Career
He entered sumo in a curious way. He had travelled to Tokyo on a train to attend school, but was met at the station by a sumo wrestler who was expecting a new recruit, who had in fact had second thoughts and not made the trip. The conspicuously large Ikeda was mistaken for him and taken back to Takashima stable before he even realised what was going on. He made his professional debut in May 1938. After suffering appendicitis he had to undergo emergency surgery and changed his shikona from Hokutoyama to Yoshibayama in honour of the doctor (a Shosaku Yoshiba) who had saved his life. He got to the verge of promotion to the jūryō division in 1942 but was then drafted into the Japanese army and took part in World War II. He was seriously wounded during gunfights. His death was reported for a while, and he was surprisingly thin when he returned to Japan. If he hadn't been conscripted and lost several years of his career, he could have become more strong. He was shot in the leg twice, and the second bullet permanently lodged itself in his foot.
In spite of his war injury, he returned to sumo in 1947 and was promoted to the top makuuchi division in November of that year. He remained in the maegashira ranks until September 1950, but was then was promoted to ōzeki in May 1951, after two successive runner-up performances of 13-2 at the rank of sekiwake. He recorded a azukari, or hold, on the 12th day of September 1951 tournament. The reason is that his opponent, Azumafuji, couldn't stand up any more. Yoshibayama could have been awarded a win, but sportingly conceded the draw. In May 1953 he finished with 14 wins and only one loss, but the championship went to an undefeated maegashira whom Yoshibayama had not been paired against. He was promoted to yokozuna after winning his first championship with a perfect 15-0 record in January 1954.
Although he was promoted to yokozuna, the bullet remained in his ankle, so his style of fighting was a mess. Besides, his favourite technique was ketaguri, or leg kick. A controversial move, it was considered to be unacceptable at his top yokozuna rank, but he had no time to understand sumo's techniques due to the war. He wasn't able to win any championships in his yokozuna career. Although he was popular with the public, he ate and drank to excess and had several internal ailments, including kidney problems.
Having finally reached his physical limit, he announced his retirement during the January 1958 tournament. His old rival Kagamisato, who had been promoted to ōzeki alongside him in May 1951, also decided to retire on the final day, the first time that two yokozuna had quit in the same tournament.
Read more about this topic: Yoshibayama Junnosuke
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