is an

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, ...

-born 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 and current

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

. His highest rank was ''

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 ...

'' 3.

Life and career

A former swimming instructor, Salomon was spotted by a visiting Japanese coach at a gym in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

who encouraged him to try sumo. After studying at

Chuo University , commonly referred to as or , is a private flagship research university in Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1885 as Igirisu Hōritsu Gakkō (the English Law School), Chuo is one of the oldest and most prestigious institutions in the country. The univer ...

, he joined Michinoku stable in May 1987 at the age of 21 to support his family. He was the first, and to date only, Jewish professional sumo wrestler. He was given 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'' ...

'' (ring name) of Hoshitango, with "Hoshi" (star) a common prefix in Michinoku stable, and "tango" a reference to the popular dance. He reached the second highest ''

'' division for the first time in September 1992, but lasted only one tournament there before being demoted back to the unsalaried third ''

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 ...

'' division. He managed another three tournaments in the second division in 1994 but once again fell back. In September 1998, at the age of 33, he demonstrated his fighting spirit by once again returning to ''jūryō'', this time remaining for 12 straight tournaments. He was not able to break into 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, peaking at ''jūryō'' 3 in January 2000. In July 2000 he lost every one of his fifteen bouts and fell, once more, to the third division where he remained until his retirement in January 2004. His retirement ceremony or ''

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

'' was attended by around 150 people including stablemates Jūmonji and Toyozakura as well as the former Terao and Kirishima, who as his stablemaster made the final cut of his topknot. Hoshitango was joined at Michinoku stable in 1988 by another Buenos Aires native, Hoshiandesu, who reached a highest rank of ''jūryō'' 2 before retiring in 2000. Hoshitango became a Japanese citizen in October 2000. His Japanese name was registered as Tango Hoshi.

Retirement from sumo

After retiring he opened a sports bar and restaurant called Tan & Go Dining which specialized in Japanese and South American

fusion cuisine Fusion cuisine is cuisine that combines elements of different culinary traditions that originate from different countries, regions, or cultures. They can occur naturally and become aspects of culturally relevant cuisines, or they can be part of ...

Fighting style

Hoshitango was an ''oshi-sumo'' specialist who preferred pushing and thrusting techniques to fighting on the ''

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 ...

'' were ''hataki-komi'' (slap down), ''hiki-otoshi'' (pull down) and ''okuri dashi'' (push out from behind).

Professional wrestling career

Imachi is currently a

for the Japanese company

DDT Pro-Wrestling is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Its name stands for Dramatic Dream Team, which was the promotion's official name from 1997 to 2004. Founded in March 1997 by Shintaro Muto, the promotion was eventually bo ...

(DDT), debuting on December 29, 2006, under his ''shikona'' Hoshitango, and has also wrestled for

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established on October 21, 1972 when Giant Baba split away from the Japanese Wrestling Association and created his own promotion. Many wrestlers had left with Baba ...

, Ice Ribbon and

Wrestle-1 was a Japanese ''puroresu'' or professional wrestling promotion, founded in July 2013 by Keiji Mutoh following his resignation from All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). The core of the promotion's roster was formed by wrestlers loyal to Mutoh, who lef ...

. As a finishing maneuver, Hoshitango uses the Argentine backbreaker and

chokeslam A chokeslam is a type of body slam in professional wrestling, in which a wrestler grasps an opponent's neck, lifts them up, and slams them to the mat. It is common in televised wrestling because it is simple and relatively safe, yet looks power ...

. Due to his age and outside activities, he is a semi-regular performer. He won his first

professional wrestling championship A championship or title in professional wrestling is a recognition promoted by professional wrestling organizations. Championship reigns are determined by professional wrestling matches, in which competitors are involved in predetermined rivalr ...

on June 3, 2007, when he briefly held the

Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship The is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the Japanese promotion CyberFight in its DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT) brand. Open to anyone, regardless of gender or DDT employment status, the championship is defended " 24/7", as ...

. He had another brief reign on August 5. On January 24, 2009, he defeated Sanshiro Takagi to win the

DDT Extreme Championship The is a singles title in the Japanese professional wrestling promotion DDT Pro-Wrestling. The title was established in 2006 and it is mostly defended in stipulation matches, with the defending champion being given the right to choose the stip ...

. After a successful title defence against Poison Sawada Julie in March, he lost the title to

Danshoku Dino , better known by his ring name , also written Danshoku Dieno, is a Japanese professional wrestler. Dino has spent most of his career competing for DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT), where he plays an overly exaggerated homosexual character. His ring name ...

in a three-way match that also included Masa Takanashi on May 31. In 2010, Hoshitango was involved in a storyline to celebrate the 30th anniversary of

Gundam is a Japanese military fiction media franchise. Created by Yoshiyuki Tomino and Sunrise (now Bandai Namco Filmworks), the franchise features giant robots, or mecha, with the name "Gundam". The franchise began on April 7, 1979, with ''Mobile ...

. Yago Aznable (dressed in

Char Aznable , born and also gone by the name , is a fictional character from the '' Gundam'' franchise. He is originally one of the main antagonists in ''Mobile Suit Gundam'' working for the Principality of Zeon, named after his late father Zeon Zum Deikun ...

cosplay) and Abnormal debuted for DDT in early 2010 and proved themselves to be an annoyance to DDT owner

Sanshiro Takagi , better known by his ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestler. Takagi's gimmick is that he is Stone Cold Steve Austin. He is known in Dramatic Dream Team (DDT) and around the micro-indy scene for his hilarious promos and natural charism ...

. Known as the Yagou kōkoku-gun (ヤゴウ公国軍, ''Yagou kōkoku-gun'', literally translated to "Principality of Yago"), Abnormal was kicked out of the group and replaced with DJ Nira and joined by Ace Pilot X. On June 13, Hoshitango joined the group, debuting as Mobile Armour Hoshitango, dressed in Big Zam cosplay. The storyline came to a close at Ryōgoku Peter Pan 2010 when Yagou kōkoku-gun lost a no disqualification Captain's Fall six-man tag team match. On June 3, 2012, Hoshitango had a third brief Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship reign. On July 8, he formed the Monster Army stable with members Antonio Honda,

Daisuke Sasaki is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is signed to DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT), where is a former two-time DDT Universal Champion. In addition to that, in DDT, he is also a former three-time KO-D Openweight Champion, one-time DDT Extreme Champi ...

Masa Takanashi, Yasu Urano and Yuji Hino. At

Budokan Peter Pan was a professional wrestling event promoted by DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT). The event took place on August 18, 2012, in Tokyo at the Nippon Budokan. The event featured ten matches, three of which were contested for championships. The event aired on ...

, Hoshitango competed in a "5 vs. 5 Soccer match" as part of ''Tonkatsu SC''. The match consisted of two halves of 5 minutes each where each team tried to score the most

pins A pin is a device used for fastening objects or material together. Pin or PIN may also refer to: Computers and technology * Personal identification number (PIN), to access a secured system ** PIN pad, a PIN entry device * PIN, a former Dutch de ...

by pinfall (two counts) or

submission Deference (also called submission or passivity) is the condition of submitting to the espoused, legitimate influence of one's superior or superiors. Deference implies a yielding or submitting to the judgment of a recognized superior, out of re ...

. The match ended in a 2–2 draw and was decided by an actual

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

which saw ''Tonkatsu SC'' win 2–0. On June 23, 2013, Hoshitango, Honda and Hino won the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Championship. They lost the titles to Danshoku Dino,

Kensuke Sasaki is a Japanese retired professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, and founder of the now-defunct wrestling promotion Diamond Ring. Sasaki is the first of four men ever to hold all three of '' puroresus major heavyweight titles (the IWGP Heav ...

and

Makoto Oishi is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working for Dramatic Dream Team (DDT). Oishi started his career in Kaientai Dojo, where he became a Strongest-K Tag Team, Independent World Junior Heavyweight and UWA World Middleweight Champion ...

on July 21. On January 26, 2014, Hoshitango briefly won the Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship for a forth time. On February 23, after Hoshitango, Honda and Sasaki were defeated by Mikami, Sanshiro Takagi and

Toru Owashi is a Japanese professional wrestler, better known by his ring name . He is best known for his work in DDT Pro-Wrestling, where he is a former KO-D Openweight Champion and two time KO-D Tag Team Champion. Professional wrestling career Initial ...

in a six-man tag team match, Honda announced that the Monster Army had decided to disband. At Judgement 2014, Monster Army wrestled their final match together, where Hoshitango, Hino, Honda and Sasaki defeated Gorgeous Matsuno, Gota Ihashi, Sanshiro Takagi and Toru Owashi. With his stock significantly lowered following the end of Monster Army, in 2015 he began regularly competing for the King of Dark Championship. Contrary to regular professional wrestling championships, the title is awarded to the loser of the match and is a sign of shame. As punishment for holding the title, wrestler are forced to wrestle exclusively in

dark match Professional wrestling has accrued a considerable amount of jargon throughout its existence. Much of it stems from the industry's origins in the days of carnivals and circuses. In the past, professional wrestlers used such terms in the presence o ...

es. On April 2, 2016, Hoshitango "won" the King of Dark Championship after losing to Seiya Morohashi. He held the dubious distinction for 22 days before "losing" the title to Gota Ihashi on April 24.

Sumo career record

Professional wrestling championships and accomplishments

Dramatic Dream Team is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Its name stands for Dramatic Dream Team, which was the promotion's official name from 1997 to 2004. Founded in March 1997 by Shintaro Muto, the promotion was eventually bo ...

( 1 time) **

( 3 times) ** KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with Antonio Honda and Yuji Hino ** King of Dark Championship (1 time)

References

External links

*
Hoshitango's tournament resultsDramatic Dream Team profile
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hoshitango, Imachi 1965 births Living people Argentine sumo wrestlers Japanese sumo wrestlers Argentine emigrants to Japan Naturalized citizens of Japan Argentine Jews Japanese Jews Japanese male professional wrestlers Argentine male professional wrestlers Jewish Argentine sportspeople 21st-century professional wrestlers DDT Extreme Champions Ironman Heavymetalweight Champions King of Dark Champions KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions