Kotoryū Hiroo (born 2 March 1972 as Katsumi Nakano) 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 t ...

wrestler from Hyōgo,

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 n ...

. He joined professional sumo in 1987, reaching the top division in 1996. He defeated ''

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 ...

'' three times and earned one Fighting Spirit Prize. 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 ...

'' 1.

Career

He was born in Takasago,

Hyōgo Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Hyōgo Prefecture has a population of 5,469,762 () and has a geographic area of . Hyōgo Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the east, Osaka Prefecture to the southeast, an ...

, but moved to Ichikawa,

Chiba Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Chiba Prefecture has a population of 6,278,060 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Chiba Prefecture borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north, Saitama Prefecture to t ...

as a child. Kotoryū made his professional debut in March 1987 at the age of 15, joining

Sadogatake stable is a stable of sumo wrestlers, one of the Nishonoseki group of stables. In its modern form, it dates from September 1955, when it was set up by former '' komusubi'' Kotonishiki Noboru. Former '' yokozuna'' Kotozakura took over the running of t ...

. At the beginning of his career, he used 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'' ...

'' Kotonakano, switching to Kotoryū in March 1993. He was first promoted to ''

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 in July 1994 upon promotion to the second highest ''

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 but could only last one tournament there. He returned to ''jūryō'' in May 1995 and made his debut in 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 1996. Kotoryū was ranked in the top division for 51 tournaments over a period of nine years, earning three ''

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 ...

,'' or gold stars, for defeating ''

.'' He also received one '' sanshō'' for Fighting Spirit. He was a regular in the upper ''maegashira'' ranks but he was never able to earn a promotion to ''

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

.'' He came back from a number of injuries that sent him down to the ''jūryō'' division, winning the only ''

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. ''Y� ...

'' or tournament championship of his career in that division in March 2002 with a 12–3 record which earned him a promotion back to ''makuuchi''. He finally retired in May 2005 at the age of 33. He had been suffering from liver problems and diabetes and lost some in weight, and felt he had reached his physical limit. At his retirement press conference, he said the most memorable bout of his career was his upset of ''yokozuna'' Musashimaru in January 2000. In a match lasting two minutes he won by ''yori-kiri'' or force out despite being outweighed by .

Fighting style

Kotoryū used both ''tsuki/oshi'' (pushing and thrusting) and ''yotsu'' (grappling) techniques. His preferred grip 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 ...

'' was ''hidari-yotsu'', with his right hand outside and left hand inside his opponent's arms. Among his favourite ''

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 ''uwatenage'' (overarm throw) and ''tsuridashi'' (the lift out). However, he most often won with ''yori-kiri'' (the force out).

Retirement from sumo

After retirement Kotoryū stayed on as a coach at his stable for a short time under his fighting name, but he was unable to acquire permanent ''

toshiyori A is a sumo elder of the Japan Sumo Association (JSA). Also known as , former wrestlers who reached a sufficiently high rank are the only people eligible. The benefits are considerable, as only ''toshiyori'' are allowed to run and coach in su ...

,'' or elder status and so left the sumo world in April 2006, to help with his father's business.

Career record

References

External links