is a Japanese former 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 t ...

wrestler from

Sendai is the capital city of Miyagi Prefecture, the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,091,407 in 525,828 households, and is one of Japan's 20 designated cities. The city was founded in 1600 by the ''daimyō'' Date M ...

Miyagi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Miyagi Prefecture has a population of 2,305,596 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Miyagi Prefecture borders Iwate Prefecture to the north, Akita Prefecture to the no ...

. He did not miss a single bout in his 22-year professional career, and holds the record for the most consecutive matches fought, at 1,630. After his retirement from active competition he was an elder 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 ...

and a coach.

Career

He made his debut in March 1964, joining Nishonoseki stable. He reached 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 o ...

'' division for the first time in January 1975. In only his fourth top division tournament he was a tournament runner-up, won a '' sanshō'' (for Fighting Spirit) and earned a ''

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 bo ...

'' for defeating a ''

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 ...

''. He was never to achieve any of those things again, but he fought in the top division for 62 tournaments in total. He made his ''

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

'' debut in September 1975 at ''

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 o ...

'' and in October of that year he followed the former '' ōzeki'' Daikirin to the newly established Oshiogawa stable. He dropped into 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. F ...

'' division in 1981, but fought his way back, and an 8-7 score at ''

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 o ...

'' 1 in May 1983 took him to his highest 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 o ...

'', which he held for just one tournament. This was his second and final appearance in the ''san'yaku'' ranks, 47 tournaments after his first - the longest such gap since the six tournaments per year schedule began in 1958. It had also taken him 116 tournaments from his professional debut to reach ''sekiwake'', which is the slowest ever. In 1985 he surpassed Fujizakura's record of 1,543 consecutive career appearances, and when he retired in July 1986, having not missed any matches since his debut, he had set a new record of 1,630 consecutive bouts. He was nearly 38 years old, having been an active wrestler for over 22 years.

Retirement from sumo

After retirement from active competition he became an

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 ...

in the

(at Deputy Director level) under the name Shiranui Oyakata. He coached at the Oshiogawa and Oguruma stables and reached the Sumo Association's mandatory retirement age of 65 in November 2013.

Fighting style

Aobajo was a ''yotsu-sumo'' wrestler, preferring a ''hidari-yotsu'', or right hand outside, left hand inside grip on his opponent'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 v ...

''. 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 r ...

'' was ''yori-kiri'' (force out). He also regularly used ''tsuri-dashi'' (the lift out) and ''sukuinage'' (the scoop throw).

Career record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aobajo, Yukio 1948 births Living people Japanese sumo wrestlers Sportspeople from Sendai Sumo people from Miyagi Prefecture Sekiwake

Career

Retirement from sumo

Fighting style

Career record

See also

References