Daishi Nobuyuki (born 23 August 1968 as Nobuyuki Takano) is a former sumo wrestler from Hitachi, Ibaraki, Japan. He made his professional debut in March 1984, and reached the top division in July 1994. His highest rank was ''

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 ...

'' 3. He retired in March 2002 and remained in the

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'' (activ ...

as '' jun-toshiyori'' before leaving in June 2003. He is now a professional singer.

Career

He joined

Oshiogawa stable was a stable of sumo wrestlers, one of the Nishonoseki group of stables. In its modern form it dates from March 1975 when it was founded by Daikirin, a former Nishonoseki stable wrestler. It produced eleven ''sekitori'' in total, such as Masurao ...

in March 1984 after completing junior high school. Fighting under his own surname of Takano, he weighed 114 kg in his debut but he struggled to adapt and his weight dropped to 98 kg by November 1985. He rose slowly up the ranks, adopting the ''

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'' ...

'' of Daishi in 1987 and steadily increasing his weight to 143 kg by 1992, around average. In May 1993 after nine years in sumo he finally reached ''

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 fra ...

'' status upon promotion to the ''

juryo 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. 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 in July 1994. He fought in the top division for 23 tournaments, compiling a record of 145 wins against 191 losses, but never managed to win a special prize or defeat a yokozuna. His highest rank was ''

'' 3, which he reached in July 1996. He was demoted from ''makuuchi'' in July 1997, but managed to return in September 2000 after three years in ''juryo''. He retired in March 2002 after a 3–12 record at ''juryo'' 9 left him facing demotion to ''

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. Fo ...

.''

Retirement from sumo

He remained in sumo as Daishi Oyakata under the '' jun-toshiyori'' system, working as a coach at Oshiogawa stable. With his stablemaster, former ''

ozeki Ozeki or Ōzeki may refer to: * Ōzeki, a rank in ''Makuuchi'', the top division of professional sumo ** List of ōzeki * Ōzeki station (disambiguation), the name of two railway stations in Japan * Ōzeki Masutoshi (1849–1905), 16th daimyō o ...

Daikirin Daikirin Takayoshi (大麒麟將能) (20 June 1942 – 4 August 2010), born Masakatsu Tsutsumi, was a sumo wrestler from Saga Prefecture, Japan. He began his professional career in 1958 and reached his highest rank of '' ōzeki'' twelve years l ...

, due to reach the mandatory retirement age in 2007 it was thought Daishi might be in line to take over the running of the stable. However, he left the Sumo Association in June 2003, ahead of the two year grace period he had to acquire a permanent ''toshiyori'', to launch a career as a professional singer. He had been allowed by the Sumo Association to record a CD and sing at ''

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

,'' but only ''

jinku is a form of traditional and folkloric Japanese songs. Overview The actual form of jinku songs probably appeared in the Edo period. Jinku is a vocal performance using verses. These songs often depicts qualities of character, love stories, work ...

'' music. He continued to sing to the audience at retirement ceremonies, such as ''

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 ...

'' Takanohana's in 2003, ''ozeki'' Musoyama's in 2005, and Wakatenro’s in 2011. He produced a ''jinku'' CD by active top division wrestler Ikioi in 2012. He auditioned for the role of the Genie in Aladdin in 2014.

Fighting style

Daishi favoured ''yotsu-sumo'' (grappling techniques), preferring a ''migi-yotsu'' (right hand inside, left hand outside) 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 a straightforward ''yori-kiri'', or force out.

Career record

References

External links