Asanosho Hajime (born 23 December 1969 as Hajime Ozawa, later Hajime Ozuka) 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

Odawara is a Cities of Japan, city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 188,482 and a population density of 1,700 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Odawara lies in the Ashigara Plains, in ...

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 ...

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. He made his professional debut in March 1992, and reached the top division in March 1995. His highest rank 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 ...

'' 2. He defeated ''

yokozuna , 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 ...

'' Akebono in their first meeting in March 1997 to earn his only ''

kinboshi is a notation used in 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 oth ...

.'' A back injury sent him down to 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, and he decided to retire in January 2002, after suffering a detached retina. He became an elder of 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 ...

, but left in January 2008.

Career

Ozawa played volleyball at junior high school and was also a shotputter. He began sumo in high school, and competed for the sumo club at

Kinki University is a private non-sectarian and coeducational university based in Higashiosaka, Osaka, Japan with campuses in five other locations: Nara, Nara; Ōsakasayama, Osaka; Uchita, Wakayama; Higashihiroshima, Hiroshima; and Iizuka, Fukuoka. The E ...

. Upon graduation he was accepted by the Wakamatsu stable run by fellow Kinki University alumni, the former '' ōzeki'' Asashio. He made his professional debut in March 1992, and was given ''

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

'' status because of his collegiate sumo experience, allowing him to begin at the bottom of 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. He reached ''

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 ...

'' level upon 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 in May 1994. To mark the occasion he changed his ''

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 ...

'' or fighting name from his family name to Asanosho, the "Asa" prefix meaning ''morning'' a common one at his stable. He was promoted to 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 March 1995. Asanosho never managed to win a special prize in his top division career, and was unable to reach the ''

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

'' ranks, peaking at ''

'' 2 in March 1997. In this tournament he had his first and only win over a ''

,'' defeating Akebono in the pair's first ever meeting. However he fell just short of a majority of wins with a 7–8 record. He returned to ''maegashira'' 2 in September 1999 but again scored 7–8. He fought in 32 ''makuuchi'' tournaments, with a record of 213 wins against 248 losses, with 19 injury absences. He was demoted from ''makuuchi'' after the May 2000 tournament and was forced to withdraw from the following tournament in July with a

herniated disc A disc herniation or spinal disc herniation is an injury to the intervertebral disc between two vertebrae, usually caused by excessive strain or trauma to the spine. It may result in back pain, pain or sensation in different parts of the body, ...

after fighting just one match, which saw him fall to ''makushita''.

Retirement from sumo

After suffering a recurrence of his herniated disc injury which sent him down to the ''

'' division, Asanosho was beginning to make a comeback and climb the ''makushita'' division when he suffered a

detached retina Retinal detachment is a condition where the retina pulls away from the tissue underneath it. It may start in a small area, but without quick treatment, it can spread across the entire retina, leading to serious vision loss and possibly blindness. R ...

, missing the November 2001 tournament. He decided to retire and his last tournament on the ''banzuke'' was in January 2002. He did not own

stock Stocks (also capital stock, or sometimes interchangeably, shares) consist of all the Share (finance), shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided. A single share of the stock means fractional ownership of the corporatio ...

in the

but was able to stay temporarily under the ''jun-toshiyori'' system, using his fighting ''shikona'' as his elder name. In September 2003 he switched to the Wakamatsu name, changing to Sanoyama when Wakamatsu was needed by his retiring former stablemate Asanowaka in April 2005. In August 2005 he switched to Sekinoto when the former Fukunohana turned 65 and retired, and in February 2007 he changed to Oshiogawa. In August 2007 that name was needed by the former Wakatoba so he changed to Wakafuji. However, in January 2008 the owner of the Wakafuji name, Ōtsukasa lent it to his former stablemate Yōtsukasa and Asanosho was forced to leave sumo, as no other elder names were available. He later worked in general sales at a

logistics Logistics is the part of supply chain management that deals with the efficient forward and reverse flow of goods, services, and related information from the point of origin to the Consumption (economics), point of consumption according to the ...

company in

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

, and he has been a coach in local amateur sumo. In March 2018 he was appointed as a ''hyōgiin'' or outside voter in the Sumo Association, although he has no ''oyakata'' status.

Fighting style

Asanosho was well known for his attacking ''tsuppari'' style, using a series of rapid thrusts to the opponent's chest to force them out of the ''

dohyō A ''dohyō'' (, ) is the space in which a sumo wrestling bout occurs. A typical ''dohyō'' is a circle made of partially buried rice- straw bales 4.55 meters in diameter. In official professional tournaments ('' honbasho''), it is mounted on a sq ...

.'' When 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 ...

'' or belt his favoured grip was ''hidari-yotsu'', a left hand outside, right hand inside position. His most common winning ''

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 ...

'' were ''oshi-dashi'' (push out), ''tsuki-dashi'' (thrust out) and ''hataki-komi'' (slap down).

Career record

References

External links