is a Japanese former sumo wrestler from

Aomori , officially Aomori City (, ), is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 264,945 in 136,781 households, and a population density of 321 people per squa ...

Aomori Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori (city), Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is border ...

. He made his professional debut in January 1999. At the age of 32, 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 the November 2008 tournament. His highest rank was ''maegashira'' 3. He is now a sumo coach.

Career

Bushuyama was a contemporary of

Wakanosato Wakanosato Shinobu (born Shinobu Kogawa; July 10, 1976) is a retired sumo wrestler from Hirosaki, Aomori, Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, Aomori, Japan. He made his debut in the top division in 1998, and his highest rank was ''sekiwake''. He holds th ...

and

Takamisakari Takamisakari Seiken (born May 12, 1976 as Seiken Katō) is a former sumo wrestler from Aomori Prefecture, Japan. A former amateur champion, he turned professional in 1999 and established himself in the top division in 2002 after a brief appearanc ...

, both also from Aomori. He was a member of the sumo club at

Daito Bunka University is a private university with two campuses: one at Itabashi in Tokyo and the other at Higashi Matsuyama in Saitama, Japan. The university is known for its sports program, which is renowned in rugby and distance running, with the Ekiden team c ...

, and reached the round of 16 in the 1998 All Japan Sumo Championship. As his club did not have many members, they regularly trained at

Musashigawa stable Musashigawa is an elder name in sumo, and may refer to: *Musashigawa stable ** Musashigawa stable, a stable established in 2013 ** Fujishima stable (2010), known as Musashigawa stable from 1981 until 2010 *Musashigawa oyakata **Musashimaru Kōyō, ...

, and this was the heya he joined upon entering the professional ranks. He made his debut in the same tournament as Asashōryū. He was given special dispensation to begin his career 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 because of his achievements in amateur sumo, but in 2001 fell to the ''

jonidan 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 because of an elbow injury. He reached 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 September 2003, the first member of his university to attain ''

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. Sumo May09 Bushuyama

In 2005 he fell back to , and did not return to until January 2007. He won the division championship for the first time in July 2008, with a 12–3 record. He followed up with a 10–5 score in September. In November 2008, he was finally promoted to the top division. It had taken him 59 tournaments to win promotion to the top division from his debut, which at the time was the longest of any former collegiate champion (this dubious honor is now held by Tsurugidake). At 32 years and five months he was also the fourth oldest wrestler to make his top division debut since the end of World War II. Bushuyama scored eight wins in his top division debut and was promoted to ''

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 ...

'' 6 for the January 2009 tournament. However, a very disappointing 2–13 record there meant he was demoted back to the ''

'' division for the March 2009 tournament. He scored 8–7 there, enough for an immediate top division return. He recovered from 1–5 down in May to score 9–6 at 15. In the September tournament he produced his best top division score of 10–5, narrowly failing to win a special prize after being beaten on the final day. He was promoted to his highest rank of 3 for November 2009. He defeated

Kotomitsuki is a Japanese former professional sumo wrestler from Okazaki City. A former amateur champion, he turned professional in 1999. He reached the top ''makuuchi'' division in November 2000 and won one ''yūshō'' or tournament championship, in Septemb ...

in this tournament, but recorded a ''

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

'' score of 6–9. In January 2010 he produced a poor 2–13 record, the same score from the same rank as the previous Hatsu basho in 2009. However, on this occasion he remained in the top division for the following tournament, albeit at the very lowest rank of West. He lost his top division status after scoring only 4–11 in March, but won his second championship with an 11–4 record in May and secured an immediate return to ''makuuchi''. He was demoted to ''juryo'' again after the November 2010 tournament, and lost status altogether after the May 2012 tournament, never to regain it.

Retirement from sumo

Bushuyama announced his retirement after the January 2013 . 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 ...

under the name Onogawa Oyakata. 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 in the Ryogoku Kokugikan October 2013, with around 300 guests and his stablemaster, former

Mienoumi is a Japanese former professional sumo wrestler from Matsusaka, Mie. He was the 57th ''yokozuna'' of the sport. After retiring he founded the Musashigawa stable and was a chairman of the Japan Sumo Association. He was the first rikishi in hist ...

, making the final cut of his

topknot Topknot may refer to: * A hairstyle or haircut, historically prevalent in Asia: **''Chonmage'', a traditional Japanese haircut worn by men **'' Sangtu'' (), a Korean topknot ** ''Touji'' (頭髻), a traditional Chinese hairstyle which involves tyi ...

. He works as a coach at his old stable, now renamed Fujishima stable. In January 2016 he switched to the Kiyomigata elder name (owned by active wrestler Tochiozan.) In May 2020 he switched to the Kasugayama ''kabu'' (owned by Ikioi). In May 2021 he acquired the Matsuchiyama name following the retirement of the former Banryūyama.

Fighting style

Bushuyama favoured yotsu-sumo or a grappling style, preferring a or right hand outside, left hand inside grip on his opponents ''

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 ...

''. His most common winning

technique Technique or techniques may refer to: Music * The Techniques, a Jamaican rocksteady vocal group of the 1960s * Technique (band), a British female synth pop band in the 1990s * ''Technique'' (album), by New Order, 1989 * ''Techniques'' (album), by ...

was (force-out) followed by (push out) and (force out and down).

Career record

References

External links