is a Japanese professional

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

Fukushima may refer to: Japan * Fukushima Prefecture, Japanese prefecture ** Fukushima, Fukushima, capital city of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan ***Fukushima University, national university in Japan *** Fukushima Station (Fukushima) in Fukushima, Fukushim ...

. He wrestles for the

Arashio stable is a stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Tokitsukaze '' ichimon'' or group of stables. It was set up in June 2002 by former ''komusubi'' Ōyutaka, who branched off from Tokitsukaze stable. At the end of 2009 the stable produced its first ''s ...

, where he is a stable mate of his brothers

Wakatakakage is a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Fukushima. He made his debut in March 2017 and reached the top ''makuuchi'' division in November 2019. He wrestles for Arashio stable, where he is a stablemate of his older brothers Wakatakamoto and ...

and Wakatakamoto. His highest rank to date has been ''

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 ...

''.

Career

Wakamotoharu comes from a sumo family. His grandfather

Wakabayama was a sumo wrestler from Yame, Fukuoka, Japan. His highest rank was komusubi. He earned four gold stars for defeating yokozuna. After his retirement from active competition in 1961 he became an elder of the Japan Sumo Association under the name ...

reached the ''

'' rank, his father was a ''

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 wrestler, and he has an elder brother Wakatakamoto and a younger brother Wakatakakage who are also sumo wrestlers at the same stable. Wakatakamoto has yet to progress beyond the ''makushita'' division, but Wakatakakage surpassed his grandfather's achievements by reaching the rank of ''

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 ...

'' in 2022. Their current ''

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 ...

'' come from a well-known parable about three brothers by the 16th-century warlord

Mōri Motonari was a prominent ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) in the western Chūgoku region of Japan during the Sengoku period of the 16th century. The Mōri clan claimed descent from Ōe no Hiromoto (大江広元), an adviser to Minamoto no Yoritomo. Motonari w ...

. Wakamotoharu made his professional debut in November 2011 under the ''shikona'' of Araonami. In his first official tournament in January 2012, under the new name of Goshi, he won the

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 ...

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 ...

with a perfect 7–0 record. In May 2017 he adopted the shikona of Wakamotoharu. In January 2019 he won the ''makushita'' division championship with an undefeated 7–0 score and 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. He scored only five wins in his ''jūryō'' debut and was demoted, but returned to jūryō after a 6–1 record at makushita 1 in September 2019. In November 2019 he had to apologize after a picture of him bound and gagged with tape was posted on social media by fellow wrestler Abi. The prank was criticized for seeming to make light of past incidents of violence within sumo stables, and 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 ...

responded by banning sumo wrestlers from having individual social media accounts. In December 2021 the

released the

rankings A ranking is a relationship between a set of items such that, for any two items, the first is either "ranked higher than", "ranked lower than" or "ranked equal to" the second. In mathematics, this is known as a weak order or total preorder of o ...

for the January 2022 tournament, and he was promoted to 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, joining his younger brother Wakatakakage. Wakamotoharu and Wakatakakage are the 12th pair of brothers to both be ranked in the top division at the same time. He is the second member of Arashio stable to make the top division following Wakatakakage in November 2019, and the first since the current stablemaster, former ''maegashira'' Sōkokurai, took over. Speaking to reporters Wakamotoharu recalled the difficulty of beginning 2021 by having to sit out the January tournament because of a

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

infection but ending it with his best result as a ''

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 ...

'', an 11-4 record in November, which saw him win promotion. In the January 2022 tournament Wakamotoharu secured a winning record in his ''makuuchi'' debut on Day 14 when he defeated Tobizaru. His second straight winning record came on Day 12 of the March 2022 tournament, when he defeated Endō to move to 8–4. He finished the tournament with another 9–6 record. Wakamotoharu's bout against

Terunofuji , lead=yes), is a Mongolian-born naturalised-Japanese professional sumo wrestler. Wrestling for the Isegahama stable, he entered professional sumo in January 2011 and took the second division ''jūryō'' championship in his debut as a ''sekitori ...

in the July 2022 tournament was stopped after two minutes by '' gyoji'' Shikimori Inosuke after Wakamotoharu's ''

mawashi In sumo, a is the loincloth that (sumo wrestlers) wear during training or in competition. Upper ranked professional wrestlers wear a as part of the ring entry ceremony or . For top ranked professional , it is made of silk and comes in a var ...

'' became undone. After a pause of about ten minutes for a ''

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

'' and to reset the positions of the wrestlers, Wakamotoharu was defeated when Terunofuji quickly swung him out of the ring with an underarm throw. After 2 consecutive 10-5 winning records in the top ''maegashira'' ranks, Wakamotoharu was promoted to ''

'' for the January 2023 tournament.

Fighting style

Wakamotoharu prefers to grab his opponent's ''

'' rather than push or thrust, and his favourite grip is ''hidari-yotsu'', with his right hand outside and left hand inside his opponent's arms. His 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 technique is a straightforward yori-kiri, or force out.

Personal life

Wakamotoharu announced after his ''makuuchi'' promotion that he had got married in November 2021, after a three-year relationship.

Career record

References

External links

*
Wakamotoharu
profile at the