Maruyama Gondazaemon Statue at Roadside Station Yoneyama

Japan’s ubiquitous michi-no-eki, or roadside stations, are an essential part of the driving experience in Japan. They offer a taste of local life and culture, together with regional delicacies and useful information about the area.

A bronze statue stands proudly at the entrance to the Yoneyama roadside station. The figure is of Maruyama Gondazaemon (1713–1749), who was a native of the Yoneyama area in Tome, and the third person in sumo history to achieve the sport’s highest rank of yokozuna. The statue was created by sculptor Unno Kenji, also from Yoneyama, and unveiled in 1998.

Gondazaemon (born Haga Gindayu) was famous for his enormous size. At age 17, Gondazaemon traveled to Edo (present-day Tokyo) and trained under the renowned wrestler Nanatsumori Oriemon. At this time, he already had an impressive physique, standing 197 cm tall and weighing approximately 166 kg.

Because Gondazaemon’s time in the sport predates formal tournament records, there are no official accounts of his matches, but it is said he lost only two bouts in his entire career, and achieved the prestigious yokozuna rank in 1749. Sadly, he died of illness just three months later at the age of 37, while on tour in Nagasaki. Today, his statue is a symbol of local pride and a reminder of the region’s historic ties to the world of sumo.