Hidenokuni Hajime

Hidenokuni Hajime (born August 23, 1971 as Nathan John Strange) is a former professional sumo wrestler, who was active from 1989 until 1990. The highest rank he reached was jonidan 89. He was the first, and so far only sumo wrestler from the United Kingdom.

Hidenokuni Hajime
英ノ国 一
Personal information
BornNathan Strange
(1971-08-23) August 23, 1971
Edgware, London, United Kingdom
Height1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Weight102 kg (225 lb)
Career
StableAzumazeki
Record9-5-14
DebutSeptember 1989
Highest rankJonidan 89 (March 1990)
RetiredMay, 1990
* Up to date as of December 2017.

Career

A former photographic printer from Edgware, London, he was inspired to join sumo after seeing broadcasts on Channel 4.[1] After months of training in martial arts techniques with Syd Hoare of the British Sumo Association,[2] he went to Japan and joined the Azumazeki stable run by former sekiwake Takamiyama, who had already taken on a number of foreign recruits from Hawaii. Strange had written a number of letters to Azumazeki Oyakata asking to join.[1] The name Hidenokuni was chosen to acknowledge his pioneering status as the first ever rikishi from the United Kingdom: the first and last characters of Hidenokuni together mean England. Hajime is a common given name in Japan, and can be taken to mean start or beginning. He found it difficult to adjust to the sumo diet of chankonabe and instead of gaining weight, he lost 22 kilograms (49 lb) in his first two months in Japan.[3]

Hidenokuni's sumo career was short. After coming though maezumō (pre-sumo) in September 1989, he fought his first tournament in the bottom jonokuchi division in November 1989 and, recording a 5-2 score, performed sufficiently well to be promoted to jonidan for the January 1990 tournament. He celebrated by going out to a disco with ōzeki Konishiki, who had just won the top division title.[2] He again achieved kachi-koshi in January, meaning he had won 12 of his first 18 bouts.[1] He had gained quite a lot of attention due to his status as the first ever European in sumo, and even started to receive fan mail. However, he also received very harsh treatment in training from his stablemates, who were not pleased at the attention he was getting,[2] and this influenced his decision to return to England. He quit immediately after the March 1990 tournament,[1] although he remained on the banzuke for the next tournament in May.

Career record
Hidenokuni Hajime[4]
Year in sumo January
Hatsu basho, Tokyo		 March
Haru basho, Osaka		 May
Natsu basho, Tokyo		 July
Nagoya basho, Nagoya		 September
Aki basho, Tokyo		 November
Kyūshū basho, Fukuoka
1989 x x x x (Maezumo) West Jonokuchi #38
5–2
 
1990 West Jonidan #123
4–3
 		 East Jonidan #89
0–0–7
 		 West Jonokuchi #7
Retired
0–0–7		 x x x
Record given as win-loss-absent    Top Division Champion Top Division Runner-up Retired Lower Divisions

Sanshō key: F=Fighting spirit; O=Outstanding performance; T=Technique     Also shown: ★=Kinboshi(s); P=Playoff(s)
Divisions: Makuuchi — Jūryō — Makushita — Sandanme — Jonidan — Jonokuchi

Makuuchi ranks: Yokozuna — Ōzeki — Sekiwake — Komusubi — Maegashira

See also

References
  1. Gunning, John (8 August 2018). "Entering sumo world not something to be taken lightly". Japan Times. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  2. Patmore, Angela (1990). The Giants of Sumo. MacDonald & Co. ISBN 0-356-18120-0.
  3. Marantz, Ken (18 January 1990). "Grappling On Foreign Soil". Newsweek Japan. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  4. "Hidenokuni Hajime Rikishi Information". Sumo Reference. Retrieved 2 June 2009.
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