Hokutoumi Nobuyoshi
Encyclopedia
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
.
, Hiroo District
, Tokachi
, Hokkaidō
, Japan
. An uncle was an acquaintance of former yokozuna Kitanofuji
, who by then had retired from wrestling and was running Kokonoe stable
, and at his invitation Hoshi moved to Tokyo
. Upon leaving school, his first appearance in the ring was March 1979, aged just 15, using his own name as his shikona
, or fighting name. Also starting at the same time was future yokozuna Futahaguro.
entered the top division. By this time his stablemate Chiyonofuji had been promoted to yokozuna. Hokutoumi made his debut in the top makuuchi
division in September 1983. In March 1986 at sekiwake rank he won his first yūshō or tournament title with a record of thirteen wins and two losses. He was not immediately promoted to the second highest ōzeki rank as there were already five ōzeki at that time. However, he carried on producing excellent results (11-4 in May and 12-3 in July) and secured his promotion that September, when Futahaguro's promotion to yokozuna left a vacancy at ōzeki level.
At this point he was still fighting under his real name, and his coach decided a new name was appropriate. He wished to acknowledge his home district of Tokachi
, but the kanji for Tokachi (十勝) literally mean 'ten wins' and it was felt that this might be bad luck, limiting his wins in any tournament to ten. As a compromise, he took the name Hokutoumi (北勝海), taking the kanji 勝 ('win') from the second kanji of Tokachi but pronouncing it as the first kanji.
, and he came back to win the tournament. He also won the May tournament. In July, he took part in an historic playoff with Chiyonofuji - the first time ever that two yokozuna from the same stable had met in the ring (sumo rules mean that wrestlers from the same stable do not usually fight each other).
On the last day of the March 1990 tournament, he fought in a rare three-way play-off with ōzeki Konishiki
and sekiwake Kirishima
(who was promoted to ōzeki after the tournament). In a play-off, wrestlers fight each other in turn, the first to win two consecutive bouts winning the tournament. First, Hokutoumi fought Konishiki and lost. Konishiki was then drawn up against Kirishima. Konishiki only needed to win this bout for the tournament, but Kirishima won. Next was Kirishima against Hokutoumi, Kirishima needing just this bout for his first yūshō. Hokutoumi won. Hokutoumi then beat Konishiki in the next bout, thus winning the tournament.
On the fourteenth day of the March 1991 tournament, he injured his left knee during a bout with Ōnokuni, but managed to go on to win the tournament with 13 wins. After this, Hokutoumi had many absences due to his knee. At this time there were four yokozuna, but Chiyonofuji retired in May, Ōnokuni in July and Asahifuji in January of the next year (1992), leaving Hokutoumi the sole yokozuna in March 1992. Left with this responsibility he struggled on, but his injury forced him to remove his name from the May banzuke and retire at the age of 28 years and 10 months. In the space of just one year, all four yokozuna had retired. Hokutoumi had fought 29 bashos as yokozuna (appearing on 30 banzukes). Following his retirement, sumo went without a reigning yokozuna for 8 months (an exceedingly rare occurrence), until the promotion of Akebono
.
with the toshiyori
name Hakkaku-oyakata
. He opened up his own training stable, Hakkaku stable
, which has had three top division wrestlers, Hokutōriki
, Kaihō
and Okinoumi.
He occasionally appears on NHK
sumo broadcasts as a commentator and analyst.
He proposed to a graduate of Konan Women's University in October 1989, and was married in March 1990.
by far were oshi-dashi and yori-kiri, which together accounted for around 60 percent of his wins at sekitori
level. When fighting on the mawashi
he preferred a migi-yotsu (left hand outside, right hand inside) grip. He said in an interview with Channel 4
television that the technique he most enjoyed was tsuri-dashi or lift out, although he was only credited with this kimarite once in official tournament competition (against Terao in November 1989).
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 Hokkaidō
Hokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
, 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 is the sport's 61st Yokozuna. He is now the head coach of Hakkaku stable
Hakkaku stable
is a stable of sumo wrestlers, one of the Takasago group of stables.The stable was established on 27 September 1993 by former yokozuna Hokutoumi Nobuyoshi, who took with him four wrestlers from Kokonoe stable. The stable has so far produced nine sekitori, and three makuuchi wrestlers...
.
Early life
Hoshi was born in Hiroo townHiroo, Hokkaido
is a town located in Hiroo District, Tokachi, Hokkaidō, Japan.As of 2008, the town has an estimated population of 8,209 and a density of 14.28 persons per km². The total area is 596.14 km²....
, Hiroo District
Hiroo District, Hokkaido
is a district located in Tokachi Subprefecture, Hokkaidō, Japan.As of 2004, the district has an estimated population of 16,735 and a density of 10.80 persons per km²...
, Tokachi
Tokachi Subprefecture
is a subprefecture of Hokkaidō, Japan corresponding to the old province of Tokachi. As of 2004 its estimated population is 360,802 and its area is 10,830.99 km².Tokachi-Obihiro Airport is in the city of Obihiro.- Geography :-Towns and villages by district:...
, Hokkaidō
Hokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
, 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...
. An uncle was an acquaintance of former yokozuna Kitanofuji
Kitanofuji Katsuaki
Kitanofuji Katsuaki 北の富士勝昭 is a former sumo wrestler, born in Asahikawa, Hokkaidō, Japan. He was the sport's 52nd Yokozuna. He was also the head coach of Kokonoe stable.-Career:...
, who by then had retired from wrestling and was running Kokonoe stable
Kokonoe stable
is a stable of sumo wrestlers, one of the Takasago group of stables. It was formed in 1967 and is located in Ishiwara, Sumida, Tokyo. As of April 2008 it had 16 sumo wrestlers.-History:...
, and at his invitation Hoshi moved to 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...
. Upon leaving school, his first appearance in the ring was March 1979, aged just 15, using his own name as 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...
, or fighting name. Also starting at the same time was future yokozuna Futahaguro.
Makuuchi
It took him four years to reach the second highest jūryō division in March 1983, aged 19, the same time as fellow Tokachi district rival ŌnokuniOnokuni Yasushi
Ōnokuni Yasushi is a former sumo wrestler from Hokkaidō, Japan. Making his professional debut in 1978, he reached the top division in 1983. In 1987 he won his first yusho or tournament championship with a perfect score and became the sport's 62nd yokozuna...
entered the top division. By this time his stablemate Chiyonofuji had been promoted to yokozuna. Hokutoumi made his debut in 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 1983. In March 1986 at sekiwake rank he won his first yūshō or tournament title with a record of thirteen wins and two losses. He was not immediately promoted to the second highest ōzeki rank as there were already five ōzeki at that time. However, he carried on producing excellent results (11-4 in May and 12-3 in July) and secured his promotion that September, when Futahaguro's promotion to yokozuna left a vacancy at ōzeki level.
At this point he was still fighting under his real name, and his coach decided a new name was appropriate. He wished to acknowledge his home district of Tokachi
Tokachi Subprefecture
is a subprefecture of Hokkaidō, Japan corresponding to the old province of Tokachi. As of 2004 its estimated population is 360,802 and its area is 10,830.99 km².Tokachi-Obihiro Airport is in the city of Obihiro.- Geography :-Towns and villages by district:...
, but the kanji for Tokachi (十勝) literally mean 'ten wins' and it was felt that this might be bad luck, limiting his wins in any tournament to ten. As a compromise, he took the name Hokutoumi (北勝海), taking the kanji 勝 ('win') from the second kanji of Tokachi but pronouncing it as the first kanji.
Yokozuna
After his second tournament title in March 1987 and a runner-up performance in May, he was promoted to yokozuna for the July tournament. In 1988 he suffered a severe back injury which kept him out of three tournaments. He also looked like missing the start of the January 1989 tournament, but it was delayed due to the death of the emperorHirohito
, posthumously in Japan officially called Emperor Shōwa or , was the 124th Emperor of Japan according to the traditional order, reigning from December 25, 1926, until his death in 1989. Although better known outside of Japan by his personal name Hirohito, in Japan he is now referred to...
, and he came back to win the tournament. He also won the May tournament. In July, he took part in an historic playoff with Chiyonofuji - the first time ever that two yokozuna from the same stable had met in the ring (sumo rules mean that wrestlers from the same stable do not usually fight each other).
On the last day of the March 1990 tournament, he fought in a rare three-way play-off with ōzeki Konishiki
Konishiki Yasokichi
----, is a Hawaiian-born Japanese–Samoan former sumo wrestler. He was the first foreign-born wrestler to reach ozeki, the second highest rank in the sport...
and sekiwake Kirishima
Kirishima Kazuhiro
Kirishima Kazuhiro is a former sumo wrestler from Makizono, Kagoshima, Japan, who held the second highest rank of ōzeki from 1990 to 1992 and won one top division tournament championship...
(who was promoted to ōzeki after the tournament). In a play-off, wrestlers fight each other in turn, the first to win two consecutive bouts winning the tournament. First, Hokutoumi fought Konishiki and lost. Konishiki was then drawn up against Kirishima. Konishiki only needed to win this bout for the tournament, but Kirishima won. Next was Kirishima against Hokutoumi, Kirishima needing just this bout for his first yūshō. Hokutoumi won. Hokutoumi then beat Konishiki in the next bout, thus winning the tournament.
On the fourteenth day of the March 1991 tournament, he injured his left knee during a bout with Ōnokuni, but managed to go on to win the tournament with 13 wins. After this, Hokutoumi had many absences due to his knee. At this time there were four yokozuna, but Chiyonofuji retired in May, Ōnokuni in July and Asahifuji in January of the next year (1992), leaving Hokutoumi the sole yokozuna in March 1992. Left with this responsibility he struggled on, but his injury forced him to remove his name from the May banzuke and retire at the age of 28 years and 10 months. In the space of just one year, all four yokozuna had retired. Hokutoumi had fought 29 bashos as yokozuna (appearing on 30 banzukes). Following his retirement, sumo went without a reigning yokozuna for 8 months (an exceedingly rare occurrence), until the promotion of 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...
.
Retirement from the ring
Following his retirement Hokutoumi became a member of the Japan Sumo AssociationJapan 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...
with the toshiyori
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 Hakkaku-oyakata
Hakkaku (toshiyori)
Hakkaku is a toshiyori . The name is currently held by former yokozuna Hokutoumi Nobuyoshi. He is correctly addressed as Hakkaku-oyakata.- Holders :*Stable owners in bold.-External links:*...
. He opened up his own training stable, Hakkaku stable
Hakkaku stable
is a stable of sumo wrestlers, one of the Takasago group of stables.The stable was established on 27 September 1993 by former yokozuna Hokutoumi Nobuyoshi, who took with him four wrestlers from Kokonoe stable. The stable has so far produced nine sekitori, and three makuuchi wrestlers...
, which has had three top division wrestlers, Hokutōriki
Hokutoriki Hideki
Hokutōriki Hideki is a former sumo wrestler, from Tochigi, Japan. He reached the top makuuchi division in 2002 and was runner-up in three tournaments. He has four special prizes in his career. The highest rank he reached was sekiwake.-Career:He was born in Kurobane, a town in the Nasu District of...
, Kaihō
Kaiho Ryoji
Kaihō Ryōji is a former sumo wrestler from Aomori, Japan. His highest rank was komusubi. An amateur champion at Nihon University, he entered professional sumo in 1996. He was one of the lightest sekitori wrestlers in recent years. He won two special prizes for Technique...
and Okinoumi.
He occasionally appears on 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....
sumo broadcasts as a commentator and analyst.
He proposed to a graduate of Konan Women's University in October 1989, and was married in March 1990.
Fighting style
Hokutoumi was primarily a oshi-sumo specialist, preferring pushing and thrusting techniques that got his opponents out of the ring as quickly as possible. His speciality was nodowa, a push to the throat. His 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...
by far were oshi-dashi and yori-kiri, which together accounted for around 60 percent of his wins at 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...
level. When fighting 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:...
he preferred a migi-yotsu (left hand outside, right hand inside) grip. He said in an interview with Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
television that the technique he most enjoyed was tsuri-dashi or lift out, although he was only credited with this kimarite once in official tournament competition (against Terao in November 1989).
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 yokozuna
- List of past sumo wrestlers
External links
- Japanese Sumo Association Biography (English)(Japanese)
- Hokutoumi's basho results from January 1989
- complete biography and basho results (Japanese)