Former yokozuna Kitanofuji, who was common lately for his witty feedback throughout stay sumo match broadcasts, died on Nov. 12. He was 82.
A local of the city of Bihoro in Hokkaido, Kitanofuji, whose actual identify was Katsuaki Takezawa, joined the Dewanoumi steady on the invitation of then-yokozuna Chiyonoyama.
After making his skilled sumo debut in 1957, Kitanofuji rose via the ranks to affix different sumo wrestlers within the high division for the January 1964 match.
He was promoted to the second-highest rank of ozeki after the 1966 Nagoya match.
After switching to the Kokonoe steady, established below the retired Chiyonoyama, Kitanofuji was promoted to yokozuna after the January 1970 match. He typically battled with archrival Tamanoumi, who rose to the highest rank along with Kitanofuji.
Kitanofuji retired after the Nagoya match in July 1974. All through his profession, he racked up 10 match titles and had a document of 786 wins and 427 losses. He was awarded the Shukunsho excellent efficiency award twice, the Kantosho preventing spirit award as soon as and the Ginosho approach prize 3 times.
After succeeding the Kokonoe steady, Kitanofuji targeted on nurturing sumo wrestlers, most notably Chiyonofuji and Hokutoumi, who each went on to develop into yokozuna. Hokutoumi, presently often called stablemaster Hakkaku, is the chairman of the Japan Sumo Affiliation.
As sumo affiliation director, Kitanofuji held numerous posts comparable to head of public relations. In 1998, he left the affiliation following turmoil linked to an affiliation election.
He later gained recognition amongst viewers of NHK’s sumo broadcasts for his frank and witty punditry.
