Hiroshi Wajima
| Hiroshi Wajima | |
|---|---|
| 輪島大士 | |
| Personal information | |
| Born | Hiroshi Wajima January 11, 1948 Ishikawa, Japan |
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) |
| Weight | 130 kg (290 lb) |
| Career | |
| Stable | Hanakago |
| Record | 673-234-85 |
| Debut | January 1970 |
| Highest rank | Yokozuna (May, 1973) |
| Retired | March 1981 |
| Championships | 14 (Makuuchi) 1 (Jūryō) 2 (Makushita) |
| Special Prizes | Outstanding Performance (3) Fighting Spirit (2) |
| * Up to date as of August 2007. | |
Hiroshi Wajima (輪島大士?) (born January 11, 1948) is a former sumo wrestler and professional wrestler from Nanao, Ishikawa, Japan. He was sumo's 54th yokozuna. He won a total of 14 tournament championships or yūshō during his career and retired in March 1981. He was later head coach of Hanakago stable, but was forced to leave the sumo world and turned to professional wrestling.
After graduating from Nihon University where he was an amateur sumo champion he made his professional debut in January 1970 at the age of 22, joining Hanakago stable which was just a short distance from his university sumo club. He was given makushita tsukedashi status, meaning he could begin in the third highest makushita division. He was undefeated in his first 14 matches and reached the jūryō division after just two tournaments. He was promoted to the top makuuchi division in January 1971.
After finishing as runner-up in the November 1971 and January 1972 tournaments he was promoted to sekiwake and took his first top division championship or yūshō in May 1972. He was promoted to ōzeki shortly afterwards and after winning his second championship with a perfect 15-0 score in May 1973 he was promoted to yokozuna. He took his first yūshō as a yokozuna in September, and in November 1973 he became the first wrestler ever to withdraw from a tournament while still managing to win it. Wajima won three championships in 1974 but then went into a slump, and did not take another title until March 1976. In the late 1970s he was somewhat overshadowed by fellow yokozuna Kitanoumi, five years his junior. While Wajima had had a good personal record against him, holding a 19-10 advantage up to the end of 1977, Kitanoumi began to win their later encounters and overtook him in terms of championships won. Wajima took his fourteenth and final championship in November 1980, and retired in March 1981.
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