Ōtsukasa Nobuhide (, born February 18, 1971, as Nobuhide Ōuchi) is a former

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 Miki, Hyōgo,

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. A former amateur champion, he made his professional debut in 1993. The highest rank he reached was ''

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 retired in March 2009 and is now a sumo coach.

Career

Ōtsukasa began sumo at Miki Middle School and was a member of Ichikawa High School's sumo club, where he won national high school sumo championships. He continued his amateur sumo career at

Nihon University , abbreviated as , is a private research university in Japan. Its predecessor, Nihon Law School (currently the Department of Law), was founded by Yamada Akiyoshi, the Minister of Justice, in 1889. The university's name is derived from the Ja ...

. Ōtsukasa was recruited by the former ''

sekiwake , 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 o ...

'' Tochitsukasa, also a Nihon University alumni and head of the then-newly formed Irumagawa stable. He made his professional debut in March 1993. Due to his amateur achievements, he was given ''

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

'' status, meaning he could enter in the third-highest ''

makushita Professional sumo as administered by the Japan Sumo Association is divided into six ranked divisions. Wrestlers are promoted and demoted within and between these divisions based on the merit of their win–loss records in official tournaments. Fo ...

'' division. Initially fighting under his real name of Ōuchi, he won the ''makushita'' ''

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 ...

'' or championship in only his second tournament, with a perfect 7–0 record. However, it was not until January 1996 that he became a ''

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 ...

'' by earning promotion to the second-highest ''

jūryō Professional sumo as administered by the Japan Sumo Association is divided into six ranked divisions. Wrestlers are promoted and demoted within and between these divisions based on the merit of their win–loss records in official tournaments. Fo ...

'' division, upon which he adopted the ''

shikona A is a sumo wrestler's ring name. The tradition of ring names in sumo dates back to the Muromachi period and established itself during the Edo period, where they were used as a means to hide the identities of the . Given by the master to his di ...

'' of Ōtsukasa. After a couple of short spells back in the ''makushita'' division, he took the ''jūryō'' division championship in May 1999 with an 11–4 record. He made 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 for the first time in September 1999. The 39 tournaments it took him from his professional debut to reach ''makuuchi'' is the third-slowest amongst former collegiate wrestlers. During his ''sekitori'' career (75 tournaments in total) Ōtsukasa was a classic "elevator wrestler", too good for ''jūryō'' but not quite good enough for the top division. He was promoted to ''makuuchi'' no less than 11 times in total. This is two fewer than the record of 13 promotions held by Ōshio, a record Ōtsukasa said he would have liked to break. Ōtsukasa was ranked in the top division for three of the six tournaments held in 2007 but did not manage a majority of wins against losses in ''makuuchi'' after July 2004. His last promotion in March 2008 made him the third-oldest postwar wrestler to earn promotion to the top division at 37 years. He won his first four bouts on his final return but then lost 10 in a row to finish with a 5–10 score. He won a second ''jūryō'' championship in January 2005. After the retirement of Kotonowaka in November 2005 he was the oldest man in the ''sekitori'' ranks (the top two divisions). Restricted by a shoulder injury, he produced only one winning record after January 2008. After the 2009 Haru ''basho'', Ōtsukasa would have dropped out of ''jūryō'' (see retirement below). His departure left Tosanoumi, who is two days under a year younger than Ōtsukasa, as the oldest active ''sekitori''.

Fighting style

His most frequently used ''

kimarite is the technique used in sumo by a (wrestler) to win a match. It is officially decided or announced by the (referee) at the end of the match, though judge (sumo), judges can modify this decision. The records of are then kept for statistical ...

'' or technique was a simple ''yori-kiri'' or force out, but he also favoured pushing or thrusting moves such as ''oshi-dashi'' and ''tsuki-otoshi'', and pull downs such as ''hataki-komi'' and ''hiki-otoshi''. At 175 cm or 5 ft 9 in he was one of the shortest wrestlers in the top two divisions.

Retirement from sumo

Ōtsukasa pulled out of the March 2009 tournament on the 13th day with only one win, facing certain demotion to ''makushita'' for the first time since 1998. Before the start of the 14th day's matches, he officially announced his retirement from sumo at the age of 38. He said that although he would have liked to have reached a ''

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

'' rank, he left with no regrets. He has stayed in the sumo world as a coach at Irumagawa stable, having purchased the ''

toshiyori A , also known as an , is a sumo Elder (administrative title), elder exercising both Coach (sport), coaching functions with rikishi, active wrestlers and Management, responsibilities within the Japan Sumo Association (JSA). All are former wrest ...

'' name of Wakafuji. His ''

danpatsu-shiki A , or, more colloquially, , is a sumo wrestler. Although used to define all wrestlers participating in sumo wrestling matches, the term is more commonly used to refer to professional wrestlers, employed by the Japan Sumo Association, who part ...

'', or official retirement ceremony, was held at the

Ryōgoku Kokugikan , also known as Ryōgoku Sumo Hall or Kokugikan Arena, is the name bestowed to two different indoor sporting arenas located in Tokyo. The first ''Ryōgoku Kokugikan'' opened its doors in 1909 and was located on the premises of the Ekōin temple i ...

on January 30, 2010. In February 2022 he transferred to Kise stable.

Personal life

He married in October 2013 and the wedding reception was held in August 2014.
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Career record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Otsukasa Nobuhide 1971 births Living people People from Miki, Hyōgo Japanese sumo wrestlers Sumo people from Hyōgo Prefecture Nihon University alumni