Chiyoarashi Yoshinobu (; born July 12, 1991, as Watanabe Yoshinobu) is a Japanese former professional sumo wrestler from

Chiba Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Chiba Prefecture has a population of 6,278,060 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Chiba Prefecture borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north, Saitama ...

who wrestled for

Kokonoe stable is a stable of sumo wrestlers, one of the Takasago group of stables. It was formed in 1967 and until 2021 was located in Ishiwara, Sumida, Tokyo. As of January 2023 it had 26 sumo wrestlers, four of whom are of '' sekitori'' rank. It is the mos ...

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

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 ...

'' 10 in November 2011. He retired in January 2024.

Early life and entry into sumo

Born in

Kisarazu is a Cities of Japan, city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 136,023 in 63,431 households and a population density of 980 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Kisarazu is loca ...

, Chiyoarashi began sumo training with his father beginning in elementary school. In his third grade of elementary school he met former

Chiyonofuji , born , was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler and the 58th ''yokozuna'' of the sport. Chiyonofuji was considered one of the greatest ''yokozuna'' in sumo's history, winning 31 tournament championships (''yūshō'') at the top division ('' ...

, the then ''

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

'' of

. He then joined Kokonoe stable at the age of 15.

Career

Debuting in March 2007, Chiyoarashi reached the salaried ''

'' division in September 2011. He was promoted alongside his Kokonoe stablemate . In his first tournament in the division he posted an 8-7 score which saw him promoted to his career highest rank of ''Jūryō'' 10 in November 2011, but he failed to complete the tournament due to injury and posted a losing score of 4-6-5. He then sat out the next tournament in January 2012; when he returned in March of that year he was in the lower ranks of ''

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 returned to ''jūryō'' in May 2013 at Jūryō 12, where he posted a score of 7–8. In the next tournament in July 2013, he was ranked at ''Jūryō'' 13, however, once again due to injury he had to withdraw on the last day, ending the tournament with a record of 4-10-1. He was forced to sit out three tournaments from November 2013 to January 2014; at his return he was in ''

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 ...

''. In March 2014, he won his first ''

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 ...

'' in ''sandanme'' in a playoff against Takakasuga, the two wrestlers achieving a perfect record of 7–0. By May 2015, he was in the upper ranks of Makushita but again was injured and had to withdraw from the tournament, and he sat out three tournaments from July 2015 to November 2016. He returned in January 2016 at the rank of Jonidan 32, and lost the yusho in a playoff to Kaito. Between January 2017 and 2021, he wrestled consistently in the Makushita division, sitting out only one tournament in January 2021, due to a

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 ...

outbreak in his stable. 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 ...

announced after the November 2021 tournament that Chiyoarashi had been promoted back to ''jūryō'', after an absence of 49 tournaments over eight and a half years. This is the longest time taken by a wrestler to return to ''jūryō'' in sumo history. He scored six wins against nine losses in his return to ''jūryō'', and fell back to ''makushita'' after just one tournament. However, a 4–3 score at ''Makushita'' 1 East in March 2022 saw him promoted to ''jūryō'' again.

Retirement from sumo

Chiyoarashi announced his retirement during the January 2024 tournament, after four straight losses in the ''makushita'' division.

Fighting style

Chiyoarashi was an oshi-style wrestler with his primary

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 ...

being oshidashi.

Career record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chiyoarashi, Yoshinobu 1991 births Living people Japanese sumo wrestlers Sumo people from Chiba Prefecture People from Kisarazu