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, one of the Nishonoseki group of stables. It broke off from Tagonoura stable by its founder, the 72nd '' yokozuna'' Kisenosato, and officially opened in August 2021 as . The name of the stable changed in January 2022 after the Japan Sumo Association approved the changing of Kisenosato's '' toshiyori'' (elder name) from Araiso to Nishonoseki, following the retirement of former '' ōzeki'' Wakashimazu.

History

In December 2021 Nishonoseki recruited a 18-year-old student from his hometown Ibaraki Prefecture's Ushiku Senior High School, whom he had spotted while frequenting the school's sumo club. In March 2022 the stable recruited a pair of identical twins, Hayashiryū and Rinko, from the same Nagano sumo club as former ''ōzeki'' Mitakeumi. In March 2023 the stable also announced the recruitment of 22-year-old amateur ''yokozuna'' Daiki Nakamura, a graduate of Nippon Sport Science University. Defined as "the most eagerly awaited prospect to come out of collegiate sumo in decades," Nakamura–who took the '' shikona'' –began his professional career at the rank of ''makushita'' 10 via the '' makushita tsukedashi'' system. Nakamura-''oyakata'' (former '' sekiwake'' Yoshikaze) moved to the stable after the January 2022 tournament, due to the closure of his own Oguruma stable, and brought former '' maegashira'' Tomokaze with him. Tomokaze was promoted back to ''jūryō'' following the January 2023 tournament, becoming the stable's first '' sekitori''. Ōnosato was promoted to ''jūryō'' in July 2023 along with another lower-division wrestler, . They are the first two recruited by Kisenosato to become ''sekitori''. As of January 2023, the stable had 16 wrestlers.

Owners

*2021-present: Nishonoseki Yutaka ('' iin'', the 72nd ''yokozuna'' Kisenosato)

Notable active wrestlers

* Tomokaze (best rank ''maegashira'') * (best rank ''jūryō'') * (best rank ''jūryō'')

Coaches

*Nakamura Masatsugu ('' iin'', former ''sekiwake'' Yoshikaze)

Referees

*Kimura Ennosuke ('' makushita'' ''gyōji'', real name Satoru Ishimaru)

Usher

*Rokurō (''jūryō'' yobidashi, real name Kenzō Araki)

Hairdressers

*Tokoni (fifth class '' tokoyama'')

Location and access

139-1 Arakawahongō, Ami,

Inashiki is a city located in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 39,127 in 14,733 households and a population density of 191 persons per km². The percentage of the population aged over 65 was 37.1%. The total area of th ...

, Ibaraki Prefecture
10-minute walk from

Hitachino-Ushiku Station is a passenger railway station located in the city of Ushiku, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). Lines Hitachino-Ushiku Station is served by the Jōban Line, and is located 54.5 km from the offi ...

( Jōban Line) The present Nishonoseki stable building was opened in June 2022. Prior to that, the stable members trained on an interim basis at the University of Tsukuba.

References

External links

Nishonoseki stable page at Japan Sumo AssociationHome Page
Active sumo stables {{sumo-stub