Kotogaume Tsuyoshi (born 5 October 1963 as Satoru Kitayama) 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 Yatsuo, Nei District,

Toyama Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Toyama Prefecture has a population of 993,848 (1 January 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,247.61 km2 (1,640.01 sq mi). Toyama Prefecture borders Ishikawa Prefecture to the ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. He joined sumo in 1979 and made 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 1985. His highest rank was ''

sekiwake , 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 ...

,'' which he held on twelve occasions. After his retirement in 1997 he worked as a coach at

Sadogatake stable is a stable of sumo wrestlers, one of the Nishonoseki group of stables. In its modern form, it dates from September 1955, when it was set up by former ''komusubi'' Kotonishiki Noboru. Former ''yokozuna'' Kotozakura took over the running of th ...

until 2007.

Career

In his youth he practiced

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

and was a black belt, 1st dan. He made his professional sumo debut in March 1979, after finishing junior high school. Initially he fought under his own surname of Kitayama, before being given the''

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 ...

'' of Kotogaume ("

Harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orchestras or ...

of the Plum"). In his early career he served as a '' tsukebito'' or personal attendant to '' ozeki'' Kotokaze. He made his first appearance in the titled ''

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

'' ranks of the top division in November 1985, the same tournament in which Kotokaze announced his retirement. He reached his highest rank of ''sekiwake'' for the first time in September 1986. In 1989 he came close to ''ozeki'' promotion by producing two double figure scores at ''sekiwake'' in July and September, but he fell short with only eight wins in November 1989. In his later career he suffered increasingly from

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

and fell to the second ''

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. He made his last appearance in ''makuuchi'' in January 1995 and retired in May 1997. Kotogaume earned two gold stars for defeating ''

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 ...

'' whilst ranked as a ''

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 at ''sekiwake'' in May 1988 he was also the last man to defeat

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 ('' ...

before the latter embarked on his 53 bout winning streak. He also received seven special prizes. His best result in a tournament was third place in January 1988, behind

Asahifuji is a Japanese former professional sumo wrestler from Aomori. He joined professional sumo in 1981, reaching the top ''makuuchi'' division just two years later. He reached the second highest rank of '' ōzeki'' in 1987 and became the 63rd ''yokoz ...

and

Konishiki Saleva'a Fuauli Atisano'e (born December 31, 1963), better known by his stage name, , is an American-born Japanese former professional sumo wrestler. Franz LidzMeat Bomb, 05.18.92 - ''Sports Illustrated'' He was the first non-Japanese-born wrest ...

Retirement from sumo

Kotogaume became an elder of the

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 sumo wrestling, called , in Japan under the jurisdiction of the Japanese Ministry of Ed ...

upon his retirement, but he did not own permanent ''

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 ...

'' elder stock and had to borrow from wrestlers still active. He used Terao's Shikoroyama name until 2002, and then switched to

Dejima or Deshima, in the 17th century also called , was an artificial island off Nagasaki, Japan, that served as a trading post for the Portuguese (1570–1639) and subsequently the Dutch (1641–1858). For 220 years, it was the central con ...

's Onaruto name, but had to leave the Sumo Association in November 2007 when it was needed by the retiring Buyuzan, a member of Dejima's stable. After leaving sumo, he opened up a ''

chankonabe Chankonabe (), also known as Chanko or Sumo Stew, is a Japanese stew (a type of nabemono or one-pot dish) commonly eaten in vast quantities by sumo wrestlers while trying to gain weight. Ingredients and consumption The dish contains a '' ...

'' restaurant in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, named Kotogaume. He has also worked as an assistant instructor at Shikoroyama stable.

Fighting style

Kotogaume throughout his career relied almost entirely on pushing and thrusting techniques, and seemed to have little interest in using his opponent's ''

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 ...

'' for throws. ''Oshi-dashi'', a straightforward push out, was the ''

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 ...

'' used in exactly half of his victories at ''

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.

Career record

References

External links