Kitanoumi Toshimitsu
Japanese sumo wrestler (1953–2015)
北の湖敏満 · 北之湖敏滿 · 키타노우미 도시미츠
- Born
- 16 May 1953, Sobetsu
- Died
- 20 November 2015, Fukuoka
- Citizenship
- Japan
- Sport
- sumo
- Occupation
- rikishi
- Height
- 179 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Kitanoumi Toshimitsu (Japanese: 北の湖敏満; May 16, 1953 – November 20, 2015), born Toshimitsu Obata (小畑 敏満, Obata Toshimitsu), was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Sōbetsu, Hokkaido. He entered professional sumo at the age of 13 and set several youth-related records, including promotion to the highest rank of yokozuna at the age of 21.
Despite being the most dominant wrestler in the sport during the 1970s with 24 tournament championships in his career, he was not popular with fans and was viewed as a villain, earning him the nickname the "Hatefully Strong Yokozuna". At the time of his death he still held the records for most tournaments as yokozuna (63) and most bouts won as a yokozuna (670), but these records have now been surpassed. Following his retirement in 1985 he established the Kitanoumi stable. He was chairman of the Japan Sumo Association from 2002 until 2008, and again from 2012 until his death.
Awards and honours
- Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star
External links
Facts from Wikidata Q664604 (CC0); quoted introduction from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Data retrieved 2026-10-22.
Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.