Otsukasa Nobuhide
Encyclopedia
Ōtsukasa Nobuhide is a former sumo
wrestler from Miki
, Hyōgo
, Japan
. A former amateur champion, he made his professional debut in 1993. The highest rank he reached was maegashira 4. He retired in March 2009 and is now a sumo coach.
.
Ōtsukasa was recruited by the former sekiwake Tochitsukasa, also a Nihon University alumni and head of the then newly formed Irumagawa stable
. He made his professional debut in March 1993. Due to his amateur achievements he was given makushita tsukedashi status, meaning he could enter in the third highest makushita division. Initially fighting under his real name of Ōuchi, he won the makushita championship in only his second tournament, with a perfect 7-0 record. However, it was not until January 1996 that he became a sekitori
by earning promotion to the second highest jūryō division, upon which he adopted the shikona
of Ōtsukasa. He made the top makuuchi
division for the first time in September 1999. The 39 tournaments it took him from his professional debut to reach makuuchi is the third slowest amongst former collegiate wrestlers.
During his sekitori career (75 tournaments in total) Ōtsukasa was a classic "elevator" rikishi, too good for jūryō but not quite good enough for the top division. He was promoted to makuuchi no less than eleven times in total.
This is two less than the record of 13 promotions held by Oshio
, a record Ōtsukasa said he would have liked to break. Ōtsukasa was ranked in the top division for three of the six tournaments held in 2007 but did not manage a majority of wins against losses in makuuchi after July 2004. His last promotion in March 2008 made him the third oldest postwar wrestler to earn promotion to the top division at 37 years. He won his first four bouts on his final return but then lost ten in a row to finish with a 5-10 score.
After the retirement of Kotonowaka
in November 2005 he was the oldest man in the sekitori ranks (the top two divisions). Restricted by a shoulder injury, he produced only one winning record after January 2008. After the 2009 Haru basho Ōtsukasa would have dropped out of Juryo (see retirement below). His departure left Tosanoumi
, who is two days under a year younger than Ōtsukasa, as the oldest active sekitori.
or technique was a simple yori-kiri or force out but he also favoured pushing or thrusting moves such as oshi-dashi and tsuki-otoshi, and pull downs such as hataki-komi and hiki-otoshi. At 175 cm or 5 ft 9 in he was one of the shortest wrestlers in the top two divisions.
name of Wakafuji. His danpatsu-shiki, or official retirement ceremony, was held at the Ryogoku Kokugikan
on 30 January 2010.
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 Miki
Miki, Hyogo
is a city located in Hyōgo, Japan.As of April 30, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 82,162, with a household number of 32,143 and a population density of 465.30 persons per km²...
, Hyōgo
Hyogo Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region on Honshū island. The capital is Kobe.The prefecture's name was previously alternately spelled as Hiogo.- History :...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. A former amateur champion, he made his professional debut in 1993. The highest rank he reached was maegashira 4. He retired in March 2009 and is now a sumo coach.
Career
Ōtsukasa began sumo whilst at Miki Middle School and was a member of Ichikawa High School's sumo club, where he won national high school sumo championships. He continued his amateur sumo career at Nihon UniversityNihon University
Nihon University is the largest university in Japan. Akiyoshi Yamada, the minister of justice, founded Nihon Law School in October 1889....
.
Ōtsukasa was recruited by the former sekiwake Tochitsukasa, also a Nihon University alumni and head of the then newly formed Irumagawa stable
Irumagawa stable
is a stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Dewanoumi ichimon or group of stables. It was set up in 1992 by former sekiwake Tochitsukasa, who branched out from Kasugano stable. As of November 2007, the stable had 13 wrestlers...
. He made his professional debut in March 1993. Due to his amateur achievements he was given makushita tsukedashi status, meaning he could enter in the third highest makushita division. Initially fighting under his real name of Ōuchi, he won the makushita championship in only his second tournament, with a perfect 7-0 record. However, it was not until January 1996 that he became a 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...
by earning promotion to the second highest jūryō division, upon which he adopted 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...
of Ōtsukasa. He made 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 for the first time in September 1999. The 39 tournaments it took him from his professional debut to reach makuuchi is the third slowest amongst former collegiate wrestlers.
During his sekitori career (75 tournaments in total) Ōtsukasa was a classic "elevator" rikishi, too good for jūryō but not quite good enough for the top division. He was promoted to makuuchi no less than eleven times in total.
This is two less than the record of 13 promotions held by Oshio
Oshio Kenji
Ōshio Kenji is a former sumo wrestler from Kitakyushu, Japan. His highest rank was komusubi. His career lasted twenty six years, from 1962 until 1988, and he holds the record for the most bouts contested in professional sumo.-Career:He was born in Yahata Higashi ward...
, a record Ōtsukasa said he would have liked to break. Ōtsukasa was ranked in the top division for three of the six tournaments held in 2007 but did not manage a majority of wins against losses in makuuchi after July 2004. His last promotion in March 2008 made him the third oldest postwar wrestler to earn promotion to the top division at 37 years. He won his first four bouts on his final return but then lost ten in a row to finish with a 5-10 score.
After the retirement of Kotonowaka
Kotonowaka Terumasa
Kotonowaka Terumasa is a former sumo wrestler from Obanazawa, Yamagata prefecture, Japan. He made his professional debut in 1984 and after reaching the top makuuchi division in 1990 he remained there for 15 years until his retirement in 2005...
in November 2005 he was the oldest man in the sekitori ranks (the top two divisions). Restricted by a shoulder injury, he produced only one winning record after January 2008. After the 2009 Haru basho Ōtsukasa would have dropped out of Juryo (see retirement below). His departure left Tosanoumi
Tosanoumi Toshio
Tosanoumi Toshio , is a former sumo wrestler. He first reached the top division of professional sumo in 1995, winning 13 special prizes and earning 11 gold stars for defeating yokozuna over his long career. The highest rank he reached was sekiwake...
, who is two days under a year younger than Ōtsukasa, as the oldest active sekitori.
Fighting style
His most frequently used 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...
or technique was a simple yori-kiri or force out but he also favoured pushing or thrusting moves such as oshi-dashi and tsuki-otoshi, and pull downs such as hataki-komi and hiki-otoshi. At 175 cm or 5 ft 9 in he was one of the shortest wrestlers in the top two divisions.
Retirement from sumo
Ōtsukasa pulled out of the March 2009 tournament on the 13th day win with only one win, facing certain demotion to makushita for the first time since 1998. Before the start of the 14th day's matches he officially announced his retirement from sumo at the age of 38. He said that although he would have liked to have reached a sanyaku rank, he left with no regrets. He has stayed in the sumo world as a coach at Irumagawa stable, having purchased the toshiyoriToshiyori
A toshiyori is a sumo elder of the Japan Sumo Association. Also known as oyakata, former wrestlers who reached a sufficiently high rank are the only people eligible...
name of Wakafuji. His danpatsu-shiki, or official retirement ceremony, was held at the Ryogoku Kokugikan
Ryogoku Kokugikan
, also known as Sumo Hall, is an indoor sporting arena located in the Ryōgoku neighborhood of Sumida, one of the 23 wards of Tokyo in Japan, next to the Edo-Tokyo Museum. It is the third building built in Tokyo associated with the name kokugikan. The current building was opened in 1985 and has a...
on 30 January 2010.
Top division 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 sumo tournament second division winners
- List of past sumo wrestlers