Chikubayama Masakuni is a former sumo

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 Ukiha

Ukiha, Fukuoka

is a city located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.The city was founded on March 20, 2005 as a result of the merger when the town of absorbed the town of Yoshii, which both were from Ukiha District....

, Fukuoka Prefecture

Fukuoka Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located on Kyūshū Island. The capital is the city of Fukuoka.- History :Fukuoka Prefecture includes the former provinces of Chikugo, Chikuzen, and Buzen....

, 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...

.

Career

He joined Miyagino stable

Miyagino stable

is a stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Tatsunami ichimon or group of stables. It was founded by the 43rd Yokozuna Yoshibayama as Yoshibayama dōjō while he was still an active wrestler, before changing to its current name in 1960....

 and debuted in March 1973. His ring name (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...

) was named after former yokozuna Yoshibayama, his stablemaster. His active career was relatively modest. He had not been able to reach 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 a long time, but finally reached it in September 1986. He spent only two tournaments in the top division, peaking at maegashira 13.

Retirement from sumo

He retired from being an active wrestler in January 1989. He became the Miyagino stablemaster in the same year. He recruited later yokozuna Hakuhō Shō

Hakuho Sho

is a professional sumo wrestler from Ulan Bator, Mongolia. Making his debut in March 2001, he reached the top makuuchi division in May 2004. On May 30, 2007 at the age of 22 he became the second native of Mongolia, and the fourth non-Japanese overall, to be promoted to the highest rank in sumo,...

. He was forced to give up the Miyagino elder

Toshiyori

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 in 2004 when it was acquired by the former Kanechika (he had apparently only been renting it from the widow of the previous coach), but he remained in the stable under the name Kumagatani, and was still regarded as Hakuho's mentor. In December 2010 he regained the Miyagino name and status of head coach after Kanechika was demoted by 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...

 for being caught on tape discussing alleged match-fixing.

Top division record