Toyonoshima Daiki
Encyclopedia
Toyonoshima Daiki is a professional sumo
wrestler from Sukumo, Kōchi
, Japan
. He made his professional debut in January 2002, reaching the top makuuchi
division in September 2004. He has been a runner-up in three tournaments, and has earned eight special prizes
. His highest rank has been sekiwake, which he first reached in September 2008 and also held in March 2010. Following a suspension in July 2010 he was demoted to the jūryō division, but upon his return to makuuchi in November 2010 he took part in a playoff for the championship.
maker. In his early years, he was an avid soccer player. However, his destiny changed after winning an area boys' sumo tournament championship. In junior high and high school, he was rivals with another future sumo wrestler who would go on to take the fighting name
Kotoshōgiku
. Kotoshōgiku is now a rival of his in professional sumo as well. After graduating from high school, Toyonoshima joined Tokitsukaze stable
through a connection a friend of his father's had with the stable. He was below the minimum height requirement of 173 cm but was allowed to make his debut after passing a secondary physical exam.
On entering the sumo world, Toyonoshima rose quickly through the lower ranks of sumo, winning two championships or yusho
in the jonokuchi and jonidan divisions with perfect 7-0 records. He reached sekitori
status in March 2004 after a 5-2 result at the rank of makushita 2. He moved through the jūryō in just two tournaments with consecutive 11-4 records. Upon reaching the top makuuchi
division he initially had little success and was demoted back to jūryō twice. However, after winning the jūryō championship in September 2005 with a strong 14-1 record, his fortunes began to turn and after some initial struggles, he has risen steadily through the ranks of makuuchi to his current position.
In May 2006 Toyonoshima recorded only his second kachi-koshi or winning score in the top division, in his ninth tournament there. His first big success came in January 2007 when ranked at maegashira 9 he finished as runner up to Yokozuna Asashōryū
with an outstanding 12-3 record and earned his first special prizes
for Fighting Spirit and Technique. In March he defeated two ōzeki, Kotoōshū
and Chiyotaikai
, and earned promotion to komusubi for May. At just 168 cm, or 5 in 6 in (1.68 m) tall, he was the shortest wrestler to make komusubi in fifty years. However before the tournament began he sprained his knee and ankle ligaments in a practice session with Asashōryū at his heya
and could only manage four wins in his sanyaku (titled rank) debut.
In September 2007 Toyonoshima became the first maegashira to defeat Hakuhō
since his promotion to yokozuna, earning his first kinboshi
. He also defeated ōzeki Kotoōshū and Kotomitsuki
. He finished with an 8-7 score and was awarded the Outstanding Performance prize. He achieved another winning record in the next tournament but faltered slightly with two 6-9 scores in January and March 2008. In May, however, he was on the leaderboard for much of the tournament and finished with joint runner-up honours and a share of the Fighting Spirit prize.
Toyonoshima returned to the sanyaku ranks at komusubi for the July 2008 tournament, where he defeated Asashōryū for the first time on the opening day. He finished with ten wins and another Outstanding Performance prize, and Kotoshogiku's losing record meant Toyonoshima was promoted to sekiwake for the September tournament, becoming the first wrestler from Tokitsukaze stable to reach the rank since Kurama
in 1978. He fell short with a 6-9 score and was demoted to maegashira 1, but returned to komusubi for the January 2009 tournament.
On the 7th day of the January 2009 tournament, Toyonoshima fell victim to Ozeki Kaio
's "kotenage" armbar throw. Toyonoshima appeared to suffer a severely hyper-extended elbow during the throw. Despite being doubled over in pain, Toyonoshima managed to bow to the Ozeki and left the dohyo
unassisted, until he was safely back in the dressing area, where medical attention appeared to be prompt. NHK
English-language announcers later reported that Toyonoshima said he heard the elbow snap. The Online-edition of the Yomiuri Shimbun
reported that Toyonoshima was diagnosed with left-elbow sprain" and he was forced to forfeit the next day's scheduled bout against Kotoshogiku. Later news reports indicated that the Japan Sumo Association
doctors told the 25-year old Rikishi to take a 6-week medical leave, and that Toyonoshima would bow out of the remainder of the 2009 Hatsu-Basho at Ryōgoku Kokugikan
in Tokyo
. This is the first occasion since his debut that he has missed any tournament bouts.
Toyonoshima returned to action in the March tournament in Osaka
with his elbow strapped, but secured a winning record of 8-7 on the final day. In May, ranked at maegashira 3, he could manage only two wins in the first twelve days before winning his last three bouts. He produced his best performance of the year in November, a promising 11-4 score which won him his second Technique prize and opened up the possibility of promotion back to sanyaku in January 2010. However, due to Chiyotaikai's demotion to sekiwake and Kakuryu finishing 7-8, he had to settle for the maegashira 1 east position. He recovered from 3-6 down in the January tournament to post his majority of wins, and this returned him to the sanyaku ranks for the first time in seven tournaments, at sekiwake. He began brightly in the March tournament, opening with three consecutive wins, but he then faded and finished with just six wins against nine losses.
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 was demoted to the jūryō division for the following September. He bounced back from this penalty with an impressive 14-1 record and took his second jūryō championship, exactly five years after his first, guaranteeing himself promotion back into the top division. Fighting from maegashira 9 in November, he produced another 14-1 score, losing only to Kyokutenho and defeating two ozeki. He lost to Hakuho in a playoff for the yusho on the final day, narrowly failing to become the first wrestler ever to win back-to-back jūryō and makuuchi championships (and the first Japanese-born winner of a top division tournament since 2006), but he received special prizes for Fighting Spirit and Technique. He was promoted to Maegashira 1 East for the following tournament in January, the first time that a maegashira has won fourteen bouts and not been promoted to a sanyaku rank. He made a poor start to the January honbasho, losing seven of his first eight matches, but he recovered to earn his 8-7 majority of wins on the final day. This returned him to sanyaku for the (subsequently cancelled) March tournament. In the May 'technical examination' tournament he had an even worse start, losing nine of his first ten bouts and finishing on 5-10. He returned to komusubi in September 2011 and recovered from a 1-7 start for the second time in his career to keep his rank with an 8-7 score.
have been yori-kiri, the force out, and oshi-dashi, the push out. His favourite grip on his opponent's mawashi
is hidari-yotsu, a right hand outside, left hand inside grip, from which position he also regularly employs shitate-nage, or the inner arm throw.
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 Sukumo, Kōchi
Sukumo, Kochi
is a city located in Kōchi Prefecture, Japan.As of April 1, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 22,802, with 10,237 households and a population density of 79.70 persons per km². The total area is 286.11 km².The city was founded on March 31, 1954....
, 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 made his professional debut in January 2002, reaching 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 2004. He has been a runner-up in three tournaments, and has earned eight 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:...
. His highest rank has been sekiwake, which he first reached in September 2008 and also held in March 2010. Following a suspension in July 2010 he was demoted to the jūryō division, but upon his return to makuuchi in November 2010 he took part in a playoff for the championship.
Career
Toyonoshima is the oldest son of a tofuTofu
is a food made by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into soft white blocks. It is part of East Asian and Southeast Asian cuisine such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, Vietnamese, and others. There are many different varieties of tofu, including fresh tofu and tofu...
maker. In his early years, he was an avid soccer player. However, his destiny changed after winning an area boys' sumo tournament championship. In junior high and high school, he was rivals with another future sumo wrestler who would go on to take the fighting name
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...
Kotoshōgiku
Kotoshogiku Kazuhiro
Kotoshōgiku Kazuhiro , is a sumo wrestler. He made his professional debut in 2002, reaching the top division in 2005. He has earned seven special prizes in his career and been runner-up in two tournaments. He wrestles for Sadogatake stable...
. Kotoshōgiku is now a rival of his in professional sumo as well. After graduating from high school, Toyonoshima joined Tokitsukaze stable
Tokitsukaze stable
The is a stable of sumo wrestlers, one of the Tokitsukaze group of stables. It was originally founded in 1769 and was dominant during the Taishō period. In its modern form it dates from 1941 when it was established by Futabayama, who was still an active wrestler at the time. Initially known as...
through a connection a friend of his father's had with the stable. He was below the minimum height requirement of 173 cm but was allowed to make his debut after passing a secondary physical exam.
On entering the sumo world, Toyonoshima rose quickly through the lower ranks of sumo, winning two championships or 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 jonokuchi and jonidan divisions with perfect 7-0 records. He reached 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...
status in March 2004 after a 5-2 result at the rank of makushita 2. He moved through the jūryō in just two tournaments with consecutive 11-4 records. Upon reaching 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 he initially had little success and was demoted back to jūryō twice. However, after winning the jūryō championship in September 2005 with a strong 14-1 record, his fortunes began to turn and after some initial struggles, he has risen steadily through the ranks of makuuchi to his current position.
In May 2006 Toyonoshima recorded only his second kachi-koshi or winning score in the top division, in his ninth tournament there. His first big success came in January 2007 when ranked at maegashira 9 he finished as runner up to 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...
with an outstanding 12-3 record and earned his first 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 and Technique. In March he defeated two ōzeki, Kotoōshū
Kotooshu Katsunori
Kotoōshū Katsunori is a professional sumo wrestler or rikishi. He made his debut in 2002, reaching the top division just two years later...
and Chiyotaikai
Chiyotaikai Ryuji
Chiyotaikai Ryūji , is a Japanese former sumo wrestler. He made his professional debut in 1992 and reached the top makuuchi division in 1997. He held the second highest rank of ōzeki or champion for 65 consecutive tournaments from 1999 until 2009, making him the longest serving ōzeki in the modern...
, and earned promotion to komusubi for May. At just 168 cm, or 5 in 6 in (1.68 m) tall, he was the shortest wrestler to make komusubi in fifty years. However before the tournament began he sprained his knee and ankle ligaments in a practice session with Asashōryū at his heya
Heya
In sumo wrestling, a heya , usually translated into English as stable, is an organization of sumo wrestlers where they train and live. All wrestlers in professional sumo must belong to one. There are currently 49 heya , all but four of which belong to one of five ichimon...
and could only manage four wins in his sanyaku (titled rank) debut.
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,...
since his promotion to yokozuna, earning his first kinboshi
Kinboshi
Kinboshi is a notation used in professional sumo wrestling to record a lower-ranked wrestler's victory over a yokozuna....
. He also defeated ōzeki Kotoōshū and Kotomitsuki
Kotomitsuki Keiji
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 finished with an 8-7 score and was awarded the Outstanding Performance prize. He achieved another winning record in the next tournament but faltered slightly with two 6-9 scores in January and March 2008. In May, however, he was on the leaderboard for much of the tournament and finished with joint runner-up honours and a share of the Fighting Spirit prize.
Kurama Tatsuya
Kurama Tatsuya was a sumo wrestler from Yasu, Shiga Prefecture, Japan. He fought under his real name for his entire career, never adopting a traditional shikona. He made his debut for the Tokitsukaze stable in September 1968, retiring 21 years later in September 1989, at which point he was the...
in 1978. He fell short with a 6-9 score and was demoted to maegashira 1, but returned to komusubi for the January 2009 tournament.
On the 7th day of the January 2009 tournament, Toyonoshima fell victim to Ozeki 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...
's "kotenage" armbar throw. Toyonoshima appeared to suffer a severely hyper-extended elbow during the throw. Despite being doubled over in pain, Toyonoshima managed to bow to the Ozeki and left the dohyo
Dohyo
thumb|A dohyōThe dohyō is the ring in which sumo wrestling bouts are held. A modern dohyo is a circle of rice-straw bales 4.55 meters in diameter, mounted on a square platform of clay 6.7m on a side, and 34 to 60 cm high. The surface is covered by sand.A new dohyō is built prior to each...
unassisted, until he was safely back in the dressing area, where medical attention appeared to be prompt. 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....
English-language announcers later reported that Toyonoshima said he heard the elbow snap. The Online-edition of the Yomiuri Shimbun
Yomiuri Shimbun
The is a Japanese newspaper published in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, and other major Japanese cities. It is one of the five national newspapers in Japan; the other four are the Asahi Shimbun, the Mainichi Shimbun, Nihon Keizai Shimbun, and the Sankei Shimbun...
reported that Toyonoshima was diagnosed with left-elbow sprain" and he was forced to forfeit the next day's scheduled bout against Kotoshogiku. Later news reports indicated that 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...
doctors told the 25-year old Rikishi to take a 6-week medical leave, and that Toyonoshima would bow out of the remainder of the 2009 Hatsu-Basho at Ryōgoku Kokugikan
Ryogoku Kokugikan
, also known as Sumo Hall, is an indoor sporting arena located in the Ryōgoku neighborhood of Sumida, one of the 23 wards of Tokyo in Japan, next to the Edo-Tokyo Museum. It is the third building built in Tokyo associated with the name kokugikan. The current building was opened in 1985 and has a...
in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
. This is the first occasion since his debut that he has missed any tournament bouts.
Toyonoshima returned to action in the March tournament 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...
with his elbow strapped, but secured a winning record of 8-7 on the final day. In May, ranked at maegashira 3, he could manage only two wins in the first twelve days before winning his last three bouts. He produced his best performance of the year in November, a promising 11-4 score which won him his second Technique prize and opened up the possibility of promotion back to sanyaku in January 2010. However, due to Chiyotaikai's demotion to sekiwake and Kakuryu finishing 7-8, he had to settle for the maegashira 1 east position. He recovered from 3-6 down in the January tournament to post his majority of wins, and this returned him to the sanyaku ranks for the first time in seven tournaments, at sekiwake. He began brightly in the March tournament, opening with three consecutive wins, but he then faded and finished with just six wins against nine losses.
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 was demoted to the jūryō division for the following September. He bounced back from this penalty with an impressive 14-1 record and took his second jūryō championship, exactly five years after his first, guaranteeing himself promotion back into the top division. Fighting from maegashira 9 in November, he produced another 14-1 score, losing only to Kyokutenho and defeating two ozeki. He lost to Hakuho in a playoff for the yusho on the final day, narrowly failing to become the first wrestler ever to win back-to-back jūryō and makuuchi championships (and the first Japanese-born winner of a top division tournament since 2006), but he received special prizes for Fighting Spirit and Technique. He was promoted to Maegashira 1 East for the following tournament in January, the first time that a maegashira has won fourteen bouts and not been promoted to a sanyaku rank. He made a poor start to the January honbasho, losing seven of his first eight matches, but he recovered to earn his 8-7 majority of wins on the final day. This returned him to sanyaku for the (subsequently cancelled) March tournament. In the May 'technical examination' tournament he had an even worse start, losing nine of his first ten bouts and finishing on 5-10. He returned to komusubi in September 2011 and recovered from a 1-7 start for the second time in his career to keep his rank with an 8-7 score.
Fighting style
Toyonoshima is equally adept at grappling techniques, or yotsu-sumo, and pushing/thrusting techniques, oshi-sumo. His two most common winning kimariteKimarite
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...
have been yori-kiri, the force out, and oshi-dashi, the push out. His favourite grip on his opponent's 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:...
is hidari-yotsu, a right hand outside, left hand inside grip, from which position he also regularly employs shitate-nage, or the inner arm throw.
Personal life
Toyonoshima was married to a singer in February 2011 and the wedding reception was held that October in Tokyo's Metropolitan Hotel with around 600 guests attending.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