Tochitsukasa Tetsuo
Encyclopedia
Tochitsukasa Tetsuo is a former sumo
wrestler from Nakagawa
, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture
, Japan
. His highest rank was sekiwake. He is now the head coach of Irumagawa stable
.
, he turned professional at the age of 23, joining Kasugano stable
in March 1981. He reached the top makuuchi
division in September 1983, and in 1984 he earned his first special prize
for Fighting Spirit, and defeated Takanosato in his first ever bout against a yokozuna to earn his first of his three kinboshi
. He spent most of 1985 in the second jūryō division, but in 1986 made the sanyaku ranks at komusubi. In November 1987 he scored 10-5 from the maegashira 6 ranking, defeating two ozeki and winning the Technique Prize. This earned him promotion to his highest rank of sekiwake for the following tournament in January 1988. However, by the end of the year he was in jūryō again due to injury problems. He won the jūryō yusho
on two occasions in 1989 and won promotion back to the top division. After missing the September 1990 tournament he fell to jūryō again and made only one more appearance in makuuchi before retiring in May 1992 at the age of 34.
of the Japan Sumo Association
under the name Irumagawa Oyakata, and established Irumagawa stable
in 1993. His wrestlers Yotsukasa and Otsukasa both reached the top division in 1999, and they were followed by Masatsukasa in 2008 and Sagatsukasa in 2010.
. His favourite kimarite
were oshi-dashi (push out) and tsuki otoshi (thrust over). However he also regularly won by yori-kiri (force out), and was also capable of pulling off throws, both overarm (uwatenage) and underarm (shitatenage).
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 Nakagawa
Nakagawa-ku, Nagoya
is one of the 16 wards of the city of Nagoya in Aichi Prefecture, Japan....
, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture
Aichi Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region. The region of Aichi is also known as the Tōkai region. The capital is Nagoya. It is the focus of the Chūkyō Metropolitan Area.- 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...
. His highest rank was sekiwake. He is now the head coach of 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...
.
Career
A former amateur champion 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....
, he turned professional at the age of 23, joining Kasugano stable
Kasugano stable
is a stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Dewanoumi group of stables. As of November 2007 it had 24 wrestlers. It is currently one of the most successful stables, with five sekitori wrestlers, including the Georgian Tochinoshin and the Korean born Tochinowaka, who uses the current head coach's...
in March 1981. He reached 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 in September 1983, and in 1984 he earned 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, and defeated Takanosato in his first ever bout against a yokozuna to earn his first of his three kinboshi
Kinboshi
Kinboshi is a notation used in professional sumo wrestling to record a lower-ranked wrestler's victory over a yokozuna....
. He spent most of 1985 in the second jūryō division, but in 1986 made the sanyaku ranks at komusubi. In November 1987 he scored 10-5 from the maegashira 6 ranking, defeating two ozeki and winning the Technique Prize. This earned him promotion to his highest rank of sekiwake for the following tournament in January 1988. However, by the end of the year he was in jūryō again due to injury problems. He won the jūryō 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...
on two occasions in 1989 and won promotion back to the top division. After missing the September 1990 tournament he fell to jūryō again and made only one more appearance in makuuchi before retiring in May 1992 at the age of 34.
Retirement from sumo
He became an elderToshiyori
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...
of the Japan Sumo Association
Japan Sumo Association
The is the body that operates and controls professional sumo wrestling in Japan under the jurisdiction of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Rikishi , gyōji , tokoyama , and yobidashi , are all on the Association's payroll, but the organisation is run...
under the name Irumagawa Oyakata, and established 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...
in 1993. His wrestlers Yotsukasa and Otsukasa both reached the top division in 1999, and they were followed by Masatsukasa in 2008 and Sagatsukasa in 2010.
Fighting style
A powerful and versatile wrestler, Tochitsukasa preferred tsuki/oshi or pushing and thrusting techniques rather than fighting on the mawashiMawashi
In sumo, a mawashi is the belt that the rikishi wears during training or in competition. Upper ranked professional wrestlers wear a keshō-mawashi as part of the ring entry ceremony or dohyo-iri.-Mawashi:...
. His favourite kimarite
Kimarite
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...
were oshi-dashi (push out) and tsuki otoshi (thrust over). However he also regularly won by yori-kiri (force out), and was also capable of pulling off throws, both overarm (uwatenage) and underarm (shitatenage).
Trivia
He had a crowd-pleasing quirk of always staying in a squat position for much longer than normal and rocking back and forth before returning to his corner during the shikiri, or warm-up phase of a match.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