is a Japanese 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 th ...

wrestler from

Nishio is a city located in Aichi Prefecture, in the Chūbu region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 169,984 in 65,553 households, with a population density of 1,054 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . It is a regional ...

Aichi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,461,111 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the ...

. He made his professional debut in March 2013, joining Tomozuna stable, 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 September 2019. His highest rank has been ''jūryō'' 2. He has one ''

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. Fo ...

'' division championship or ''

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. ''Yūs ...

.''

Early life

Asaki Honda was born in Nishio, a city located in Aichi Prefecture. He started practicing judo since his childhood being taught by his father. In his third year at Aichisangyodaigaku Mikawakoto High School he would rank second in the 100 kg weight division of the Aichi Prefectural tournament gaining him the nickname "Terminator of Mikawa". He would never compete in sumo before his debut, but was convinced by his cousin who had a connection with a

Miyagino stable was a Heya (sumo), stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Isegahama ''Glossary of sumo terms#ichimon, ichimon'' or group of stables. It was founded by the 43rd ''Yokozuna (sumo), yokozuna'' Yoshibayama as ''Yoshibayama dōjō'' while he was still ...

junior wrestler. After being introduced to Asakayama oyakata, the former '' ōzeki'' Kaiō and a member of the same ''

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

'', Honda would choose to forego university in favor of joining Tomozuna stable.

Career

Honda would make his debut in March 2013 alongside future ''

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 fr ...

'' Endō, Daishōhō, Takagenji, and

Takanofuji is a Japanese retired sumo wrestler (''rikishi''), professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. He competed in sumo from 1979 to 1992 under the ''shikona'' of , achieving the rank of ''komusubi'', and afterward turned to professional wrestlin ...

. Honda wrestled in '' maezumo'' with his surname, but switched to the ''

shikona A is a sumo wrestler's ring name. The tradition of ring names in sumo dates back to the Muromachi period and established itself during the Edo period, where they were used as a means to hide the identities of the . Given by the master to his di ...

'' Kaishō following his ''

jonokuchi 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 ...

'' debut. In January 2014 he would follow Asakayama ''oyakata'' who established a stable of the same name, being one of its founding disciples. After transferring, Kaishō would regularly train at Azumazeki stable, receiving peronalized training from former ''

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 o ...

'' Takamisakari. Kaishō had a strong start, and breezed through the first two divisions with relative ease. He switched his ''

'' to Kaiseiō for the July 2014 tournament. After three straight ''

kachi-koshi The following words are terms used in 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 oth ...

'', or winning records in ''sandanme'', Kaiseiō earned promotion to 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 for the May 2015 tournament. Kaiseiō had a strong showing in his first two tournaments in ''makushita''. He reached the upper-half of the division by his third tournament. However for the May 2016 tournament, Kaiseiō had a right ankle surgery and had to miss out on every match. This result demoted him back to the ''sandanme'' division. Even though he wasn't completely healed, he still participated and finished with a 5-2 in the following July tournament. Kaiseiō became a ''makushita'' mainstay for around three years, with the exception of a couple tournaments in ''sandanme''. In January 2018, Kaiseiō reverted back to his old ''shikona'' of Kaishō and immediately won all seven matches in ''sandanme''. He was placed in a playoff against Tochikodai, which he won as well. He spent the following tournaments in upper level ''makushita'', and after a win against ''jūryō''-ranked wrestler Arawashi, Kaishō earned promotion to the ''jūryō'' division for the September 2019 tournament following a 4-3 record at ''makushita'' 4. He was selected ahead of Wakamotoharu who had scored 5-2 at ''makushita'' 5, despite losing to Wakamotoharu during the tournament, a fact that his own stablemaster thought might count against him. Kaisho was the first wrestler from Asakayama stable to earn ''

'' status. In his ''jūryō'' debut, Kaishō lost his first three matches but, would bounce back and win 8 out of the 10 following matches. He lost his final three matches to finish with a decent 8-7 record. This promoted him to ''jūryō'' 11 for the November 2019, tournament. Kaishō struggled in the tournament and finished with a 5-10 record. This regulated him back to the ''makushita'' division, where he would remain for all of 2020. He would return to ''jūryō'' in July 2021 and posted a strong 11-4 record, which would include a win over Abi, ending the latter's 21-match winning streak since his return from suspension. He would follow this up with a 8-7 record in September. This would see him promoted up to ''jūryō'' 2 for the November tournament. A good tournament here would have seen him likely promoted to the top ''

makuuchi , or , is the top division of Professional sumo divisions, 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 ...

'' division for the new year but, he would falter going 5-10 by the finish. He was forced to withdraw from the July 2022 tournament on Day 12, with his score at 5-6, due to a

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

outbreak at his stable.

Fighting style

Kaishō is a ''yotsu-sumo'' wrestler, preferring grappling techniques to pushing and thrusting. His most common winning kimarite is a straightforward ''yori-kiri'', or force out, and he uses a ''hidari-yotsu'' grip on the ''mawashi'' or belt, with his right hand outside and left hand inside his opponent's arms.

Career record

References

External links