Naruto stable (鳴戸部屋 ''Naruto-beya'') 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 Nishonoseki ''

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

'' or group of stables, and founded by former sumo wrestler

Kotoōshū Katsunori Karoyan Andō (; born Kaloyan Stefanov Mahlyanov, ; born 19 February 1983), known professionally as Kotoōshū Katsunori () and in his coaching career as Naruto Katsunori (), is a Bulgarian-Japanese former sumo wrestler. He made his debut in 2 ...

on 1 April 2017.

History

Naruto stable was established on 1 April 2017 by the

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

n-born former '' ōzeki''

, who branched out from

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 ...

. It is based in

Sumida, Tokyo is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in the Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. The English translation of its Japanese self-designation is Sumida City. As of 1 April 2025, the ward has an estimated population of 287,766 and a population dens ...

. One of the stable's early recruits was also a Bulgarian – former junior wrestling champion Ventsislav Katsarov (Torakio Daiki) who retired in April 2019 and returned to Bulgaria. The opening ceremony of the stable was attended by one hundred people including Kotoōshū's former stablemate Kotoshōgiku. Kotoōshū commented, "I want to nurture a wrestler who will eclipse me." As of January 2023 it has 17 wrestlers. Kotoōshū became a naturalized Japanese citizen two months after his retirement in March 2014. His official name is Andō Karoyan. He is the first European-born stablemaster. He is also only the third foreign-born wrestler to open his own stable after Takamiyama and Musashimaru. According to a report in May 2018, some wrestlers said that they chose Naruto stable because they had the most information when they searched the internet. Naruto stable is not related to Tagonoura stable which had the same name until 2013. Naruto suspended one of his wrestlers (reported to be a 20-year-old ''

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 ...

''-level wrestler) from the January 2019 tournament after it emerged he had choked a more junior wrestler as a punishment. This is the first time the Compliance Committee and the Anti-Violence Provisions, which were established in December 2018, were applied. On 19 February 2019 an apology statement was posted on Naruto's official blog and the

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

page of his stable: ''"To all of you who always support us. This time, I was very sorry for the trouble that occurred in the stable. We will reflect firmly and take the disposition of the Sumo Association seriously, and will provide guidance and supervision to prevent this from happening in the future."'' In 2021 Naruto stable's top wrestler was , a graduate of

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 ...

who has progressed to near the top of the ''

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 after debuting in May 2019. However, in September 2021 the stable recruited Nichidai's Mongolian Ōshōma, who debuted the following November as a ''

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

'' entrant, and reached the ''

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 2022, becoming the stable's first ''

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 ...

''.

Ring name conventions

Several wrestlers at this stable have taken 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 ...

'' which has the character , meaning Europe, as the first character. This is the middle character of the shikona of the stable's founder, former Kotoōshū (琴欧洲).

Owners

*2017–present: 15th Naruto Katsunori ('' iin'', former ''ōzeki'' Kotoōshū)

Notable active wrestlers

* Ōshōma (best rank ''

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 ...

'') * (best rank ''jūryō'')

Referee

*Shikimori Komei (''jonokuchi''

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 Komei Hashimoto)

Usher

*Kenta (''jonokuchi''

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 Kenta Maeda)

Hairdresser

* Tokoō (fifth 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 ...

'', real name Baba Shiido)

Location

1 Chome-22-16 Mukōjima,

Sumida-ku is a special ward in the Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. The English translation of its Japanese self-designation is Sumida City. As of 1 April 2025, the ward has an estimated population of 287,766 and a population density of 20,120 persons per km2. ...

, Tōkyō-to 130–0003, Japan. It is nearby the

Tokyo Skytree , also written as Tokyo Sky Tree, is a broadcasting and observation tower, located in Sumida, Tokyo, Japan. It has been the tallest tower in Japan since opening in 2012,

References

{{Reflist

External links

Naruto stable at the Japan Sumo AssociationOfficial Site
Active sumo stables Sports clubs and teams established in 2017 2017 establishments in Japan