tournament records of at least eight wins out of 15, which was a record for the top division until 2015, when Hakuhō reached 51 consecutive kachi-koshi. By the beginning of the 1980s he had a new rival, Chiyonofuji, who earned promotion to ōzeki and then yokozuna by defeating him in decisive matches in January and July 1981. In November 1981 Kitanoumi withdrew from a tournament for the first time. After that his record was patchy, with many absences. His 24th and final title came in May 1984, with a perfect 15–0 record. This was seen by many as a fitting end to a great career and he wanted to retire after that tournament, but was persuaded by the Sumo Association to carry on until the opening of the new Ryōgoku Kokugikan stadium in January 1985. Three days into the tournament, without winning a match, he announced his retirement. He had been ranked as a yokozuna on the banzuke in 63 tournaments, which remained the most in history until Hakuhō surpassed it in May 2018. During his career he had won 951 matches, the most in history at the time (he was overtaken by Ōshio in 1987). Of those victories, 804 came in the top division (a record broken by Chiyonofuji in 1991), and 670 of those came at the yokozuna rank. After retirement Kitanoumi was honored for his great achievements by being offered membership of the Japan Sumo Association without having to purchase a share (ichidai toshiyori). He was the second rikishi after Taihō to be given this honor. As a result, he was able to keep his sumo name after retirement. He opened up his own training stable, Kitanoumi stable, taking several wrestlers from Mihogaseki stable who had already been under his wing. Kitanoumi stable became one of the largest in sumo, and produced a handful of top division wrestlers over the years, such as maegashira Ganyū, Kitazakura and Kitataiki. He also inherited Russian wrestler Hakurozan, who joined the stable in 2006. In 2002 Kitanoumi became head of the Sumo Association. He was the first chairman under the age of 50 in half a century, and his appointment was widely welcomed; however, he came under pressure after a series of scandals hit sumo. These included the behavior of yokozuna Asashōryū, who was suspended for two tournaments in 2007 but then allowed to return to Mongolia, the death of junior