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 won a ''makushita'' and a ''jūryō'' division championship. His highest rank was ''maegashira'' 9. He was one of the shortest wrestlers in professional sumo at .

Early life and sumo background

Isobe began practicing sumo as a fourth grader in Mishima City, his hometown. His father encouraged him to drink milk to try to increase his height. In his sixth year of primary school he won a national boys sumo tournament, earning the title of "young boy yokozuna" for this accomplishment. In junior high school as a representative for Shizuoka prefecture in a national tournament, he won both the team and individual competitions. In his second year of high school in 1998 he took the championship to take the high school ''yokozuna'' title. In his third year, he won a Kanazawa tournament and was chosen for a tournament expedition to China, which was also attended by many future stars in sumo. He defeated the future top ''makuuchi'' division wrestler Futeno, and also finished ahead of the future Asashōryū. He was a bronze medallist in the inaugural Junior World Sumo Championships in 1999. He went on to Toyo University where the future Kimurayama was his teammate.

Career

Joining Irumagawa stable in March 2004, he was below the official height requirement at just 166 cm but was accepted after passing a secondary examination. Initially fighting under his own surname of Isobe, he recovered from an elbow injury sustained in 2006 to reach the second highest ''jūryō'' division in November 2007. He was the second wrestler to pass the secondary height exam and reach ''juryo,'' following Toyonoshima. After changing his ''shikona'' to Sagatsukasa he initially remained near the bottom of ''jūryō'' and was demoted to ''makushita'' on several occasions. However he fought his way back and reached the top division in March 2010 after a 9–6 score at ''jūryō'' 1. He lasted only one tournament in ''makuuchi'' and a series of poor performances back in ''jūryō'' saw him demoted to ''makushita'' once again. Returning to ''jūryō'' in May 2011 he won the ''yūshō'' or championship with a 13–2 record and was promoted back to the top division. He lasted four tournaments at the top before being relegated to ''jūryō'' for the March 2012 tournament. After six tournaments in the second division, the last two of which he achieved consecutive 9–6 records, he was promoted back to the top division for the March 2013 tournament. However, he was injured and missed the last seven days of the tournament and was again relegated. He only lasted one tournament in ''jūryō'' and dropped out of the salaried divisions in July 2013 where he remained until retiring, apart from one brief appearance in ''jūryō'' in March 2014.

Retirement from sumo

Sagatsukasa retired in August 2021 at the age of 39 after finishing the previous month's ''basho'' in ''sandanme'' with a 6–1 record, ending a professional sumo career spanning 17 years. He decided not to remain with the Sumo Association, instead returning to his native Shizuoka Prefecture. One year after his retirement, Sagatsukasa's retirement ceremony was held in Numazu.

Fighting style

Sagatsukasa's Sumo Association profile listed his favoured techniques as ''kuisagari'', an unusual move employed by shorter wrestlers that involves pushing the head against the opponent's chest and grabbing the front part of the ''mawashi'', ''oshi'' (pushing) and ''nage'' (throwing). His most common winning ''kimarite'' were ''oshi dashi'' (push out), ''hiki otoshi'' (pull down) and ''tsuki otoshi'' (thrust over). In September 2011 he defeated Tochinowaka with the spectacular '' ipponzeoi'' move, which had only been seen twice in the top division since 1974.

Career record

See also

*List of sumo tournament second division champions
*Glossary of sumo terms
*List of past sumo wrestlers

References

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sagatsukasa, Hiroyuki
1981 births
Living people
Japanese sumo wrestlers
Sumo people from Shizuoka Prefecture