Wakatoba Hiromi (born June 15, 1977 as Hiromi Yamada) 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

Fuchū, Tokyo 260px, Fuchū City Hall is a city located in western Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. Fuchū serves as a regional commercial center and a commuter town for workers in central Tokyo. The city hosts large scale manufacturing facilities for Toshiba, NEC ...

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 ...

. 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 ...

'' 11.

Career

He made his professional debut in March 1993, joining Oshiogawa stable, run by former '' ōzeki'' Daikirin. He initially wrestled under his own surname of Yamada. After a long apprenticeship in the junior ranks he achieved senior ''

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 May 2001 upon promotion to 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. F ...

'' division. To mark the occasion he changed his ''

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'' ...

'' to Wakatoba. After a 10-5 record at the rank of ''jūryō'' 4 in July 2003 he was promoted to 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. An 8-7 mark in his top division debut saw him promoted to his highest rank of ''maegashira'' 11. He fought in the top division for a total of seven tournaments. In March 2005 he was transferred to

Oguruma stable was a Heya (sumo), stable of sumo wrestlers, one of the Nishonoseki group of stables. In its modern form it existed from March 1987 when it was founded by Kotokaze, a former Sadogatake stable wrestler., until February 2022. The first wrestler fr ...

when Oshiogawa stable shut down. He was demoted back to ''jūryō'' in March 2006 and after pulling out of the January 2007 tournament after only five days with an injury to his left leg he was relegated to the unsalaried ranks.

Retirement

After the May 2007 tournament it was reported that Wakatoba had retired, and he was quoted as saying he had lost his will to continue, and that his most memorable match was one against Terao. However, he subsequently denied that he had retired, and he competed in the following tournament in July. However, after that tournament, having fallen to the rank of ''

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 ...

'' 57, he did retire and 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 ...

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 ...

under his old stablemaster's name of Oshiogawa the following month. His ''

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

,'' or official retirement ceremony, was held in February 2008, and he introduced his fiancé at the event. He worked as a coach at

until leaving the Sumo Association in August 2010. This move coincided with the death of the previous Oshiogawa, and the Oshiogawa stock was obtained by

Takekaze Takekaze Akira (born June 21, 1979 as Akira Narita) is a former professional sumo wrestler from Akita Prefecture, Japan. A former amateur sumo champion, he turned professional in 2002, reaching the top ''makuuchi'' division the following year. He ...

. In June 2018 he was featured in

Tokyo Broadcasting System Television JORX-DTV, branded as is the flagship station of the Japan News Network (JNN), owned-and-operated by , a subsidiary of JNN's owner, TBS Holdings. It operates in the Kantō region and broadcasts its content nationally through TBS-JNN Network ...

's ''The Friday'', working alongside fellow former sumo wrestlers Wakanojō and Wakatenro, in care for the elderly.

Career record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wakatoba, Hiromi 1977 births Living people Japanese sumo wrestlers Sumo people from Tokyo People from Fuchū, Tokyo

Career

Retirement

Career record

See also

References

External links