Higonoumi Naoya (born 23 September 1969 as Naoto Sakamoto) 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 from

Kumamoto is the capital city of Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 738,907 and a population density of 1,893 people per km2. The total area is 390.32 km2. had a population of 1,461,000, ...

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 ...

. After his retirement he opened up

Kise stable , also known as Kimura Sehei stable, was a heya (sumo), heya or stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Tatsunami ''ichimon'' or affiliated group of stables. History The original Kise stable (which had no connection to the current incarnation found ...

Career

A former amateur champion at

Nihon University , abbreviated as , is a private university, private research university in Japan. Its predecessor, Nihon Law School (currently the Department of Law), was founded by Yamada Akiyoshi, the Minister of Justice (Japan), Minister of Justice, in 1889. ...

, he turned professional in 1992, joining

Mihogaseki stable The was a stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Dewanoumi ichimon or group of stables. Its last head coach, former '' ōzeki'' Masuiyama Daishirō II who took charge in November 1984, was the son of the previous head, also an ''ōzeki'' under ...

and making his debut in the ''

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 as a ''

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

'' entrant. Initially fighting under the ''

shikona A is a sumo wrestler's ring name. The tradition of ring names in sumo dates back to the Edo period, where they were used as a means to attract customers and hide the identities of the ''rikishi''. Like standard Japanese names, a ''shikona'' co ...

'' of Sakamotoyama, he lost only two bouts in his first three tournaments, reaching 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 July 1992 and 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 February 1993. He was ranked in the top division for 53 consecutive tournaments, every one as a ''

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 ...

''. This remains a record for a wrestler that never reached the ''

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

'' ranks, although Kyokushūzan later had more consecutive tournaments as a ''maegashira'' after his single tournament as a ''

komusubi , 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 ...

''. He earned two ''

kinboshi is a notation used in professional sumo wrestling to record a lower-ranked (''maegashira'') wrestler's victory over a ''yokozuna''. It is believed that the term stems from the usage of the terms ''shiroboshi'' (lit: white star) to designate a b ...

'' for defeating ''

yokozuna , 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 ...

'' - Akebono in May 1995 and Takanohana in March 1999. He fell back to the ''jūryō'' division at the end of 2001 and retired a year later in November 2002 at the age of 33.

Retirement from sumo

He remained in sumo as a coach under the

elder An elder is someone with a degree of seniority or authority. Elder or elders may refer to: Positions Administrative * Elder (administrative title), a position of authority Cultural * North American Indigenous elder, a person who has and tr ...

name of Kise, and opened up his own training

stable A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...

, also called

Kise Kise may refer to: *Kise stable, a stable of sumo wrestlers founded in 1958 *Kise stable (2003), another sumo stable founded in 2003 * Kise Oyakata, the head coach of the 2003 stable *Kise, Kentucky See also *Kise Mill Bridge Historic District *Kis ...

, in December 2003. He produced the top division wrestlers

Kiyoseumi Kiyoseumi Takayuki (born Takayuki Ichihara, 16 August 1984) is a former sumo wrestler from Nagoya, Japan. An extremely successful amateur, his highest rank in the professional sport was ''maegashira'' 13. He was forced to retire in April 2011 af ...

in 2008 and

Gagamaru ), lead=yes is a Georgian former professional sumo wrestler from Tbilisi. The third Georgian national after Kokkai and Tochinoshin to make the top ''makuuchi'' division, he made his professional debut in November 2005, reaching the ''jūryō'' di ...

in 2010. In May 2010 Kise was demoted two ranks by the

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 Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japanese Ministry of Education, Cultu ...

after he was found to have made arrangements for the distribution of tickets to the previous July's Nagoya

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

that ended up in the hands of around 50 high-profile

yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media, by request of the police, call them , while the ''yakuza'' call themselves . The English equivalent for the term ...

affiliated to the

Yamaguchi-gumi is Japan's largest ''yakuza'' organization. It is named after its founder Harukichi Yamaguchi. Its origins can be traced back to a loose labor union for dockworkers in Kobe before World War II. It is one of the largest criminal organizations i ...

crime syndicate Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...

. As a result, Kise stable closed down and Kise and all his wrestlers moved to

Kitanoumi stable is a stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Dewanoumi ''ichimon'' or group of stables. It was set up in 1985 as Kitanoumi stable by former ''yokozuna'' Kitanoumi, who branched off from Mihogaseki stable. It absorbed Hatachiyama stable in 2006, f ...

, where Higonoumi worked as an assistant coach. He has admitted that until around 2007 he had ties with a yakuza member. He was allowed to re–open Kise stable in April 2012, and in September of that year his wrestler Jōkōryū earned promotion to ''makuuchi'' in a record nine tournaments from ''

jonokuchi 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 ...

''. He has since produced a number of other ''

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 ...

'' including

Hidenoumi is a Japanese professional sumo wrestler for Kise stable. A former amateur sumo competitor at Nihon University, he made his professional debut in 2012 and was promoted to the top ''makuuchi'' division in July 2015. His highest rank to date is ...

, Tokushōryū and Ura.

Fighting style

Higonoumi's most common winning ''

kimarite ''Kimarite'' ( ja, 決まり手) is the technique used in sumo by a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) to win a match. It is officially decided or announced by the ''gyōji'' (referee) at the end of the match, though judges can modify this decision. The rec ...

'' or techniques were basic and straightforward ones: ''yorikiri'', a force out, and ''oshidashi'', push out. He also regularly used ''hatakikomi'' (slap down), ''okuridashi'' (push out from behind), ''tsukiotoshi'' (thrust over) and ''uwatedashinage'' (pulling overarm throw).

Career record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Higonoumi, Naoya 1969 births Living people Japanese sumo wrestlers Sumo people from Kumamoto Prefecture People from Kumamoto Nihon University alumni