Asabenkei Daikichi (''

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

'' 朝弁慶大吉, born February 12, 1989, as Yasunobu Sakai) is a Japanese retired sumo wrestler (''

rikishi 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 par ...

'') from

Kanagawa is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...

. He debuted in March 2007 and he reached his highest rank of ''

juryo 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 ...

'' 7 in July 2016. He wrestled for

Takasago stable is a stable of sumo wrestlers, one of the Takasago group of stables. It is correctly written in Japanese as "髙砂部屋", but the first of these ''kanji'' is rare, and is more commonly written as "高砂部屋". History The stable was establ ...

and has won one '' yusho'' in the ''

sandanme 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. He retired in July 2024.

Early life

Born in

Hiratsuka file:Hiratsuka City Office 20150222.JPG, 260px, Hiratsuka City Hall is a Cities of Japan, city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 257,316 and a population density of 3800 persons per km². The total area of t ...

, his parents owned a Chinese restaurant, the rival of which was called Benkei from which he derived his shikona. He belonged to his high school's judo club and as he approached graduation he was 190cm tall. After he graduated high school in 2007 he joined Takasago stable.

Career

His initial ''

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 ...

'' was Asasakai Yasunobu from March 2007 to March 2009, and from May 2009 he wrestled as Asabenkei Keisei, however he changed his personal name another three times until January 2013 where he returned his shikona to Asabenkei Keisei. He was first promoted to juryo in November 2015, after over eight years in sumo. At the time, the 34-year-old Asasekiryu was

's only

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 ...

, and Asabenkei spoke of his desire to keep the stable's streak of always having sekitori since 1878 going. At a press conference his head coach Takasago, the former ozeki

Asashio Tarō IV was a Japanese sumo wrestler from Muroto, Kōchi, Japan. His highest rank was '' ōzeki''. A former amateur champion, he turned professional in 1978. He won one top division tournament championship and was a runner-up on four other occasions ...

said, "I want him to become strong like

Benkei , popularly known by the mononym Benkei (), was a Japanese warrior monk (''sōhei'') who lived in the latter years of the Heian Period (794–1185). Benkei led a varied life, first becoming a monk, then a mountain ascetic, and then a rogue war ...

." He was the first wrestler from Kanagawa Prefecture to reach juryo since Asanosho 22 years earlier. In his juryo debut he posted a 6–9 record. After six straight tournaments in juryo he lost sekitori status after the November 2016 tournament. In May 2018 he returned to juryo for the first time in nine tournaments, but he tore his

meniscus Meniscus may refer to: *Meniscus (anatomy), crescent-shaped fibrocartilaginous structure that partly divides a joint cavity *Meniscus (liquid) In physics (particularly liquid statics), the meniscus (: menisci, ) is the curve in the upper sur ...

during the tournament and withdrew on the 13th day with a 3–10 record, his first injury absence since May 2011. The injury required an operation and forced him to sit out two consecutive tournaments. Upon his return from '' kyujo'' in November 2018, he had fallen from ''juryo'' 12 back down to sandanme 25. That tournament he posted a 4–3 record, however, the next tournament in January 2019, he claimed the

''yusho'' with a perfect record of 7-0, or a ''

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

''. He once again returned to juryo in July 2020 where he had a losing record of 3-12 which sent him back to ''

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 ...

.'' He retired in July 2024.

Fighting style

Asabenkei is an '' oshi'' style wrestler with the majority of his wins coming via ''

yorikiri 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 judges can modify this decision. The records of are then kept for statistical purposes. The ...

'' or '' oshidashi''.

Career record

References

{{reflist

External links