is a Japanese professional

sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by th ...

wrestler from

Iwanai, Hokkaido is a List of towns in Japan, town located in Shiribeshi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. As of September 2016, the town has an estimated population of 13,210. The total area is 70.64 km2. History Iwanai is one of the oldest towns in the reg ...

. A former amateur wrestler at

Chuo University , commonly referred to as or , is a private research university in Hachioji, Tokyo, Japan. The university finds its roots in a school called Igirisu Hōritsu Gakkō (English Law School), which was founded in 1885, and became a university in 1 ...

, he made his professional debut in January 2017, reaching the top

makuuchi , or , is the top division of Professional sumo divisions, the six divisions of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers (''rikishi''), ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous ...

division in July 2021. His highest rank has been ''

maegashira , or , is the top division of the six divisions of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers (''rikishi''), ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments. This is the on ...

'' 4. He wrestles for Hanaregoma stable.

Career

Yamamoto did amateur sumo at university but then became a civil servant, and had to get special dispensation from the

Japan Sumo Association The , officially the ; sometimes abbreviated JSA or NSK, and more usually called Sumo Kyōkai, is the governing body that operates and controls Professional sports, professional sumo wrestling, called , in Japan under the jurisdiction of the Min ...

to join professionally as he was over the age limit of 23. He made his professional debut in 2017, wrestling with the Nishonoseki stable (now re-named Hanaregoma stable) and he won the '' jonokuchi'' division championship in his first tournament. He reached the top ''

'' division in July 2021. He began his top division career with a win over Ishiura with a rare backwards belt throw, or harimanage. He reached seven wins and two losses by Day 9, but then suffered five straight defeats and only secured his ''

kachi-koshi The following words are terms used in sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part oth ...

'' or majority of wins on the final day. The September 2021 tournament was less successful for him as he could win only four matches and was demoted back to ''jūryō''. However in November he earned immediate promotion back to the top division by taking the ''jūryō'' division championship or ''

yūshō is the term for a championship in Japanese. This article focuses on championships in the sport of professional sumo. It is awarded in each of the six annual '' honbasho'' or official tournaments, to the wrestler who wins the most bouts. ''Yūs ...

'' with a 13–2 record. Ichiyamamoto began the May 2022 tournament with five straight wins, and on Day 10 was the co-leader with Takanoshō on eight wins and two losses. However he lost his last five matches to finish with an 8–7 record. Ichiyamamoto and his stable were forced to withdraw on Day 9 of the July 2022 tournament in Nagoya after stablemaster Hanaregoma tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

. Ichiyamamato stood at six wins and two losses at the time, and his ranking for the September tournament was once again east ''maegashira'' 13 (although he was two spots closer to ''jūryō'' because of the increased size of ''

sanyaku The following words are terms used in sumo wrestling in Japan. A B C D E F G H ...

''). Ichiyamamoto dropped to ''jūryō'' for the July 2023 tournament, where he withdrew with left knee issues after suffering four defeats in his first four matches. He was set to reappear on Day 8 in a bid to prevent possible demotion from ''

sekitori A ''sekitori'' (関取) is a '' rikishi'' (力士, sumo wrestler) who is ranked in one of the top two professional divisions: '' makuuchi'' and '' jūryō''. The name literally translates to having taken the barrier, as only a relatively small fr ...

'' status. On the 10th day of the September 2023 tournament in the ''jūryō'' division, Ichiyamamoto, who was then one defeat behind Ōnosato, the competition leader halfway through the tournament, defeated him to lead the competition as co-leader. In doing so, he also ended Ōnosato's winning streak of 9 consecutive victories and prevented him from becoming the ''jūryō'' wrestler with the most consecutive victories since the start of a competition in sumo history. Ichiyamamoto managed to maintain his status as tournament leader with Ōnosato, the two wrestlers recording twelve wins and two defeats on the final day of the tournament, which then became decisive in deciding the tie. While Ōnosato lost his match against Rōga, Ichiyamamoto won his against Daiamami, winning his second ''jūryō'' championship, the first since 2021. During the November 2023 tournament, Ichiyamamoto recorded his best performance in the ''

'' division with a sixth straight victory since the start of the competition. Taking the lead in the title race, Ichiyamamoto lost his lead after suffering defeats at the hands of Sakaigawa stablemates Sadanoumi (on Day 7) and Hiradoumi (Day 10). Remaining in the lead group, Ichiyamamoto's title hopes came to an end when he recorded a fourth defeat against Midorifuji on the thirteenth day of the tournament, automatically eliminating him from the title race for good. On the final day of the tournament Ichiyamamoto secured his eleventh win, which earned him his first Fighting Spirit

Prize A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

Fighting style

Ichiyamamoto is a ''tsuki/oshi'' type wrestler, who prefers thrusting and pushing his opponents to fighting on the ''

mawashi In sumo, a is the loincloth that (sumo wrestlers) wear during training or in competition. Upper ranked professional wrestlers wear a as part of the ring entry ceremony or . ''Mawashi'' ''Sekitori'' During competition For top ranked profess ...

''. He wins most of his bouts by ''oshidashi'' (push out), hatakikomi (slap down) or ''tsuki dashi'' (thrust out).

Personal life

Ichiyamamoto maintains the

running gag A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling. Though they are similar, catchphrases are no ...

of declaring himself Wakatakakage's number one fan in the various media he is invited to appear in. To this end, he maintains a collection of

merchandise Merchandising is any practice which contributes to the sale of Product (business), products ("merch" colloquially) to a retail consumer. At a retail in-store level, merchandising refers to displaying products that are for sale in a creative w ...

bearing the wrestler's image.

Career record

References

External links