Toyohibiki Ryuta
Encyclopedia
Toyohibiki Ryūta is a sumo
wrestler from Toyoura
, Yamaguchi Prefecture
, Japan
. He turned professional in 2005, reaching the top division in July 2007. He has earned two special prizes
for Fighting Spirit. His highest rank has been maegashira 2. He wrestles for Sakaigawa stable
.
status, which he achieved two years after his debut, upon promotion to the jūryō division in January 2007. To mark the occasion he adopted his present shikona
of Toyohibiki. He won the jūryō championship in his debut tournament with a 10-5 record, and reached the top makuuchi
division for the first time in July 2007.
Toyohibiki produced a strong 11-4 record on his debut in makuuchi and was awarded the Fighting Spirit prize
. One of the heaviest men in the division at 173 kg (381.4 lb), he is a wrestler with great power but he also has suspect footwork. In the next four tournaments after his top division debut, he did not manage a majority of wins against losses. His 5-10 score in the March 2008 tournament, after losing to his first seven opponents, sent him to the bottom of makuuchi and placed him in danger of demotion from the top division altogether. In May 2008 he won six of his first seven bouts and though he stumbled rather through the rest of the tournament he did finally record a winning score of 8-7. In July 2008 he was on the tournament leaderboard into the second week and finished on 10-5, winning his second Fighting Spirit Prize. In November 2008 he reached his highest rank to date of maegashira 2, but he had to sit out the tournament due to a detached retina in his left eye.
Toyohibiki returned to action in January 2009 but could win only five bouts, resulting in demotion back to the jūryō division. He bounced back with a 12 - 3 victory in the jūryō division in the Haru basho
in Osaka
on March 29, 2009, his second yusho
in the division, which returned him immediately to makuuchi. He produced a strong 11-4 record at maegashira 11 in the May 2009 tournament, and was promoted back to maegashira 2 for the July tourney.
In the January 2010 tournament he broke a run of three consecutive make-koshi that had seen him slip to maegashira 16 by finishing joint runner-up (alongside Hakuho
and Baruto
) on 12-3, and he was awarded the Fighting Spirit prize for the third time.
He is from Sakaigawa stable
, which has three other wrestlers with top division experience, Iwakiyama
, Hōchiyama
and Gōeidō
, the last of whom joined at the same time as him.
Toyohibiki was one of seven wrestlers who NHK
commentator Shuhei Nagao (the former Mainoumi) called the "Seven Samurai" and identified as "holding the key" to a Japanese resurgence in sumo, which is currently dominated by foreigners in the top ranks. The others were his stablemate Gōeidō, Kisenosato, Kotoshogiku, Homasho, Toyonoshima and Tochiozan.
He was suspended along with over a dozen other wrestlers from the July 2010 tournament after admitting involvement in illegal betting on baseball. As a result, he fell to the jūryō division in September. After two tournaments in the second division he returned to makuuchi in January 2011.
, using his weight to his best advantage. Of the 44 matches he won between July 2007 and May 2008, 24 were by oshi-dashi, or a simple push out. He is not fond of grips on the mawashi
, winning only three bouts by yori-kiri or force out during the same period.
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 Toyoura
Toyoura, Yamaguchi
was a town located in Toyoura District, Yamaguchi, Japan.On February 13, 2005 Toyoura, along with the towns of Hōhoku, Kikugawa and Toyota, all from Toyoura District, was merged into the expanded city of Shimonoseki....
, Yamaguchi Prefecture
Yamaguchi Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan in the Chūgoku region on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Yamaguchi, in the center of the prefecture. The largest city, however, is Shimonoseki.- 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...
. He turned professional in 2005, reaching the top division in July 2007. He has earned two 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:...
for Fighting Spirit. His highest rank has been maegashira 2. He wrestles for Sakaigawa stable
Sakaigawa stable
Sakaigawa stable is a stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Dewanoumi group of stables. It was established in its modern form on 25 May 1998 by former komusubi Ryogoku, who branched off from Dewanoumi stable...
.
Career
Toyohibiki made his professional debut in January 2005, initially fighting under his own surname of Kadamoto. He won the jonidan championship in his second full tournament with a perfect 7-0 record. He recorded only one make-koshi or losing score on his way to elite sekitoriSekitori
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...
status, which he achieved two years after his debut, upon promotion to the jūryō division in January 2007. To mark the occasion he adopted his present 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 Toyohibiki. He won the jūryō championship in his debut tournament with a 10-5 record, and 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 for the first time in July 2007.
Toyohibiki produced a strong 11-4 record on his debut in makuuchi and was awarded the Fighting Spirit 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:...
. One of the heaviest men in the division at 173 kg (381.4 lb), he is a wrestler with great power but he also has suspect footwork. In the next four tournaments after his top division debut, he did not manage a majority of wins against losses. His 5-10 score in the March 2008 tournament, after losing to his first seven opponents, sent him to the bottom of makuuchi and placed him in danger of demotion from the top division altogether. In May 2008 he won six of his first seven bouts and though he stumbled rather through the rest of the tournament he did finally record a winning score of 8-7. In July 2008 he was on the tournament leaderboard into the second week and finished on 10-5, winning his second Fighting Spirit Prize. In November 2008 he reached his highest rank to date of maegashira 2, but he had to sit out the tournament due to a detached retina in his left eye.
Toyohibiki returned to action in January 2009 but could win only five bouts, resulting in demotion back to the jūryō division. He bounced back with a 12 - 3 victory in the jūryō division in the Haru basho
Honbasho
A is an official professional sumo tournament. There are six held each year, a system established in 1958. Only honbasho results matter in determining promotion and relegation for rikishi ....
in 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...
on March 29, 2009, his second 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...
in the division, which returned him immediately to makuuchi. He produced a strong 11-4 record at maegashira 11 in the May 2009 tournament, and was promoted back to maegashira 2 for the July tourney.
In the January 2010 tournament he broke a run of three consecutive make-koshi that had seen him slip to maegashira 16 by finishing joint runner-up (alongside Hakuho
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,...
and Baruto
Baruto Kaito
Baruto Kaito is a professional sumo wrestler from Estonia. Making his debut in May 2004, he is one of only two Estonians ever to join the sport in Japan, and the first to reach the top division, in May 2006...
) on 12-3, and he was awarded the Fighting Spirit prize for the third time.
He is from Sakaigawa stable
Sakaigawa stable
Sakaigawa stable is a stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Dewanoumi group of stables. It was established in its modern form on 25 May 1998 by former komusubi Ryogoku, who branched off from Dewanoumi stable...
, which has three other wrestlers with top division experience, Iwakiyama
Iwakiyama Ryuta
Iwakiyama Ryūta , is a former sumo wrestler. A former amateur sumo champion, he turned professional in 2000 and reached the top division at the end of 2002...
, Hōchiyama
Hochiyama Kokan
Hōchiyama Kōkan is a sumo wrestler from Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, Japan. He joined professional sumo in 2000. His highest rank has been maegashira 14, achieved in 2006...
and Gōeidō
Goeido Gotaro
Gōeidō Gōtarō is a sumo wrestler from Osaka Prefecture, Japan. He made his professional debut in January 2005 and reached the top makuuchi division in September 2007. His highest rank to date has been sekiwake, which he achieved in May 2009...
, the last of whom joined at the same time as him.
Toyohibiki was one of seven wrestlers who NHK
NHK
NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....
commentator Shuhei Nagao (the former Mainoumi) called the "Seven Samurai" and identified as "holding the key" to a Japanese resurgence in sumo, which is currently dominated by foreigners in the top ranks. The others were his stablemate Gōeidō, Kisenosato, Kotoshogiku, Homasho, Toyonoshima and Tochiozan.
He was suspended along with over a dozen other wrestlers from the July 2010 tournament after admitting involvement in illegal betting on baseball. As a result, he fell to the jūryō division in September. After two tournaments in the second division he returned to makuuchi in January 2011.
Fighting style
Toyohibiki favours pushing techniquesKimarite
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...
, using his weight to his best advantage. Of the 44 matches he won between July 2007 and May 2008, 24 were by oshi-dashi, or a simple push out. He is not fond of grips on the mawashi
Mawashi
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:...
, winning only three bouts by yori-kiri or force out during the same period.
Tournament 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 active sumo wrestlers