Fukunohana Koichi (born 1 July 1940 as Koichi Fukushima) is a former

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 Kōshi, Kumamoto,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. He made his professional debut in January 1958 and reached the top division in September 1965. His highest rank was '' sekiwake''. He retired in November 1975. He had been scheduled to fight

Kashiwado was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Yamagata Prefecture. He was the sport's 47th yokozuna, fighting at the sport's highest rank from 1961 to 1969. After his retirement he became an elder of the Japan Sumo Association and ran his o ...

in July 1969 and Taihō in May 1971, but on both occasions received a ''fusensho'' or win by default because the ''yokozuna'' both announced their retirements. Fukunohana had never beaten Taihō in the

ring Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...

, losing to him ten straight times. He made his only appearance at '' sekiwake'' in January 1971, by which time he was already over 30, unusually old for a ''sekiwake'' debut at that time. He was three times a tournament runner-up, earned seven special prizes for Fighting Spirit and five gold stars for defeating ''yokozuna''. In January 1970 he knocked out ōzeki Kitanofuji with a ''harite'' or strike with the open hand, a legitimate sumo move, and acquired the nickname "flower of the hook," a play on his '' shikona'' Fukunohana. He became a mentor to Mienoumi, who was a fellow member of Dewanoumi stable, and said that he would not retire until Mienoumi reached the rank of ''ōzeki''. After six straight '' make-koshi'' or losing scores in the top division, he announced his retirement after the November 1975 tournament, when Mienoumi's promotion to ''ōzeki'' was confirmed. 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 tr ...

of the Japan Sumo Association under the name Sekinoto, working as a coach at Dewanoumi stable. His wife was the daughter of a previous owner of the Sekinoto elder name, former '' komusubi'' Wakashima. He became a special executive in 2000. He left the Sumo Association in 2005 upon turning 65 years of age. From 2009 until 2011 a junior wrestler at Dewanoumi stable, whose real name was Fukumoto, was given permission to use the Fukunohana shikona.

Career record

References

1940 births Living people Japanese sumo wrestlers Sumo people from Kumamoto Prefecture Sekiwake {{sumo-bio-stub

Career record

See also

References