Wakakōyū Masaya
Encyclopedia
Wakakōyū Masaya is a professional sumo
wrestler from Funabashi, Japan. His highest rank has been maegashira 3. The last two characters of his ring name
are taken from his mentor and coach at Ōnomatsu
, the former Masurao. He is only the second wrestler from his stable to reach the top division
. He has been runner-up in one tournament and earned one special prize, for Fighting Spirit.
Fighting under his own surname of Yakigaya, he rose steadily through the ranks until reaching sandanme where he started to struggle. He managed to reach makushita in September 2002 but was demoted back to sandanme after one tournament. In 2003, he missed two tournaments, but upon returning earned two impressive records topped off with a perfect 7-0 record to win the sandanme championship in the last tournament of that year. He fought for four years in the makushita ranks with occasional temporary demotions to sandanme before finally achieving a record that enabled his promotion to the second division, jūryō, in January, 2008. To mark his arrival in the elite sekitori
ranks he changed his shikona
to Wakakōyū.
After a year and half in jūryō with two demotions to makushita he managed a 9-6 record at the jūryō 2 rank and was promoted to the bottom of the makuuchi division in July, 2009. He only managed a 4-11 record and fell back to jūryō. After a one off 6-9 record this tournament, he took in a string of winning records over the next several tournaments to again reach the top division makuuchi in May, 2010. This time he proved himself with a 10-5 record that would have allowed him to fight in the next tournament at a career high maegashira 8. However, at this time, he admitted to having been involved in baseball gambling along with a number of other higher ranked wrestlers and was forced to sit out the tournament and was demoted back to jūryō having never fought at his (then) highest achieved rank.
He bounced back from this setback with two winning tournaments, the second being an impressive 10-5 at jūryōs highest rank. This awarded him another chance to prove himself in makuuchi in the January 2011 tournament. Wakakōyū and Toyohibiki were the last two wrestlers to again reach the top division after being demoted of it in the gambling scandal. After a 8-7 score at maegashira 10 in the May Technical Examination Tournament, he reached the upper maegashira ranks for the first time at #3. He managed to defeat two ozeki (Kotooshu and the shortly to retire Kaio
) but finished with a losing score of 5-10. His best performance in the top division came in November 2011 when he finished runner-up to yokozuna Hakuho with a score of 12-3 and was awarded his first sansho
or special prize, for Fighting Spirit.
. His most common winning kimarite
are oshi-dashi (push out), tsuki dashi (thrust out) and hiki-otoshi (pull down).
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 Funabashi, Japan. His highest rank has been maegashira 3. The last two characters of his ring name
Ring name
A ring name is a stage name used by a professional wrestler, martial artist, or boxer. While some ring names may have a fictitious first name and surname, others may simply be a nickname, such as The Undertaker.-Wrestling:...
are taken from his mentor and coach at Ōnomatsu
Onomatsu stable
is a stable of sumo wrestlers, formerly one of the Nishonoseki ichimon or group of stables. It was founded in its modern form on 1 October 1994 by Masurao Hiroo, who branched off from the now defunct Oshiogawa stable. His first wrestler to reach the top makuuchi division was Katayama in 2005....
, the former Masurao. He is only the second wrestler from his stable to reach the top division
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....
. He has been runner-up in one tournament and earned one special prize, for Fighting Spirit.
Career
Two years after his birth in Funabashi, his father was killed in a car accident and he was subsequently raised alone by his mother. Ōnomatsu being very near the home of one of his relatives, he began visiting the stable from a young age. This eventually led to him entering the stable in 1999.Fighting under his own surname of Yakigaya, he rose steadily through the ranks until reaching sandanme where he started to struggle. He managed to reach makushita in September 2002 but was demoted back to sandanme after one tournament. In 2003, he missed two tournaments, but upon returning earned two impressive records topped off with a perfect 7-0 record to win the sandanme championship in the last tournament of that year. He fought for four years in the makushita ranks with occasional temporary demotions to sandanme before finally achieving a record that enabled his promotion to the second division, jūryō, in January, 2008. To mark his arrival in the elite 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...
ranks he changed his 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...
to Wakakōyū.
After a year and half in jūryō with two demotions to makushita he managed a 9-6 record at the jūryō 2 rank and was promoted to the bottom of the makuuchi division in July, 2009. He only managed a 4-11 record and fell back to jūryō. After a one off 6-9 record this tournament, he took in a string of winning records over the next several tournaments to again reach the top division makuuchi in May, 2010. This time he proved himself with a 10-5 record that would have allowed him to fight in the next tournament at a career high maegashira 8. However, at this time, he admitted to having been involved in baseball gambling along with a number of other higher ranked wrestlers and was forced to sit out the tournament and was demoted back to jūryō having never fought at his (then) highest achieved rank.
He bounced back from this setback with two winning tournaments, the second being an impressive 10-5 at jūryōs highest rank. This awarded him another chance to prove himself in makuuchi in the January 2011 tournament. Wakakōyū and Toyohibiki were the last two wrestlers to again reach the top division after being demoted of it in the gambling scandal. After a 8-7 score at maegashira 10 in the May Technical Examination Tournament, he reached the upper maegashira ranks for the first time at #3. He managed to defeat two ozeki (Kotooshu and the shortly to retire Kaio
Kaio Hiroyuki
Kaiō Hiroyuki is a former professional sumo wrestler from Nōgata, Fukuoka, Japan.He made his debut in 1988, reaching the top makuuchi division in 1993. He held the second highest rank of ōzeki or champion for eleven years from 2000 to 2011, and is the longest-serving ozeki of all time in terms of...
) but finished with a losing score of 5-10. His best performance in the top division came in November 2011 when he finished runner-up to yokozuna Hakuho with a score of 12-3 and was awarded his first sansho
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:...
or special prize, for Fighting Spirit.
Fighting style
Wakakōyū is an oshi-sumo specialist, preferring pushing and thrusting techniques to 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 most common winning 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...
are oshi-dashi (push out), tsuki dashi (thrust out) and hiki-otoshi (pull down).