Tochitsukasa Tetsuo (born 25 April 1958 as Tetsuo Goto) 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 Nakagawa,

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...

Aichi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,552,873 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the west, Gifu Prefectur ...

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 ...

. His highest rank was ''

sekiwake , 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 ...

''. After his retirement from sumo in 1992 he became an elder of the

Japan 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'' (active ...

and established

Irumagawa stable is a stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Dewanoumi '' ichimon'' or group of stables. It was set up in January 1993 by former ''sekiwake'' Tochitsukasa, who branched off from Kasugano stable. The first ''sekitori'' produced by the stable was ...

in 1993, which he ran until 2023.

Career

A former amateur champion at

Nihon University , abbreviated as , is a private university, private research university in Japan. Its predecessor, Nihon Law School (currently the Department of Law), was founded by Yamada Akiyoshi, the Minister of Justice (Japan), Minister of Justice, in 1889. ...

, he turned professional at the age of 23, joining

Kasugano stable is a Heya (sumo), stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Dewanoumi ''Glossary of sumo terms#ichimon, ichimon'' or group of stables. As of January 2022 it had 18 wrestlers. It has been led by former ''sekiwake'' Tochinowaka Kiyotaka since 2003. It w ...

in March 1981. 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 on ...

'' division in September 1983, and in 1984 he earned his first special prize for Fighting Spirit, and defeated

Takanosato , real name , was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Namioka, Aomori. He was the sport's 59th ''yokozuna'' from 1983 to 1986 and won four top division tournament championships. After retirement he established Naruto stable which he ran fr ...

in his first ever bout against a ''

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 ...

'' to earn his first of his 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 b ...

''. He spent most of 1985 in the second ''

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. For ...

'' division, but in 1986 made the ''

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

'' ranks at ''

komusubi , 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 ...

''. In November 1987 he scored 10–5 from the ''

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 on ...

'' 6 ranking, defeating two '' ōzeki'' and winning the Technique Prize. However, by the end of the year he was in'' jūryō'' again due to injury problems. He won the ''jūryō'' ''

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� ...

'' on two occasions in 1989 and won promotion back to the top division. After missing the September 1990 tournament he fell to ''jūryō'' again and made only one more appearance in ''makuuchi'' before retiring in May 1992 at the age of 34.

Retirement from sumo

He became an elder of the

under the name Irumagawa Oyakata, and established

in 1993. His wrestlers Yotsukasa and Otsukasa both reached the top division in 1999, and they were followed by Masatsukasa in 2008 and Sagatsukasa in 2010. He is due to reach the retirement age for elders of 65 in April 2023, and in preparation for this he handed over control of his stable to former ''komusubi'' Kakizoe in February 2023, with the stable henceforth being known as Ikazuchi stable.

Fighting style

A powerful and versatile wrestler, Tochitsukasa preferred ''tsuki/oshi'' or pushing and thrusting techniques rather than 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 var ...

.'' 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 rec ...

'' were ''oshi-dashi'' (push out) and ''tsuki otoshi'' (thrust over). However he also regularly won by ''yori-kiri'' (force out), and was also capable of pulling off throws, both overarm (''uwatenage'') and underarm (''shitatenage'').

Trivia

He had a crowd-pleasing quirk of always staying in a squat position for much longer than normal and rocking back and forth before returning to his corner during the ''shikiri'', or warm-up phase of a match.

Career record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tetsuo, Tochitsukasa 1958 births Living people Japanese sumo wrestlers Sportspeople from Nagoya Sumo people from Aichi Prefecture Sekiwake Nihon University alumni