Naruto stable (鳴戸部屋 ''Naruto-beya'') is a stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Nishonoseki ''

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

'' or group of stables, and founded by former sumo wrestler

Kotoōshū Katsunori Kotoōshū Katsunori ( ja, 琴欧洲勝紀) (legal name: Karoyan Andō, born February 19, 1983 as Kaloyan Stefanov Mahlyanov, bg, Калоян Стефанов Махлянов) is a former professional sumo wrestler or ''rikishi'' from Bulgar ...

on 1 April 2017.

History

Naruto stable was established on 1 April 2017 by the

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

n-born former '' ōzeki''

, who branched out from

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 ...

. It is based in

Sumida, Tokyo is a special ward located in Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. The English translation of its Japanese self-designation is Sumida City. As of May 1, 2015, the ward has an estimated population of 257,300, and a population density of 18,690 persons per k ...

. One of the stable's early recruits was also a Bulgarian – former junior wrestling champion Ventsislav Katsarov (Torakio Daiki) who retired in April 2019 and returned to Bulgaria. The opening ceremony of the stable was attended by one hundred people including Kotoōshū's former stablemate Kotoshōgiku. Kotoōshū commented, "I want to nurture a wrestler who will eclipse me." As of January 2023 it has 17 wrestlers. Kotoōshū became a naturalized Japanese citizen two months after his retirement in March 2014. His official name is Andō Karoyan. He is the first European-born stablemaster. He is also only the third foreign-born wrestler to open his own stable after Takamiyama and Musashimaru. According to a report in May 2018, some wrestlers said that they chose Naruto stable because they had the most information when they searched the internet. Naruto stable is not related to Tagonoura stable which had the same name until 2013. Naruto-''oyakata'' suspended one of his wrestlers (reported to be a 20 year old ''

sandanme 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. For ...

'' level wrestler) from the January 2019 tournament after it emerged he had choked a more junior wrestler as a punishment. This is the first time the Compliance Committee and the Anti-Violence Provisions, which were established in December 2018, were applied. On February 19, 2019, an apology statement was posted on the official Twitter of Naruto stable ''"To all of you who always support us. This time, I was very sorry for the trouble that occurred in the stable. We will reflect firmly and take the disposition of the Sumo Association seriously, and will provide guidance and supervision to prevent this from happening in the future."'' and the official blog of Master Naruto. In 2021 Naruto stable's top wrestler was , a graduate of

Kinki University is a private non-sectarian and coeducational university based in Higashiosaka, Osaka, Japan with campuses in five other locations: Nara, Nara; Ōsakasayama, Osaka; Uchita, Wakayama; Higashihiroshima, Hiroshima; and Iizuka, Fukuoka. The En ...

who has progressed to the near the top of the ''

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 after debuting in May 2019. However, in September 2021 the stable recruited

Nichidai , abbreviated as , is a private research university in Japan. Its predecessor, Nihon Law School (currently the Department of Law), was founded by Yamada Akiyoshi, the Minister of Justice, in 1889. It is one of Japan's leading private universiti ...

's Mongolian Ōshōma, who debuted the following November as a ''

makushita tsukedashi The following words are terms used in sumo wrestling in Japan. A B C D E F G H ...

'' entrant, and reached 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. Fo ...

'' division in May 2022, becoming the stable's first ''

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 ...

''.

Ring name conventions

Several wrestlers at this stable have taken ring names or ''

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'' ...

'' which has the character , meaning Europe, as the first character. This is the middle character of the shikona of the stable's founder, former Kotoōshū (琴欧洲).

Owners

*2017–present: 15th Naruto Katsunori ('' iin'', former ''ōzeki'' Kotoōshū)

Notable active wrestlers

* Ōshōma (best rank ''jūryō'')

Referee

*Shikimori Komei (''jonokuchi''

gyōji A ''gyōji'' () is a referee in professional sumo wrestling in Japan. ''Gyōji'' usually enter the sumo world as teenagers and remain employees of the Sumo Association until they retire aged 65. There are currently a little over 40 active ''gy� ...

, real name Komei Hashimoto)

Usher

*Kenta (''jonokuchi''

yobidashi A is an announcer who calls a professional sumo wrestler, or ''rikishi'', to the ''dohyō'' (wrestling ring) immediately prior to his bout. He does this by calling the name of each wrestler fighting in turn while holding a traditional folding fa ...

, real name Kenta Maeda)

Hairdresser

* Tokoō (fifth class ''

tokoyama A is a hairdresser employed by the Japan Sumo Association to cut and prepare sumo wrestlers' hair, which is done in the style. The Sumo Association ranks them according to experience and ability and only the most senior are entitled to prepar ...

'', real name Baba Shiido)

Location

1 Chome-22-16 Mukōjima, Sumida-ku, Tōkyō-to 130-0003, Japan. It is nearby the

Tokyo Skytree is a broadcasting and observation tower in Sumida, Tokyo. It became the tallest structure in Japan in 2010List of sumo stables The following is an alphabetical list of '' heya'' or training stables in professional sumo. All belong to one of five groups, called ''ichimon''. These groups, led by the stable by which each group is named, are in order of size: Dewanoumi ''ich ...

References

{{Reflist

External links

Naruto stable at the Japan Sumo AssociationOfficial Site
Active sumo stables