Tamanoumi Masahiro

Tamanoumi Masahiro
玉の海 正洋
Tamanoumi in 1970 or 1971
Personal information
BornTaniguchi Masao
(1944-02-05)February 5, 1944
Aichi
DiedOctober 11, 1971(1971-10-11) (aged 27)
Height1.77 m (5 ft 9+12 in)
Weight135 kg (298 lb)
Career
StableKataonami, formerly Nishonoseki
Record619–305
DebutMarch, 1959
Highest rankYokozuna (January, 1970)
Championships6 (Makuuchi)
1 (Jonidan)
Special PrizesOutstanding Performance (4)
Fighting Spirit (2)
Gold Stars(4)
Tochinoumi (2)
Sadanoyama (2)
* Up to date as of July 2007.

Tamanoumi Masahiro (Japanese: 玉の海 正洋, February 5, 1944 – October 11, 1971) was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Aichi. He was the sport's 51st yokozuna. Making his professional debut in 1959, he reached the top makuuchi division in 1964. He won six tournament championships and was runner-up in 12 others. Earlier in his career he also earned six special prizes and four gold stars. He was promoted to yokozuna simultaneously with his friend and rival Kitanofuji in January 1970 and the two men represented the dawning of a new era after the dominance of Taihō. He died suddenly in October 1971 after a delayed appendectomy.