoshi | |
|---|---|
| 大麒麟 將能 | |
| Personal information | |
| Born | Masakatsu Tsutsumi June 20, 1942 Saga, Japan |
| Died | August 4, 2010 (aged 68) |
| Height | 1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in) |
| Weight | 140 kg (310 lb) |
| Career | |
| Stable | Nishonoseki |
| Record | 710–507–69 |
| Debut | May 1958 |
| Highest rank | Ōzeki (November 1970) |
| Retired | November 1974 |
| Championships | 1 (Jūryō) 1 (Sandanme) |
| Special Prizes | Technique (4) Outstanding Performance (5) |
| Gold Stars | 3 Kashiwado (2) Sadanoyama |
| * Up to date as of July 2007. | |
Daikirin Takayoshi (大麒麟 將能) (20 June 1942 – 4 August 2010), born Masakatsu Tsutsumi, was a sumo wrestler from Saga Prefecture, Japan. He began his professional career in 1958 and reached his highest rank of ōzeki twelve years later in 1970. He retired in 1974, and until June 2006 he was an elder of the Sumo Association under the name Oshiogawa.
Born in Morodome in the city of Saga, he joined Nishonoseki stable and made his professional debut in May 1958. He initially fought under his own surname of Tsutsumi. After four years in the lower ranks he reached sekitori status in May 1962 upon promotion to the jūryō division, and changed his shikona to Kirinji. He did not make an immediate impact but in May 1963 took the jūryō yūshō or championship with a 13–2 score which pushed him up to Jūryō 1. A 10–5 record in the next tournament saw him enter the top makuuchi division for the first time but he had to pull out halfway into his debut tournament and returned to the second division.
After suffering some more injury problems he finally won promotion back to makuuchi in July 1965. He slowly climbed up the maegashira ranks before earning three kinboshi in successive tournaments from May to September 1966, defeating yokozuna Kashiwado twice, and then Sadanoyama. (He did not have to face the most successful yokozuna, Taihō, because they were members of the same stable). His 11–4 score in the September tournament saw him promoted to sekiwake. He remained in the san'yaku ranks for the next seven tournaments, earning several awards, before dropping back briefly to the maegashira ranks. In March 1968 at komusubi rank he defeated Sadanoyama, the winner of the previous two tournaments, in what was to be the yokozuna's last ever bout. Daikirin went on to finish runner-up, his final day defeat handing the yūshō to maegashira Wakanami, who did not face any yokozuna or ōzeki during the tournament.
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