, formerly known as Irumagawa stable from 1993 to 2023, is a

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 ...

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 ...

wrestlers, part of the Dewanoumi ''

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

'' or group of stables. It was set up in January 1993 by former ''

sekiwake , 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 ...

'' Tochitsukasa, who branched off from

Kasugano stable is a Heya (sumo), stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Dewanoumi ''Glossary of sumo terms#ichimon, ichimon'' or group of stables. As of January 2022 it had 18 wrestlers. It has been led by former ''sekiwake'' Tochinowaka Kiyotaka since 2003. It w ...

. The first ''

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 ...

'' produced by the stable was (also known as Shirasaki) in January 1994. As of February 2023 it had seven wrestlers.

History

On 26 January 2023 it was announced that Irumagawa, in anticipation of his mandatory retirement in April, would give control of his stable to coach Ikazuchi (former ''

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 ...

'' Kakizoe) without him inheriting the Irumagawa elder name. The stable name change took effect six days later on 1 February, creating the first incarnation of the Ikazuchi stable in 62 years. In addition, the board meeting 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 ...

approved the transfer of coach Wakafuji (former Ōtsukasa) to

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 ...

the following month. In 2020, the stable recruited

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

Sergey Sokolovsky who made his debut during the March tournament under the name Shishi. This professional debut made Ukraine the 24th foreign country or territory to have a wrestler join professional sumo. In May 2023, Shishi reached sumo's second highest division, ''jūryō'', hence being the only ''

'' in his stable and the first Ukrainian to do so.

Ring name conventions

Many wrestlers at this stable take ring names or ''

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 ...

'' that end with the character 司 (read: tsukasa), meaning boss, in deference to former coach and stable owner, the former Tochitsukasa.

Owner

*2023-present: 17th Ikazuchi Tōru ('' iin'', former ''

'' Kakizoe) *1993-2023: 16th Irumagawa Tetsuo ('' yakuin taigu iin'', former ''

'' Tochitsukasa)

Notable active wrestlers

* (best rank ''jūryō'')

Coach

*Irumagawa Tetsuo (''

sanyo , stylized as SANYO, is a Japanese electronics company and formerly a member of the Fortune Global 500, ''Fortune'' Global 500 whose headquarters was located in Moriguchi, Osaka, Moriguchi, Osaka prefecture, Japan. Sanyo had over 230 subsidiari ...

'', former ''

'' Tochitsukasa)

Notable former wrestlers

* Masatsukasa (former ''maegashira'') * Ōtsukasa (former ''maegashira'') *

Sagatsukasa is a retired Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Mishima, Shizuoka. A former amateur competitor at Toyo University, he made his professional debut in March 2004, reaching the top ''makuuchi'' division for the first time in March 2010. He w ...

(former ''maegashira'') * Yōtsukasa (former ''maegashira'')

Referee

*Kimura Narimasa (''

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 ...

'' '' gyoji'', real name Narimasa Tajima)

Hairdresser

*Tokokuwa (second class ''

tokoyama A is a hairdresser employed by the Japan Sumo Association to cut and prepare sumo wrestlers' hair, which is done in the style. The Sumo Association ranks them according to experience and ability and only the most senior are entitled to prepar ...

'')

Location

Hachiouji 3-32-12,

Saitama City is the capital and the most populous city of Saitama Prefecture, Japan. Its area incorporates the former cities of Urawa, Ōmiya, Yono and Iwatsuki. It is a city designated by government ordinance. Being in the Greater Tokyo Area and lyin ...

, Saitama

References

External links

Japan Sumo Association profile
{{coord, 35.8826, N, 139.6114, E, source:wikidata, display=title Active sumo stables