Toyonishiki Kiichiro

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Toyonishiki Kiichiro, born Harley Ozaki on February 3, 1920, in Pierce, Colorado, was one of the first foreign-born wrestlers to reach sumo’s top division. He joined the Dewanoumi stable in January 1938 and made it to makuuchi in May 1944. In his only makuuchi tournament he went 6-4, but soon after he was drafted into the Imperial Japanese Army and never returned to sumo.

Born American, he later changed his citizenship to Japan and took the name Kiichiro Ozaki. After World War II he stayed in Japan and, later in life, ran a ryokan (a traditional inn) in Tokyo with his wife. He eventually regained U.S. citizenship and passed away on September 26, 1998, in Tokyo, at the age of 78.

Details at a glance:
- Height: 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in); Weight: 96 kg (212 lb)
- Career: Debut January 1938; Highest rank Maegashira 17 (November 1945); Record 74-51; Retired November 1945
- Birthplace on records sometimes listed as Chikujō, Fukuoka, though he was born in Pierce, Colorado
- Notable: Fifth Japanese-American in sumo and the first to reach the elite sekitori level