is a Japanese former professional

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

Matsusaka, Mie is a city located in Mie Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 157,235 in 66,018 households and a population density of 250 people per km². The total area of the city is . The city is famous for Matsusaka beef. Geography ...

. His sumo stable was Kise (for a short time he belonged to Kitanoumi). His height is and his peak weight is . His highest rank was ''

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 ...

'' 6. Hs is the first former amateur from

Asahi University is a private university in Mizuho, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. The school was first founded in 1971 as Gifu Dental University (岐阜歯科大学 ''Gifu Shika Daigaku''). It was renamed Asahi University in 1985 when the management department was add ...

to reach the ''

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 ...

'' ranks. He retired in June 2020.

Career

From elementary school he did

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...

, but he became interested in sumo at Mie High School and began entering sumo competitions. He was an amateur wrestler at

and reached the top 16 in the Inter Collegiate and second place in the Western Japan College Tournament. He was a contemporary of Tosayutaka. He joined

Kise stable , also known as Kimura Sehei stable, was a heya or stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Tatsunami ''ichimon'' or affiliated group of stables. History The original Kise stable (which had no connection to the current incarnation founded by the fo ...

in March 2007 at the age of 23. He was only the third former member of Asahi University's small sumo club to turn professional. He weighed upon his debut. He initially fought under his own surname of Shiratsuka. In March 2009 he switched to 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 Tokushinhō and won 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 championship or ''

yūshō is the term for a championship in Japanese. This article focuses on championships in the sport of professional sumo. It is awarded in each of the six annual '' honbasho'' or official tournaments, to the wrestler who wins the most bouts. ''Yūs ...

'' with a 6–1 record. He was promoted to the ''

'' division for the first time in September 2009. He spent a total of 27 tournaments ranked in ''jūryō'' with a win/loss record of 187–218. He never reached 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; his highest rank being ''jūryō'' 6 in September 2013. His last appearance in ''jūryō'' was in November 2015. His peak weight of means he ranks twelfth in the

list of heaviest sumo wrestlers The following is a list of the heaviest professional sumo wrestlers. Only wrestlers weighing or over are included. Wrestlers shown in bold are still active as of January 2023. {, class="sortable wikitable plainrowheaders" !scope="col", Rank ...

, and is the sixth-heaviest Japanese sumo wrestler ever after Yamamotoyama, Kenho, Susanoumi, Kainowaka and Hidenoumi.

Retirement from sumo

Tokushinhō fell to the ''

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 in 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 ...

'' issued for the May 2020 tournament, and he submitted retirement papers to 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 ...

, acknowledged on June 1, 2020. His career results were 382 wins against 373 losses over 79 tournaments. He plans to return to Asahi University as a member of staff. He had 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 retirement ceremony in October 2021, with around 150 guests including former ''yokozuna''

Kisenosato is a Japanese sumo elder from Ibaraki Prefecture, Ibaraki. As a wrestler, he made his professional debut in 2002 and reached the top ''makuuchi'' division in 2004 at the age of just 18. After many years in the junior ''san'yaku'' ranks, he reac ...

, and the head of Asahi University making the final cut of his

topknot Topknot may refer to: * A hairstyle or haircut, historically prevalent in Asia: **''Chonmage'', a traditional Japanese haircut worn by men **'' Sangtu'' (), a Korean topknot ** ''Touji'' (頭髻), a traditional Chinese hairstyle which involves tyi ...

Fighting style

When fighting on the ''

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 ...

'' or belt Tokushinhō favoured a ''migi-yotsu'' (left hand outside, right hand inside) grip. He also regularly used ''tsuki/oshi'' (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 ...

'' were ''yori kiri'' (force out) and ''oshi dashi'' (push out), which together account for over 60 per cent of his career wins.

Career record

References

External links