Tochisakae Atsushi (born June 27, 1974, as Atsushi Okamoto) is a former

sumo wrestler A , or, more colloquially, , is a sumo wrestler. Although used to define all wrestlers participating in sumo wrestling matches, the term is more commonly used to refer to professional wrestlers, employed by the Japan Sumo Association, who part ...

from

Saga Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. Saga Prefecture has a population of roughly 780,000 and has a geographic area of . Saga Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the northeast and Nagasaki Prefect ...

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 made his professional debut in 1993, reaching the top division for the first time in 2000. His highest rank was ''

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 ...

'' 1. He suffered many illness and injury problems throughout his career. He retired in 2008 and is now an elder of 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 ...

under the name of Mihogaseki, working as a coach at

Kasugano stable is a stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Dewanoumi ''ichimon'' or group of stables. As of January 2023 it had 17 wrestlers. It has been led by former ''sekiwake'' Tochinowaka Kiyotaka since 2003. It was one of the most successful stables in 201 ...

Career

Okamoto was born and raised in Nakano,

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 ...

, although both his parents were from

Saga Sagas are prose stories and histories, composed in Iceland and to a lesser extent elsewhere in Scandinavia. The most famous saga-genre is the (sagas concerning Icelanders), which feature Viking voyages, migration to Iceland, and feuds between ...

and as he was fond of the city as well he chose to list it as his birthplace on the ''

banzuke A , officially called is a document listing the rankings of professional sumo wrestlers published before each official tournament ('' honbasho''). The term can also refer to the rankings themselves. The document is normally released about two ...

'' ranking sheets when he joined professional sumo. As a child he practised

kendo is a modern Japanese martial art, descended from kenjutsu (one of the old Japanese martial arts, swordsmanship), that uses bamboo swords ( shinai) as well as protective armor ( bōgu). It began as samurai warriors' customary swordsmanship ex ...

, but was drawn to sumo after entering a Nakano ward Sumo Tournament in the fourth grade and finishing third. He trained at several '' heya'', including Fujishima, Futagoyama and Dewanoumi, and while at middle school he trained at

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 ...

Sumo Club with several future top division wrestlers such as

Kushimaumi Kushimaumi Keita (久島海啓太; 6 August 1965 – 13 February 2012), born as Keita Kushima (久嶋啓太), was a sumo wrestler from Shingū, Wakayama, Shingū, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. A successful amateur, his highest rank in profe ...

, Hamanoshima and Mainoumi. This led him to Saitama Sakae High School, where he became the High School

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 ...

in 1992. Rather than go to university, he instead joined Kasugano stable in January 1993 through a connection of his uncle, after graduating straight from high school - the first High School Yokozuna to enter professional sumo in this way. He initially wrestled under his own surname of Okamoto and then used the sumo name of Tochinoiwa, before adopting his familiar name of Tochisakae in January 1999. He progressed through the lower

divisions Division may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication * Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting of 10,000 t ...

fairly quickly but shortly after winning the '' yusho'' in 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 he had surgery for

empyema An empyema (; ) is a collection or gathering of pus within a naturally existing anatomical cavity. The term is most commonly used to refer to pleural empyema, which is empyema of the pleural cavity. It is similar or the same in meaning as an a ...

and side effects of the anaesthetic saw him lose the use of almost all the muscles in the right side of his body. He refused to miss tournaments, and after a long period of rehabilitation with

acupuncture Acupuncture is a form of alternative medicine and a component of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in which thin needles are inserted into the body. Acupuncture is a pseudoscience; the theories and practices of TCM are not based on scientif ...

treatment he eventually made a full recovery. He first reached a salaried rank in March 1998 when he was promoted 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, but after pulling out with an injury towards the end of the tournament he fell back to ''

.'' More misfortune was to follow him when he earned promotion back to jūryō in November 1998, only to miss the entire tournament with another injury. After falling down to the fourth ''

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 ...

'' division he fought his way back up the ranks and was promoted to ''jūryō'' for the third time in May 2000. He made his debut in 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 just two tournaments later in September 2000. He reached his highest rank of ''maegashira'' 1 in January 2001, and fought all the ''yokozuna'' and '' ozeki'' for the first time, defeating ''ozeki''

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 ...

. However, more injury problems struck him in July 2001 when he had to pull out with broken heel bones, and in 2002 he had to withdraw from three consecutive tournaments due to

phlegmon A phlegmon is a localized area of acute inflammation of the soft tissues. It is a descriptive term which may be used for inflammation related to a bacterial infection or non-infectious causes (e.g. pancreatitis). Most commonly, it is used in con ...

, resulting in demotion back to ''jūryō''. He won the ''jūryō'' championship in March 2003 and returned to the top division in July. After missing the whole of the January 2005 tournament he fell to the second division once again. His 26th and last tournament in ''makuuchi'' was in January 2006. In May 2007 at the rank of ''Jūryō 3'' he lost his first ten bouts and pulled out on the 11th day, resulting in a return to ''makushita'' for the first time since 2000.

Retirement from sumo

In January 2008 Tochisakae announced his retirement. He stayed with 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 ...

as an elder under the name Takenawa, the stock borrowed from his still active stablemate

Tochinonada Tochinonada Taiichi (栃乃洋泰一 born February 26, 1974, as Taiichi Gotō) is a former sumo wrestler from Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. An amateur sumo champion, he turned professional in 1996 and reached the top ''makuuchi'' division in 1997 ...

. His ''

danpatsu-shiki A , or, more colloquially, , is a sumo wrestler. Although used to define all wrestlers participating in sumo wrestling matches, the term is more commonly used to refer to professional wrestlers, employed by the Japan Sumo Association, who part ...

'', or official retirement ceremony, was held jointly with another stablemate, Tochinohana, at the

Ryōgoku Kokugikan , also known as Ryōgoku Sumo Hall or Kokugikan Arena, is the name bestowed to two different indoor sporting arenas located in Tokyo. The first ''Ryōgoku Kokugikan'' opened its doors in 1909 and was located on the premises of the Ekōin temple i ...

in January 2009. In January 2011 he switched to the Kiyomigata elder name, owned by active wrestler Tochiozan, but in August 2014 he acquired the Mihogaseki stock for himself and is now known as Mihogaseki Oyakata.

Fighting style

Tochisakae was an oshi-sumo specialist, favouring pushing and thrusting techniques. His most common winning ''

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 ...

'' was ''oshi-dashi'' (push out), followed by ''tsuki-otoshi'' (thrust over) and ''hiki-otoshi'' (pull down). By contrast, he won only around four percent of his matches by'' yori-kiri'' (force out), normally the most frequently used technique in sumo.

Career record

References

External links