is a Japanese former sumo wrestler from

Aomori is the capital city of Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 278,964 in 136,457 households, and a population density of 340 people per square kilometer spread over the city's total area of ...

Aomori Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the east, ...

. He made his professional debut in January 1999. At the age of 32, he was promoted to the top ''

makuuchi , or , is the top division of the six divisions of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers (''rikishi''), ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments. This is the on ...

'' division in the November 2008 tournament. His highest rank was ''maegashira'' 3. He is now a sumo coach.

Career

Bushuyama was a contemporary of

Wakanosato Wakanosato Shinobu (born Shinobu Kogawa; July 10, 1976) is a retired sumo wrestler from Hirosaki, Aomori, Japan. He made his debut in the top division in 1998, and his highest rank was ''sekiwake''. He holds the record for the most consecutive tour ...

and

Takamisakari Takamisakari Seiken (born May 12, 1976 as Seiken Katō) is a former sumo wrestler from Aomori Prefecture, Japan. A former amateur champion, he turned professional in 1999 and established himself in the top division in 2002 after a brief appearance ...

, both also from Aomori. He was a member of the sumo club at

Daito Bunka University is a medium-size four-year university with two campuses: one at Itabashi in Tokyo and the other at Higashi Matsuyama in Saitama, Japan. The sports program is strong in rugby and distance running, with the Ekiden (駅伝えきでん relay road ...

, and reached the round of 16 in the 1998 All Japan Sumo Championship. As his club did not have many members, they regularly trained at

Musashigawa stable The is a stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Dewanoumi ''ichimon'' or group of stables. It is an off-shoot of the better known stable of the same name set up by former ''yokozuna'' Mienoumi in 1981, which is currently known as Fujishima stable ...

, and this was the

heya Heya or Hey Ya may refer to: *Heya (sumo) from the Japanese word for "room" (部屋), also in compounds -beya, or Sumo-beya, an organization of sumo wrestlers (pronounced ''beya'' when in compound form) * Heya TV, from the Arabic word for "Hers", ...

he joined upon entering the professional ranks. He made his debut in the same tournament as Asashōryū. He was given special dispensation to begin his career in the third highest ''

makushita Professional sumo as administered by the Japan Sumo Association is divided into six ranked divisions. Wrestlers are promoted and demoted within and between these divisions based on the merit of their win–loss records in official tournaments. For ...

'' division because of his achievements in amateur sumo, but in 2001 fell to the ''

jonidan Professional sumo as administered by the Japan Sumo Association is divided into six ranked divisions. Wrestlers are promoted and demoted within and between these divisions based on the merit of their win–loss records in official tournaments. Fo ...

'' division because of an elbow injury. He reached the second highest ''

jūryō Professional sumo as administered by the Japan Sumo Association is divided into six ranked divisions. Wrestlers are promoted and demoted within and between these divisions based on the merit of their win–loss records in official tournaments. For ...

'' division in September 2003, the first member of his university to attain ''

sekitori A ''sekitori'' (関取) is a ''rikishi'' (力士, sumo wrestler) who is ranked in one of the top two professional divisions: ''makuuchi'' and ''jūryō''. The name literally translates to having taken the barrier, as only a relatively small fract ...

'' status. Sumo May09 Bushuyama

In 2005 he fell back to , and did not return to until January 2007. He won the division championship for the first time in July 2008, with a 12–3 record. He followed up with a 10–5 score in September. In November 2008, he was finally promoted to the top division. It had taken him 59 tournaments to win promotion to the top division from his debut, which at the time was the longest of any former collegiate champion (this dubious honor is now held by Tsurugidake). At 32 years and five months he was also the fourth oldest wrestler to make his top division debut since the end of World War II. Bushuyama scored eight wins in his top division debut and was promoted to ''

maegashira , or , is the top division of the six divisions of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers (''rikishi''), ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments. This is the on ...

'' 6 for the January 2009 tournament. However, a very disappointing 2–13 record there meant he was demoted back to the ''

'' division for the March 2009 tournament. He scored 8–7 there, enough for an immediate top division return. He recovered from 1–5 down in May to score 9–6 at 15. In the September tournament he produced his best top division score of 10–5, narrowly failing to win a special prize after being beaten on the final day. He was promoted to his highest rank of 3 for November 2009. He defeated

Kotomitsuki is a Japanese former professional sumo wrestler from Okazaki City. A former amateur champion, he turned professional in 1999. He reached the top ''makuuchi'' division in November 2000 and won one ''yūshō'' or tournament championship, in Septemb ...

in this tournament, but recorded a ''

make-koshi The following words are terms used in sumo wrestling in Japan. A B C D E F G H ...

'' score of 6–9. In January 2010 he produced a poor 2–13 record, the same score from the same rank as the previous Hatsu basho in 2009. However, on this occasion he remained in the top division for the following tournament, albeit at the very lowest rank of West. He lost his top division status after scoring only 4–11 in March, but won his second championship with an 11–4 record in May and secured an immediate return to ''makuuchi''. He was demoted to ''juryo'' again after the November 2010 tournament, and lost status altogether after the May 2012 tournament, never to regain it.

Retirement from sumo

Bushuyama announced his retirement after the January 2013 . He became an elder of the

Japan Sumo Association The is the body that operates and controls professional sumo wrestling (called ''Ōzumō'', 大相撲) in Japan under the jurisdiction of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). ''Rikishi'' (active ...

under the name Onogawa Oyakata. His ''

danpatsu-shiki The following words are terms used in sumo wrestling in Japan. A B C D E F G H ...

'' or official retirement ceremony was held in the Ryogoku Kokugikan October 2013, with around 300 guests and his stablemaster, former

Mienoumi is a Japanese former professional sumo wrestler from Matsusaka, Mie. He was the 57th ''yokozuna'' of the sport. After retiring he founded the Musashigawa stable and was a chairman of the Japan Sumo Association. He was the first rikishi in histo ...

, making the final cut of his topknot. He works as a coach at his old stable, now renamed Fujishima stable. In January 2016 he switched to the Kiyomigata elder name (owned by active wrestler Tochiozan.) In May 2020 he switched to the Kasugayama ''kabu'' (owned by Ikioi). In May 2021 he acquired the Matsuchiyama name following the retirement of the former Banryūyama.

Fighting style

Bushuyama favoured yotsu-sumo or a grappling style, preferring a or right hand outside, left hand inside grip on his opponents ''

mawashi In sumo, a is the loincloth that (sumo wrestlers) wear during training or in competition. Upper ranked professional wrestlers wear a as part of the ring entry ceremony or . For top ranked professional , it is made of silk and comes in a var ...

''. His most common winning

technique Technique or techniques may refer to: Music * The Techniques, a Jamaican rocksteady vocal group of the 1960s *Technique (band), a British female synth pop band in the 1990s * ''Technique'' (album), by New Order, 1989 * ''Techniques'' (album), by M ...

was (force-out) followed by (push out) and (force out and down).

Career record

References

External links