Shibatayama Stable (Japanese: 芝田山部屋, ''Shibatayama-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, one of the Nishonoseki group of stables. It was founded in 1999 by former ''

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 ...

'' Ōnokuni. Located in

Suginami is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in the Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. The ward refers to itself as Suginami City in English. As of June 1, 2022, Suginami has an estimated population of 588,354 and a population density of 17,274 pe ...

, it is the only stable to be situated in the western half of

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 ...

as of 2020.

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

n born became the stable's first wrestler to earn promotion to 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 March 2008, but he only lasted one tournament in the division and left sumo in acrimonious circumstances in 2010, claiming in a lawsuit that was eventually settled out of court that he had been forced to retire against his will. In February 2013 the stable absorbed its parent Hanaregoma stable due to the imminent retirement of its stablemaster, former '' ōzeki'' Kaiketsu. Among the wrestlers transferring was another Mongolian, , who was ranked in ''jūryō'' for five tournaments between January 2014 and January 2015. In January 2020 returned to ''jūryō'' after 30 tournaments away. In March 2016 Shibatayama and wrestler Komanokuni were ordered by the

Tokyo District Court is a district court located at 1-1-4 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. See also *Judicial system of Japan In the judicial system of Japan, the Constitution of Japan guarantees that "all judges shall be independent in the exercise of thei ...

to pay 32.4 million

yen The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the euro. T ...

(287,500

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

) in compensation to a former wrestler who the court ruled had faced "daily abuse" since joining in 2008 and had to undergo four surgeries for a detached retina, eventually losing sight in the eye in 2013. Shibatayama appealed the ruling, and in November 2016 a court-mediated, confidential settlement was reached. As of January 2023, it had nine wrestlers. The stable is unusual in that its training ''

dohyō A ''dohyō'' (, ) is the space in which a sumo wrestling bout occurs. A typical ''dohyō'' is a circle made of partially buried rice- straw bales 4.55 meters in diameter. In official professional tournaments ('' honbasho''), it is mounted on a sq ...

'' is located in the basement. In June 2025 the Sumo Association dismissed a Shibatayama stable , Kimura Ginjirō, for embezzling approximately 20 million yen from the reserve fund of the (a wrestlers association composed of active competitors). Daiyubu 2010 Jan

Ring name conventions

Many 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 include either the character 大 (read: ō or dai) or 国 (read: kuni), in deference to their coach and the stable's owner, the former Ōnokuni whose ''shikona'' included both characters.

Owner

*1999–present: 12th Shibatayama ('' riji'', the 62nd ''yokozuna'', Ōnokuni)

Notable active wrestlers

*None

Notable past wrestlers

* (best rank ''

) * (best rank ''jūryō'') * Daishōchi (best rank ''Makushita'')

Coach

*Minezaki (''consultant'', former '' maegashira'' Misugiiso)

Assistant

* Hananokuni ('' wakaimonogashira'', former ''maegashira'', real name Akihiro Noguchi)

Referee

*Kimura Kichijirō (''jūryō'' ''

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 Masahiro Nishino)

Ushers

*Katsuyuki (''

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

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 Katsuyuki Koyama) - to be promoted to '' fuku-tate-yobidashi'' in January 2024 *Keisukei ('' juryo''

, real name Daisuke Nakano)

Hairdresser

*Tokokado (1st 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,

, Takaido 2-26-9
2 minute walk from Takaido Station on the Inokashira Line

References

External links

Japan Sumo Association profileOfficial Site
{{coord, 35.6825, N, 139.6158, E, source:wikidata, display=title Active sumo stables Sports clubs and teams established in 1999 1999 establishments in Japan