Gagamaru Masaru
Encyclopedia
Gagamaru Masaru is a professional sumo
wrestler from Georgia
. The third Georgian national after Kokkai
and Tochinoshin to make the top makuuchi
division, he made his professional debut in November 2005, reaching the jūryō division in November 2009 and makuuchi in July 2010. Originally from Kise stable
, he now fights for Kitanoumi stable
. His highest rank has been maegashira 3. His best tournament performance to date came in September 2011 when he won eleven bouts and the Fighting Spirit prize.
and sambo
, winning national junior championships in both sports by the age of 16. Invited to train by the Georgian junior sumo team, he accompanied them to the 2005 World Junior Sumo Championships in Osaka
. (Also on the team was the future Tochinoshin). He came third in the individual and second in the team competition. Staying in Japan after the tournament, he joined Kise stable
and made his first professional appearance in November 2005.
He moved quickly through the lower divisions
, reaching makushita one year later in November 2006. He had made plans to return home to visit his family, but his father was killed in a car accident. He was determined to honour his father's memory (and emulate his fellow Georgian wrestlers) by reaching sekitori
status. This he achieved in September 2009 after winning the makushita division yusho
with a perfect 7-0 record. He paid tribute to his father at a press conference.
Gagamaru came through with a kachi-koshi 8-7 score in his debut jūryō tournament and won the yusho in the following tournament in January 2010 with a 12-3 record. In May he scored 10-5 from the jūryō 1 rank, ensuring promotion to makuuchi. However he made his debut in the top division in July out of a newly enlarged Kitanoumi stable
after his old stable was closed due to his stablemaster's Kise Oyakata involvement in a scandal involving selling tournament tickets to alleged yakuza
members. Ranked at maegashira 12 he could only manage a 5-10 record, losing his last four bouts, but he remained in the division for the following tournament in September 2010 and produced a winning score of 10-5. In the November tournament in Kyushu
he recovered from a 1-5 start to score 9-6, which earned him promotion to his highest rank to date of maegashira 6.
The January 2011 tournament was not a good one for Gagamaru. Having struggled to a 2-4 record after six days he went out drinking with fellow Georgian wrestler Kokkai
and the pair allegedly got into a fight at an Indian restaurant in Tokyo's Sumida ward
, causing damage to the property. Both were reprimanded by the Sumo Association for staying out late during a tournament. Gagamaru finished with a poor 5-10 record, resulting in demotion to maegashira 14. In the May Technical Examination Tournament he recovered from 4-7 down to win four in a row and get a winning record. His best performance in the top division to date was in September, when after an opening day loss he then won ten in a row, including an emphatic victory over Baruto in his first ever meeting with an ozeki. He finished on 11-4 and was awarded his first special prize
, for Fighting Spirit. He was promoted to his highest rank to date of maegashira 3 for the November 2011 tournament.
The shikona
Gagamaru was derived by the Kise stablemaster, the former Higonoumi, from Jugheli's nickname "Gaga". Since then he has, inevitably, been dubbed "Lady Gaga
Maru." Speaking to reporters after the 9th day of the September 2011 tournament, he quipped, "Let me tell you I was called Gaga since the time I was born. The real Gaga is me."
is oshi-dashi or push out. He is the heaviest man in the top division at around 200 kg.
Sumo
is a competitive full-contact sport where a wrestler attempts to force another wrestler out of a circular ring or to touch the ground with anything other than the soles of the feet. The sport originated in Japan, the only country where it is practiced professionally...
wrestler from Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
. The third Georgian national after Kokkai
Kokkai Futoshi
Kokkai Futoshi is a professional sumo wrestler from Georgia. He began his career in May 2001. He is the first Caucasian rikishi to reach sumo's highest division, makuuchi, which he achieved in 2004. His highest rank has been komusubi, which he reached in 2006...
and Tochinoshin to make the top makuuchi
Makuuchi
or is the top division of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers , ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments....
division, he made his professional debut in November 2005, reaching the jūryō division in November 2009 and makuuchi in July 2010. Originally from Kise stable
Kise stable
Kise stable was a stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Dewanoumi ichimon or group of stables. It established in December 2003 by former maegashira Higonoumi, who branched off from Mihogaseki stable. The stable's first top division wrestler was Ichihara , a former amateur champion, in January 2008...
, he now fights for Kitanoumi stable
Kitanoumi stable
is a stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Dewanoumi ichimon or group of stables. It was set up in 1985 by former yokozuna Kitanoumi, who branched off from Mihogaseki stable. It absorbed Hatachiyama stable in 2006, following the death of its head coach, former ozeki Hokuten'yū...
. His highest rank has been maegashira 3. His best tournament performance to date came in September 2011 when he won eleven bouts and the Fighting Spirit prize.
Career
Jugheli was born in Tbilissi, he originally trained in judoJudo
is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...
and sambo
Sambo (martial art)
Sambo is a Russian martial art and combat sport. The word "SAMBO" is an acronym for SAMooborona Bez Oruzhiya, which literally translates as "self-defense without weapons". Sambo is relatively modern since its development began in the early 1920s by the Soviet Red Army to improve their hand to hand...
, winning national junior championships in both sports by the age of 16. Invited to train by the Georgian junior sumo team, he accompanied them to the 2005 World Junior Sumo Championships in Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
. (Also on the team was the future Tochinoshin). He came third in the individual and second in the team competition. Staying in Japan after the tournament, he joined Kise stable
Kise stable
Kise stable was a stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Dewanoumi ichimon or group of stables. It established in December 2003 by former maegashira Higonoumi, who branched off from Mihogaseki stable. The stable's first top division wrestler was Ichihara , a former amateur champion, in January 2008...
and made his first professional appearance in November 2005.
He moved quickly through the lower divisions
Professional sumo divisions
Professional sumo is divided into 6 ranked divisions. Wrestlers are promoted and demoted within and between these divisions based on the merit of their win/loss records in official tournaments. For more information see kachikoshi and makekoshi. Wrestlers are also ranked within each division...
, reaching makushita one year later in November 2006. He had made plans to return home to visit his family, but his father was killed in a car accident. He was determined to honour his father's memory (and emulate his fellow Georgian wrestlers) by reaching sekitori
Sekitori
A sekitori is a sumo wrestler who is ranked in one of the top two professional divisions: makuuchi and juryo.Currently there are 70 rikishi in these divisions...
status. This he achieved in September 2009 after winning the makushita division yusho
Yusho
A Yūshō is a tournament championship in sumo. It is awarded in each of the six annual honbasho or official tournaments, to the wrestler who wins the most number of bouts. Yūshō are awarded in all six professional sumo divisions...
with a perfect 7-0 record. He paid tribute to his father at a press conference.
Gagamaru came through with a kachi-koshi 8-7 score in his debut jūryō tournament and won the yusho in the following tournament in January 2010 with a 12-3 record. In May he scored 10-5 from the jūryō 1 rank, ensuring promotion to makuuchi. However he made his debut in the top division in July out of a newly enlarged Kitanoumi stable
Kitanoumi stable
is a stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Dewanoumi ichimon or group of stables. It was set up in 1985 by former yokozuna Kitanoumi, who branched off from Mihogaseki stable. It absorbed Hatachiyama stable in 2006, following the death of its head coach, former ozeki Hokuten'yū...
after his old stable was closed due to his stablemaster's Kise Oyakata involvement in a scandal involving selling tournament tickets to alleged yakuza
Yakuza
, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...
members. Ranked at maegashira 12 he could only manage a 5-10 record, losing his last four bouts, but he remained in the division for the following tournament in September 2010 and produced a winning score of 10-5. In the November tournament in Kyushu
Kyushu
is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....
he recovered from a 1-5 start to score 9-6, which earned him promotion to his highest rank to date of maegashira 6.
The January 2011 tournament was not a good one for Gagamaru. Having struggled to a 2-4 record after six days he went out drinking with fellow Georgian wrestler Kokkai
Kokkai Futoshi
Kokkai Futoshi is a professional sumo wrestler from Georgia. He began his career in May 2001. He is the first Caucasian rikishi to reach sumo's highest division, makuuchi, which he achieved in 2004. His highest rank has been komusubi, which he reached in 2006...
and the pair allegedly got into a fight at an Indian restaurant in Tokyo's Sumida ward
Sumida, Tokyo
is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. It calls itself Sumida City in English.As of 2008, the ward has an estimated population of 240,296 and a density of 17,480 persons per km²...
, causing damage to the property. Both were reprimanded by the Sumo Association for staying out late during a tournament. Gagamaru finished with a poor 5-10 record, resulting in demotion to maegashira 14. In the May Technical Examination Tournament he recovered from 4-7 down to win four in a row and get a winning record. His best performance in the top division to date was in September, when after an opening day loss he then won ten in a row, including an emphatic victory over Baruto in his first ever meeting with an ozeki. He finished on 11-4 and was awarded his first special prize
Sansho (Sumo)
Sanshō are the three special prizes awarded to top division sumo wrestlers for exceptional performance during a sumo honbasho or tournament. The prizes were first awarded in November 1947.-Criteria:...
, for Fighting Spirit. He was promoted to his highest rank to date of maegashira 3 for the November 2011 tournament.
The shikona
Shikona
A shikona is a sumo wrestler's ring name.As with standard Japanese names, a shikona consists of a 'surname' and a 'given' name, and the full name is written surname first. However, the given name is rarely used outside formal or ceremonial occasions. Thus, the former yokozuna Asashōryū Akinori is...
Gagamaru was derived by the Kise stablemaster, the former Higonoumi, from Jugheli's nickname "Gaga". Since then he has, inevitably, been dubbed "Lady Gaga
Lady GaGa
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...
Maru." Speaking to reporters after the 9th day of the September 2011 tournament, he quipped, "Let me tell you I was called Gaga since the time I was born. The real Gaga is me."
Fighting style
Gagamaru is an oshi-sumo specialist who mainly employs pushing and thrusting techniques. His most common winning kimariteKimarite
Kimarite are winning techniques in a sumo bout. For each bout in a Grand Sumo tournament , a sumo referee, or gyoji, will decide and announce the type of kimarite used by the winner...
is oshi-dashi or push out. He is the heaviest man in the top division at around 200 kg.
Tournament record
See also
- Glossary of sumo termsGlossary of sumo termsThe following words are terms used in sumo wrestling in Japan. azukari : Hold. A kind of draw. After a mono-ii, the gyōji or the shimpan "holds" the result if it was too close to call...
- List of active sumo wrestlers
- List of sumo tournament second division winners