Tenryū Saburō

Tenryū (left) and Ōnosato Mansuke (right) after they cut off their ōichōmage

Tenryū became one of the leader of the Shunjuen Incident that broke out on January 6, 1932. One day after the January banzuke release, 32 Dewanoumi ichimon (clan) wrestlers gathered at a Chinese restaurant named Shunjuen, located in Tokyo's Oimachi district. They demanded full scale reforms from the Japan Sumo Association to improve the wrestlers living conditions. Subsequently, a number of sekitori from a non-Dewanoumi ichimon, including then sekiwake Minanogawa, joined the protest. The Association was faced with an unprecedented crisis never before seen in the history of professional sumo and responded quickly to the group's demands, but their responses were considered to be half-hearted and lacking in substance, and eventually, the negotiations collapsed.[1]
Some theories attribute the launch of the strike due to Tenryū's bitterness from being passed over for ōzeki promotion in favor of his rival.[1] Musashiyama was in fact promoted before Tenryū (from komusubi straight to ōzeki) in the January 1932 tournament while Tenryū remained sekiwake for six consecutive tournament despite having a winning record in each.
Just like his comrade Ōnosato Mansuke, Tenryū cut off his ōichōmage top knot [4] and founded with the secessionists the Kansai Sumo Association (Kansai Kakuryoku Kyokai, 関西角力協会) in which he devoted himself as a director.[2] Due to financial problems, the association was however dissolved at the end of 1937.