Kotomitsuki Keiji
Encyclopedia
Kotomitsuki Keiji is a former sumo
wrestler from Okazaki City, Aichi Prefecture
, Japan
. A former amateur champion, he turned professional in 1999. He reached the top makuuchi
division in November 2000 and won one yusho
or tournament championship, in September 2001. He was a runner-up in eight other tournaments, and earned thirteen sanshō
or special prizes. After a record 22 tournaments at sekiwake, he achieved promotion to sumo's second highest rank of ōzeki in July 2007
upon winning 35 out of 45 bouts in three consecutive tournaments. This made him at 31 the oldest man to reach ozeki in the modern era. He wrestled for Sadogatake stable
. On July 4, 2010, he was expelled from professional sumo by the Japan Sumo Association for his involvement in an illegal gambling ring.
. He made his professional debut in March 1999. Because of his achievements as an amateur, he was given makushita tsukedashi status and allowed to leapfrog the lower divisions. Initially fighting under the shikona
of Kototamiya, adapted from his own surname, he adopted the name of Kotomitsuki upon reaching the jūryō division in November 1999. He was promoted to the top makuuchi
division in May 2000 but missed the entire tournament through injury. On his proper debut three tournaments later, he was runner-up
to yokozuna Akebono
with an outstanding 13-2 record.
He was awarded all three special prizes
on offer; a rare achievement. He was immediately promoted to sekiwake.
Kotomitsuki took his only top division yusho
or championship in September 2001, whilst ranked as a maegashira. He won with a 13-2 record in a tournament that saw only one ōzeki and one yokozuna complete all 15 days. He finished in third place with a strong 12-3 score in January 2002 but suffered a broken jaw on the 14th day of the Osaka
tournament in March, which required surgery and forced him to miss the following tournament in May. Due to his stablemaster not submitting the paperwork in time, he failed to get public injury
status and fell back to the maegashira ranks. He recovered to produce another runner-up performance in September 2002, and was also runner-up in September 2003 and January 2004, each time from a maegashira position.
Kotomitsuki holds the record for most tournaments spent at sekiwake in the modern era. Although he could only manage four wins at his first attempt at sekiwake, he was ranked there for 22 tournaments in total, including eleven in a row from November 2005 to July 2007. For much of that time he was consistent rather than spectacular, posting a succession of 8-7 scores in 2006
.
was promoted to yokozuna. This meant that there were now only three ōzeki rather than five, and Kotomitsuki was once again a strong candidate for promotion. He followed up a 10-5 record in March with a 12-3 score and runner-up honours in May (his first jun-yusho in over two years), with the Sumo Association's chairman Kitanoumi indicating that 12 wins in the following tournament would be enough to clinch ōzeki promotion. In July 2007 Kotomitsuki produced a 13-2 score, defeating west yokozuna Hakuhō and once again finishing runner-up, this time to east yokozuna Asashōryū
.
Kotomitsuki's ōzeki promotion, confirmed on 25 July 2007, was of special significance to Kotomitsuki and the Sadogatake-beya. Having missed qualifying in 2002 due to a combination of injuries and bad timing, Kotomitsuki was seen by detractors as having insufficient will and being slightly advanced in age to attain ōzeki status. For comparison, Tochiazuma who reached ōzeki in 2002 is Kotomitsuki's junior by 7 months. At the age of 31 years 3 months, Kotomitsuki proved the naysayers wrong, becoming the oldest wrestler to attain the rank in the modern era.
New Year tournament but won his eighth bout on the final day to achieve a kachi-koshi or winning score. He produced another unremarkable 8-7 mark in March, but did manage to end his 28 consecutive defeats against his nemesis Asashōryū. In July 2008, in his "home" tournament in Nagoya, he finished as runner-up to Hakuhō on 11-4, the eighth and final time in his career he was a tournament runner-up (and his only as an ōzeki). He matched this score in September, although he finished in third place behind Hakuhō and Ama.
Entering the January 2009
tournament with a gout
problem in his right ankle, Kotomitsuki took his first make-koshi or losing record as an ōzeki, breaking a run of twenty consecutive kachi-koshi scores. On Day 12 he was forced to pull out of the tournament, leaving him kadoban
(in danger of demotion from ozeki) for the first time. He secured the necessary number of wins in the following tournament in March, which included another victory over Asashōryū. In July 2009 he defeated Hakuhō and finished in third place with a fine 12-3 score - the last time he was to win more than ten bouts in a tournament. He won his first seven matches in September, the best start in his ozeki career, but then faded in the second week and finished on 9-6. After a mediocre 8-7 in November, he pulled out on the 8th day of the January 2010 tournament with only one win, citing injuries to his left knee and foot. He held his ozeki rank with a 9-6 score in March.
, which is illegal in Japan
. He initially denied the claims, which were reported in the tabloid magazine Shukan Shincho. The Sumo Association launched an investigation, and in June he changed his position and admitted in a survey (along with 29 others in the sumo world) that he did indeed bet on baseball games. His stablemaster said Kotomitsuki would sit out the forthcoming Nagoya tournament. Sumo Association official Hakkaku Oyakata
said he felt "betrayed" by Kotomitsuki. He was questioned by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department
on May 22, and his subsequent confession was also reported to the authorities. The head of the Sumo Association Musashigawa Oyakata said that Kotomitsuki had received threats to himself and his family, "and that's why he couldn't (initially) admit he'd been gambling." It emerged that Kotomitsuki had paid 3.5 million yen in "hush money" in December to a former wrestler, Mitsutomo Furuichi, whose brother (an active rikishi) and a tokoyama
from Onomatsu stable
had acted as intermediaries to collect Kotomitsuki's winnings. Furuichi, who was allegedly accompanied by a member of the Yamaguchi-gumi
crime syndicate, then demanded more money from Kotomitsuki the following month, saying that the gang had wanted 100 million yen. Furuichi was subsequently arrested on extortion charges.
On July 4, Kotomitsuki (along with stablemaster Otake Oyakata) was expelled from sumo, but Kotomitsuki did receive the severance pay to which he was entitled. Despite the fact that he had already been expelled, the following tournament's rankings still have Kotomitsuki's name on the list. The Sumo Association explained there was no time to correct the print, and the resulting 0-0-15 score was not counted in his overall career record.
On September 13, Kotomitsuki filed an injunction with the Tokyo District Court
seeking his re-instatement to sumo, arguing that he had not been given a full explanation for his dismissal and that he was made an unfair example by the Sumo Association in comparison with the lighter punishment given to all the other wrestlers who admitted gambling (a one-tournament suspension). On November 30 a group of fans calling themselves "Save Kotomitsuki" handed in a petition with 58,000 signatures to the Sumo Association asking that he either be re-instated or that his expulsion be revised to a retirement, allowing him to remain in the Association as an elder.
In March 2011 prosecutors announced that Kotomitsuki, Otake and 25 others would be spared indictment
over gambling due to lack of implicating evidence
Kotomitsuki announced on 16 April 2011 that he is suing the Sumo Association for wrongful dismissal.
In October 2011 Furuichi was found guilty of extortion and sentenced to four and a half years in prison.
was migi-yotsu, with his left hand outside and right hand inside his opponent's arms (although he was also capable of fighting in the reverse position, hidari-yotsu). His most common winning kimarite
by far was yori-kiri, the force out, followed by oshi-dashi (push out) and hataki-komi (slap down). He was fond of dashinage (pulling throws, both overarm and underarm), and was also one of the few rikishi to employ uchi-muso, a technique which involves tapping the opponent's inner thigh with the back of the hand to off-balance him, before twisting him 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 Okazaki City, 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...
. A former amateur champion, he turned professional in 1999. 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 November 2000 and won one 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...
or tournament championship, in September 2001. He was a runner-up in eight other tournaments, and earned thirteen sanshō
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 prizes. After a record 22 tournaments at sekiwake, he achieved promotion to sumo's second highest rank of ōzeki in July 2007
2007 in sumo
-Tournaments:*Hatsu basho, Ryogoku Kokugikan, Tokyo, 7 - 21 January*Haru basho, Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium, Osaka, 11 - 25 March*Natsu basho, Ryogoku Kokugikan, Tokyo, 13 - 27 May*Nagoya basho, Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, Nagoya, 8 - 22 July...
upon winning 35 out of 45 bouts in three consecutive tournaments. This made him at 31 the oldest man to reach ozeki in the modern era. He wrestled for Sadogatake stable
Sadogatake stable
is a stable of sumo wrestlers, one of the Nishonoseki group of stables. In its modern form it dates from September 1955, when it was set up by former komusubi Kotonishiki Noboru. Former yokozuna Kotozakura took over the running of the stable in 1974 following Kotonishiki's death. Over the next...
. On July 4, 2010, he was expelled from professional sumo by the Japan Sumo Association for his involvement in an illegal gambling ring.
Early career
Kotomitsuki had an extremely successful college sumo career, winning a record 27 amateur national titles while 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 made his professional debut in March 1999. Because of his achievements as an amateur, he was given makushita tsukedashi status and allowed to leapfrog the lower divisions. Initially fighting under 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 Kototamiya, adapted from his own surname, he adopted the name of Kotomitsuki upon reaching the jūryō division in November 1999. He was promoted to 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 May 2000 but missed the entire tournament through injury. On his proper debut three tournaments later, he was runner-up
Runner-up
Runner-up is a term used to denote a participant which finishes in second place in any of a variety of competitive endeavors, most notably sporting events and beauty pageants; in the latter instance, the term is applied to more than one of the highest-ranked non-winning contestants, the...
to yokozuna Akebono
Akebono Taro
is a retired American born-Japanese sumo wrestler from Waimānalo, Hawaii. Joining the professional sport in Japan in 1988, he was trained by pioneering Hawaiian sumo wrestler Takamiyama and rose swiftly up the rankings, reaching the top division in 1990...
with an outstanding 13-2 record.
He was awarded all three special prizes
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:...
on offer; a rare achievement. He was immediately promoted to sekiwake.
Kotomitsuki took his only top 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...
or championship in September 2001, whilst ranked as a maegashira. He won with a 13-2 record in a tournament that saw only one ōzeki and one yokozuna complete all 15 days. He finished in third place with a strong 12-3 score in January 2002 but suffered a broken jaw on the 14th day of the 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...
tournament in March, which required surgery and forced him to miss the following tournament in May. Due to his stablemaster not submitting the paperwork in time, he failed to get public injury
Glossary of sumo terms
The 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...
status and fell back to the maegashira ranks. He recovered to produce another runner-up performance in September 2002, and was also runner-up in September 2003 and January 2004, each time from a maegashira position.
2006 in sumo
-Tournaments:*Hatsu basho, Ryogoku Kokugikan, Tokyo, 8 - 22 January*Haru basho, Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium, Osaka, 12 - 26 March*Natsu basho, Ryogoku Kokugikan, Tokyo, 10 - 27 May*Nagoya basho, Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, Nagoya, 9 - 23 July...
.
Promotion to ōzeki
In May 2007 ōzeki Tochiazuma retired, and HakuhōHakuho 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,...
was promoted to yokozuna. This meant that there were now only three ōzeki rather than five, and Kotomitsuki was once again a strong candidate for promotion. He followed up a 10-5 record in March with a 12-3 score and runner-up honours in May (his first jun-yusho in over two years), with the Sumo Association's chairman Kitanoumi indicating that 12 wins in the following tournament would be enough to clinch ōzeki promotion. In July 2007 Kotomitsuki produced a 13-2 score, defeating west yokozuna Hakuhō and once again finishing runner-up, this time to east yokozuna Asashōryū
Asashōryū Akinori
is a former sumo wrestler from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. He was the 68th yokozuna in the history of the sport in Japan and became the first Mongol to reach sumo's highest rank in January 2003. He was one of the most successful yokozuna ever. In 2005 he became the first man to win all six official...
.
Kotomitsuki's ōzeki promotion, confirmed on 25 July 2007, was of special significance to Kotomitsuki and the Sadogatake-beya. Having missed qualifying in 2002 due to a combination of injuries and bad timing, Kotomitsuki was seen by detractors as having insufficient will and being slightly advanced in age to attain ōzeki status. For comparison, Tochiazuma who reached ōzeki in 2002 is Kotomitsuki's junior by 7 months. At the age of 31 years 3 months, Kotomitsuki proved the naysayers wrong, becoming the oldest wrestler to attain the rank in the modern era.
Ōzeki career
Kotomitsuki scored a respectable ten wins on his ōzeki debut in September 2007, but at the end of 2007 he underwent surgery to remove gallstones. He was not at his best in the 20082008 in sumo
-Tournaments:*Hatsu basho, Ryogoku Kokugikan, Tokyo, 13 January - 27 January*Haru basho, Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium, Osaka, 9 March - 23 March*Natsu basho, Ryogoku Kokugikan, Tokyo, 11 May - 25 May...
New Year tournament but won his eighth bout on the final day to achieve a kachi-koshi or winning score. He produced another unremarkable 8-7 mark in March, but did manage to end his 28 consecutive defeats against his nemesis Asashōryū. In July 2008, in his "home" tournament in Nagoya, he finished as runner-up to Hakuhō on 11-4, the eighth and final time in his career he was a tournament runner-up (and his only as an ōzeki). He matched this score in September, although he finished in third place behind Hakuhō and Ama.
Entering the January 2009
2009 in sumo
-Tournaments:*Hatsu basho, Ryogoku Kokugikan, Tokyo, 11 January - 25 January*Haru basho, Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium, Osaka, 15 March - 29 March*Natsu basho, Ryogoku Kokugikan, Tokyo, 10 May - 24 May...
tournament with a gout
Gout
Gout is a medical condition usually characterized by recurrent attacks of acute inflammatory arthritis—a red, tender, hot, swollen joint. The metatarsal-phalangeal joint at the base of the big toe is the most commonly affected . However, it may also present as tophi, kidney stones, or urate...
problem in his right ankle, Kotomitsuki took his first make-koshi or losing record as an ōzeki, breaking a run of twenty consecutive kachi-koshi scores. On Day 12 he was forced to pull out of the tournament, leaving him kadoban
Kadoban
Kadoban is a Japanese term commonly interpreted to mean "in a corner". It may refer to:*In the board game Go, a game whose loss may alter a player's handicap or decide a match: see Professional go handicaps...
(in danger of demotion from ozeki) for the first time. He secured the necessary number of wins in the following tournament in March, which included another victory over Asashōryū. In July 2009 he defeated Hakuhō and finished in third place with a fine 12-3 score - the last time he was to win more than ten bouts in a tournament. He won his first seven matches in September, the best start in his ozeki career, but then faded in the second week and finished on 9-6. After a mediocre 8-7 in November, he pulled out on the 8th day of the January 2010 tournament with only one win, citing injuries to his left knee and foot. He held his ozeki rank with a 9-6 score in March.
Gambling scandal and dismissal
In May 2010 Kotomitsuki faced allegations of gambling on professional baseballProfessional baseball in Japan
Professional baseball in Japan first started in the 1920s, but it was not until the was established in 1934 that the modern professional game had continued success.-History:...
, which is illegal in Japan
Gambling in Japan
Gambling in Japan is generally banned by the Criminal Code chapter 23, however there are several exceptions, including betting on horse racing and certain motor sports....
. He initially denied the claims, which were reported in the tabloid magazine Shukan Shincho. The Sumo Association launched an investigation, and in June he changed his position and admitted in a survey (along with 29 others in the sumo world) that he did indeed bet on baseball games. His stablemaster said Kotomitsuki would sit out the forthcoming Nagoya tournament. Sumo Association official Hakkaku Oyakata
Hokutoumi Nobuyoshi
Hokutoumi Nobuyoshi is a former sumo wrestler from Hokkaidō, Japan. He is the sport's 61st Yokozuna. He is now the head coach of Hakkaku stable.-Early life:...
said he felt "betrayed" by Kotomitsuki. He was questioned by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department
Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department serves as the police force for the entire Tokyo metropolis. Founded in 1874, it is headed by a superintendent general, who is appointed by the National Public Safety Commission and approved by the prime minister.The Metropolitan Police, with a staff of more...
on May 22, and his subsequent confession was also reported to the authorities. The head of the Sumo Association Musashigawa Oyakata said that Kotomitsuki had received threats to himself and his family, "and that's why he couldn't (initially) admit he'd been gambling." It emerged that Kotomitsuki had paid 3.5 million yen in "hush money" in December to a former wrestler, Mitsutomo Furuichi, whose brother (an active rikishi) and a tokoyama
Tokoyama
A tokoyama is a hairdresser employed by the Japan Sumo Association to cut and prepare sumo wrestlers' hair, which is done in a chonmage style...
from Onomatsu stable
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....
had acted as intermediaries to collect Kotomitsuki's winnings. Furuichi, who was allegedly accompanied by a member of the Yamaguchi-gumi
Yamaguchi-gumi
is Japan's largest and most infamous yakuza organization. It is named after its founder Harukichi Yamaguchi. Its origins can be traced back to a loose labor union for dockworkers in Kobe pre-WWII....
crime syndicate, then demanded more money from Kotomitsuki the following month, saying that the gang had wanted 100 million yen. Furuichi was subsequently arrested on extortion charges.
On July 4, Kotomitsuki (along with stablemaster Otake Oyakata) was expelled from sumo, but Kotomitsuki did receive the severance pay to which he was entitled. Despite the fact that he had already been expelled, the following tournament's rankings still have Kotomitsuki's name on the list. The Sumo Association explained there was no time to correct the print, and the resulting 0-0-15 score was not counted in his overall career record.
On September 13, Kotomitsuki filed an injunction with the Tokyo District Court
Tokyo District Court
is a district court located at 1-1-4 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. -References:...
seeking his re-instatement to sumo, arguing that he had not been given a full explanation for his dismissal and that he was made an unfair example by the Sumo Association in comparison with the lighter punishment given to all the other wrestlers who admitted gambling (a one-tournament suspension). On November 30 a group of fans calling themselves "Save Kotomitsuki" handed in a petition with 58,000 signatures to the Sumo Association asking that he either be re-instated or that his expulsion be revised to a retirement, allowing him to remain in the Association as an elder.
In March 2011 prosecutors announced that Kotomitsuki, Otake and 25 others would be spared indictment
Indictment
An indictment , in the common-law legal system, is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that maintain the concept of felonies, the serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that lack the concept of felonies often use that of an indictable offence—an...
over gambling due to lack of implicating evidence
Kotomitsuki announced on 16 April 2011 that he is suing the Sumo Association for wrongful dismissal.
In October 2011 Furuichi was found guilty of extortion and sentenced to four and a half years in prison.
Fighting style
Kotomitsuki was a yotsu-sumo wrestler, and his favourite grip 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:...
was migi-yotsu, with his left hand outside and right hand inside his opponent's arms (although he was also capable of fighting in the reverse position, hidari-yotsu). 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...
by far was yori-kiri, the force out, followed by oshi-dashi (push out) and hataki-komi (slap down). He was fond of dashinage (pulling throws, both overarm and underarm), and was also one of the few rikishi to employ uchi-muso, a technique which involves tapping the opponent's inner thigh with the back of the hand to off-balance him, before twisting him down.
Family
Shortly before the September 2008 tournament Kotomitsuki announced his engagement, to a former hospital worker from Aichi Prefecture whom he has known since 1999. They married in October and the wedding ceremony was held in April 2009. They have one daughter.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 winners
- List of sumo tournament second division winners
- List of past sumo wrestlers