Raiden Tameemon

Japanese: 雷電為右衛門 - らいでん・ためえもん

Year of death: 11th February 1825 (30th March 1825)
Year of birth: Meiwa 4.1 (1767)
A sumo wrestler from the late Edo period. Born in Oishi Village, Ogata County, Shinano Province (Nagano Prefecture). His real name was Seki Tarokichi. As a strong ozeki, he built the golden age of Kansei Grand Sumo together with Tanikaze Kajinosuke and Onogawa Kisaburo. He entered the Urakaze stable at the age of 17, was promoted to sekiwake in November 1790 (Kansei 2), and was promoted to ozeki in March 1794 upon Tanikaze's death. At 197 cm and 170 kg, he had an ideal physique that was said to be a single rib, and during his two tournaments per year, he won 27 tournaments equivalent to a championship, with a winning percentage of 96.2%. His strength is unparalleled in history, but he never received a yokozuna license. The reason is unknown, and a storybook says that he killed an opponent, but this is unfounded. Not only was he a strong sumo wrestler, but as a boy he studied and trained in sumo at a temple school in Ishisonnotsuji, Maruko-cho, Shinshu, and left behind a "Shokushu Sumo Record Book" (commonly known as the "Raiden Diary"), which describes his actions during tours and his financial transactions. He retired in 1811 at the age of 45. He died in Edo and was buried at Hodoji Temple (Akasaka, Minato Ward). His other graves are at Jyogyoji Temple in Sakura, Shimousa Province (Chiba Prefecture), where his wife Yae was born, and at Getsujoji Temple (Matsue City), as he was employed by the Matsue Domain. He also has a grave and a thunder monument (the inscription was written by Sakuma Shozan, who was from the same town) in his hometown (Higashibu-cho, Nagano Prefecture). <References> Fujiwara Ginjiro, "Raiden the Wrestler," Kojima Teiji, "Raiden Tameemon," and "Raiden Tameemon, the Pride of the Hometown," compiled by the Young People's Division of Higashibu-cho Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

(Naofumi Mizuno)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

没年：文政8.2.11(1825.3.30)
生年：明和4.1(1767)
江戸後期の力士。信濃国(長野県)小県郡大石村生まれ。本名関太郎吉。強豪大関として谷風梶之助,小野川喜三郎と共に寛政大相撲黄金期を築いた。17歳で浦風部屋に入門,寛政2(1790)年11月関脇に付け出され,谷風の死去により同7年3月大関に昇進。197cm,170kgの一枚あばらといわれる理想的な体躯で,年2場所時代に優勝相当成績27回,勝率9割6分2厘の記録を残す。その強さは古今無双であるが,横綱免許は受けていない。理由は不明で,講談本では相手を殺傷したとあるが,これは事実無根。単に相撲が強かっただけではなく,少年のころ信州丸子町石尊之辻の寺子屋で学問と相撲の修業を積んでおり,巡業中の行動や金銭の出納などを記述した「諸国相撲控帳」(通称「雷電日記」)を残している。文化8(1811)年45歳で引退。江戸で没し,報土寺(港区赤坂)に葬られた。墓はほかに妻八重の生家がある下総国佐倉(千葉県)の浄行寺と松江藩お抱えだったため月照寺(松江市)にある。郷里(長野県東部町)にも墓と電雷碑(碑文は同郷の佐久間象山が書いた)がある。<参考文献>藤原銀次郎『力士雷電』,小島貞二『雷電為右衛門』,東部町商工会青年部編『郷土のほこり雷電為右エ門』

(水野尚文)

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