Buyūzan Takeyoshi (born July 29, 1974 as Takeyoshi Tominaga in

Toyohashi is a city in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 377,453 in 160,516 households and a population density of 1,400 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . By area, Toyohashi was Aichi Prefecture's second-la ...

Aichi is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,552,873 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the west, Gifu Prefectu ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

) is a former

sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by thr ...

wrestler. His highest rank was ''

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 ...

'' 1. He is now a sumo coach.

Career

Tominaga began competitive sumo from a young age, losing to the future

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 ...

, two years his junior in a competition in 1989. A former amateur sumo champion at

Meiji University , abbreviated as Meiji (明治) or Meidai (明大'')'', is a private research university located in Chiyoda City, the heart of Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1881 as Meiji Law School (明治法律学校, ''Meiji Hōritsu Gakkō'') by three Meiji-er ...

, Buyūzan made his professional debut in the third ''

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 in March 1997. It took him over three years to reach ''

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, when he was promoted to the ''

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 May 2000. He lost his first seven bouts in his jūryō debut and after finishing with a 6–9 record he was demoted back to makushita. He won the jūryō division championship or

yūshō is the term for a championship in Japanese. This article focuses on championships in the sport of professional sumo. It is awarded in each of the six annual ''honbasho'' or official tournaments, to the wrestler who wins the most bouts. ''Yūs ...

in July 2001, coming through an unprecedented eight man playoff and with a mere 9–6 score – the lowest ever ''yūshō''–winning record for a 15 day tournament. After his ''

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 ...

'' debut in November 2001, Buyūzan rose quickly rose in the ranks, winning special prizes for Fighting Spirit in two consecutive tournaments. He was listed as ''maegashira'' 1 when he suffered a right knee

medial collateral ligament The medial collateral ligament (MCL), or tibial collateral ligament (TCL), is one of the four major ligaments of the knee. It is on the medial (inner) side of the knee joint in humans and other primates. Its primary function is to resist out ...

injury in March 2002 and dropped back to the lower ''maegashira'' ranks and even further into the ''

'' division. After his return to ''makuuchi'', he remained in the middle and lower ''maegashira'' ranks. In 2005, he dropped to ''jūryō'' again, but he returned to the top division in March 2006. By September he had returned to ''jūryō'' where he put up a disastrous 1-14 record. He was demoted to the non-salaried ''

'' division in November 2006 where he again turned in a losing score. In January 2007 he managed a 6-1 mark which put him in contention for a return to ''jūryō'', but he faltered again with three straight ''

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

'' scores. He remained in the ''makushita'' division until his retirement after a loss on Day 13 of the 2007 Kyushu ''basho'' which gave him another ''makekoshi.''http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/sports/20071126TDY20104.htm His top division career record was 167 wins against 196 losses with 12 injury absences, a winning percentage of .460.

Retirement from sumo

Buyzūan has stayed in sumo as 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 Onaruto Oyakata, and works as a coach at Fujishima stable. 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, took place in October 2008. Upon

Dejima , in the 17th century also called Tsukishima ( 築島, "built island"), was an artificial island off Nagasaki, Japan that served as a trading post for the Portuguese (1570–1639) and subsequently the Dutch (1641–1854). For 220 years, it ...

's retirement in July 2009 he switched to the Sekinoto elder name. He became Yamawake Oyakata in September 2010 after the name was vacated by his former stablemate

Wakanoyama Wakanoyama Hiroshi (born May 12, 1972 as Hiroshi Nishizaki) is a former sumo wrestler from Gobo, Wakayama Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Wakayama Prefecture has a population of 944,320 () and has a g ...

. Among his duties in the Sumo Association is responsibility for the annual November tournament in

Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancie ...

Fighting style

Like many wrestlers, Buyūzan favoured straightforward pushing techniques, winning most of his bouts by ''oshidashi'' (push out).

Career record

References

External links