is a

stable A stable is a building in which working animals are kept, especially horses or oxen. The building is usually divided into stalls, and may include storage for equipment and feed. Styles There are many different types of stables in use tod ...

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 ...

wrestlers, part of the Dewanoumi ''

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

'' or group of stables. It was established in its current form in December 2003 by former ''

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 ...

'' and

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 ...

amateur champion Higonoumi, who branched off from

Mihogaseki stable The was a Heya (sumo), stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Dewanoumi stable, Dewanoumi Glossary of sumo terms#ichimon, ichimon or group of stables. Its last head coach, former ''Makuuchi#Ōzeki, ōzeki'' Masuiyama Daishirō II who took charge i ...

. The stable's first top division wrestler was Kiyoseumi in January 2008. Its foreign recruit, Georgian Gagamaru, in May 2010 earned promotion to the top division. It is a popular destination for wrestlers with collegiate sumo experience like its stablemaster. Following the demotion of Kise-''oyakata'' (or stablemaster) in May 2010 after a scandal involving the selling of tournament tickets to members of the

yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media (by request of the police) call them , while the yakuza call themselves . The English equivalent for the term ''yak ...

, Kise stable was dissolved with all 27 of its wrestlers moving to the affiliated Kitanoumi stable. Kise was allowed to reestablish the stable in April 2012. All former members, as well as newcomers Jōkōryu and Sasanoyama (now ), joined the reconstituted stable. Jōkōryu reached the rank of ''

komusubi , 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 ...

'' in 2014, but has since fallen greatly down the ranks due to injury, and Daiseidō in September 2017 became the eleventh wrestler from Kise to reach ''jūryō'' since its founding in 2003. As of November 2023 Kise stable has 21 wrestlers, six of whom are ''

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 ...

''. Kise stable's first ''makuuchi'' championship was delivered by Tokushōryū in the January 2020 tournament. The 33-year-old won from the bottom-most ''makuuchi'' rank of ''

'' 17, after spending all but one of the previous 12 tournaments in the ''jūryō'' division. Tokushōryū retired in 2023 and remained with Kise stable as a coach until April 2025, when he moved to Nishikido stable. In May 2022 the stable recruited the first ever student of the

University of Tokyo The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several pre-westernisation era ins ...

, an elite academic institution, to join professional sumo.

Ring name conventions

Some wrestlers at this stable take ring names or ''

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 ...

'' that begin with the characters 肥後 (read: higo), in honor of their coach and the stable's owner, the former Higonoumi. The best known is former ''jūryō'' wrestler Higonojō. Some other low-ranking members are Higoarashi, Higonoryū, and Higohikari.

Owner

*2003-2010, 2012–present: 11th Kimura Sehei - abbreviated Kise ('' shunin'', former ''

'' Higonoumi)

Notable active wrestlers

* Ura (best rank ''komusubi'') * Hidenoumi (best rank ''maegashira'' 6) * Shimanoumi (best rank ''maegashira'' 3) * Kinbōzan (best rank ''maegashira'' 5) * Churanoumi (best rank ''maegashira 12'') * (best rank ''jūryō'') * (best rank ''jūryō'')

Notable former members

* Gagamaru (former ''komusubi'') * Jōkōryū (former ''komusubi'') * Kiyoseumi (former ''maegashira'') * Tokushōryū (former ''maegashira'') * Akiseyama (former ''maegashira'') * Tokushinhō (former ''jūryō'') * (former ''jūryō'') * (former ''jūryō'') * (former ''jūryō'')

Coach

*Inagawa Yūki ('' iin'', former ''komusubi'' Futen'ō) *Wakafuji Nobuhide ('' iin'', former ''maegashira'' Ōtsukasa) *Izutsu Mitsuhiko (''

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 ...

'', former ''maegashira Akiseyama)

Referee

*Kimura Shōichi (''

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 ...

'' ''

gyōji A is a referee employed by the Japan Sumo Association, responsible for a variety of activities which concern the organisation of the sport in general and the refereeing of matches, as well as the preservation of Sumo#Professional sumo, profess ...

'', real name Daisuke Takano)

Usher

*Naoki (''

'' ''

yobidashi A , often translated in English as "usher", "ring attendant", or "ring announcer", is an employee of the Japan Sumo Association, responsible for various tasks essential to the traditional running of Sumo#Professional sumo, professional sumo tour ...

'', real name Naoki Kitajima)

Hairdresser

*Tokokuma (Third class ''

tokoyama A is a traditional Japanese hairdresser specializing in the theatrical arts (kabuki and ) and Sumo#Professional sumo, professional sumo. The trade is the result of a slow evolution from the traditional Japanese barbers of the Edo period, some ...

'')

Location and access

Tokyo, Sumida Ward, Tachikawa 1-16-8
5 minute walk from Morishita Station on the

Toei Shinjuku Line The is a rapid transit line in Tokyo and Chiba Prefecture, Japan, operated by the municipal Toei Subway. The line runs between in Ichikawa, Chiba in the east and in the west. At Shinjuku, most trains continue as through services to on the ...

References

External links

Japan Sumo Association profileTV Sumo
the stable's official

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel {{coord, 35.6918, N, 139.8000, E, source:wikidata, display=title Active sumo stables Sports clubs and teams established in 2003 2003 establishments in Japan