Kaiketsu Masateru was a Japanese sumo wrestler, who reached the second highest rank of ōzeki on two occasions. He also won two top division tournament championships. After his retirement in 1979 he became a coach under the name of Hanaregoma-oyakata and established Hanaregoma stable. He was also chairman of the Japan Sumo Association from 2010 to 2012.
Kaiketsu as chairman on the opening day of September 2011 tournament.
The Japan Sumo Association , sometimes abbreviated JSA or NSK, is the body that operates and controls professional sumo wrestling in Japan under the jurisdiction of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). This means concretely that the Association maintains and develops sumo traditions and integrity by holding tournaments and tours. The purposes of the Association are also to develop the means dedicated to the sport and maintain, manage and operate the facilities necessary for these activities. Therefore, the JSA operates subsidiaries such as the Kokugikan Service Company to organize its economic aspects, the Sumo School to organize training and instruction or the Sumo Museum to preserve and utilize sumo wrestling records and artefacts.
The premises of the Ekoin Temple in Edo, during a kanjin-sumo tournament (1842)
JSA chairman Musashigawa-oyakata (former Mienoumi) addresses the public at the beginning of the last day of the 2008 September tournament.
Hiyonoyama, the chicken mascot of the Japan Sumo Association
Image: Tsunenohana Kan'ichi (cropped)