Ōikari Montarō

Ōikari Montarō (大碇 紋太郎) was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Chita District, Owari Province (now Handa, Aichi Prefecture). Wrestling for the Tokyo-based Sumo Association, he made his debut in May 1885 at Isenoumi stable. He reached the makuuchi division in January 1893 and reached the rank of ōzeki in 1895.

Because he later wrestled for the Kyoto-based Sumo Association, he was awarded a yokozuna license by the in April 1899. However, since this yokozuna license was not issued by the Yoshida family, he is not recognized by the Japan Sumo Association as being on the list of official yokozuna. Although he retired from the Tokyo Sumo Association in 1898, his final retirement date is unknown.

History
Before his professional career, Ōikari changed his name several times. One of his earliest names was Yoshida Montarō, which is accepted as his birth name, although some theories give his birth name as Takeuchi Montarō before he was adopted by a man named Yoshida Kahei. Later Ōikari also changed his name to Hibi Montarō after he was adopted by a man named Hibi Chosaburō. In 1884, he joined but eventually left to join Isenoumi stable.

He rose steadily up the rankings and made his debut in san'yaku in 1894, where he put in a fine performance in the May tournament, being second only to tournament champion Asashio. This performance saw him promoted directly to the rank of sekiwake, where, following a second good performance, he was promoted to the rank of ōzeki. Ōikari was known for his tsuki and oshi techniques nicknamed dai ikari (大怒り), meaning 'great anger'. His skills were often highlighted by sports specialists and he received a lot of encouragement during this period. Ōikari held his rank for two tournaments, winning a majority of matches each time. For some obscure reason, however, he was demoted back to the rank of sekiwake for the June 1896 tournament. Angered, Ōikari deserted the Tokyo Sumo Association after the May 1896 tournament. He went to Kyoto and was welcomed by the local officials, being allowed to start a tournament in Kyoto directly at the rank of ōzeki because the Kyoto Sumo Association wanted to showcase him to promote its tournaments. In January 1898, he was persuaded by Master Ikazuchi (former yokozuna Umegatani I) to return to the Tokyo association, where he made his comeback as a maegashira. After a serious setback at his return tournament, Ōikari however decided to retire from the Tokyo Association for good and returned to Kyoto.

In Kyoto, he continued his ōzeki career with greater success. In April 1899, the Gojō family decided to award him a yokozuna licence in recognition of his performances. He held the rank for more than 10 years. In 1910, he led a delegation of wrestlers from Kyoto to the Japan-British Exhibition in London, where he performed a ring entering ceremony. The event was the first full scale presentation of a sumo performance oversea. After the event, Ōikari and his group toured across Europe and in North America. The tour finally ended up in South America, more specifically in Argentina where Ōikari eventually stayed as his companions returned to Japan. Although the public in Kyoto were still awaiting his return, Ōikari gave his last news as he left for Venezuela. Although he chose to stay, Ōikari lost the job he had found and became a coolie worker. He ended his days as a dockyard worker in Chile.

It is often theorized that Ōikari never returned to Japan after his world tour, but author Masaru Nishi, who wrote Ōikari's biography, reports that Hajime Kawakami, who was sentenced to prison in 1933 for joining the Japanese Communist Party, saw an old man who resembled Ōikari at Tokyo's Kosuge Prison and would often listen to his stories and record them in his diary. The loss of the Kyoto-based sumo association's sole yokozuna is cited as the latest event to precipitate the association's downfall after a long decline since the Meiji Restoration.

In 2022, members of the local Tokai sumo history association discovered an obituary mentioning Ōikari (under his real name of Hibi Montarō) in the February 1930 issue of the Nippaku Shimbun, the second oldest Japanese newspaper in Brazil.

Ōikari was nicknamed okame (おかめ), after the traditional Japanese mask. In 1995, the Ōikari shikona, or ring name, was inherited by Ōikari Tsuyoshi, a wrestler from the current incarnation of Isenoumi stable.

Tokyo career record
''*Championships for the best record in a tournament were not recognized or awarded before the 1909 summer tournament and the above championships that are labelled "unofficial" are historically conferred. For more information see yūshō.''