Kakizoe Tōru

(born August 12, 1978 in Usa City, Ōita Prefecture, Japan), is a former sumo wrestler. A former amateur champion, he turned professional in 2001 and reached the top division in 2003. His highest rank was ''komusubi'', which he held for just one tournament. He won one special prize, for Technique. After injury problems he fell to the third ''makushita'' division in 2011 and retired in April 2012, becoming a sumo coach. He was part of ex-''yokozuna'' Musashimaru's Musashigawa stable from 2013 until 2020, when he moved to Irumagawa stable. He is now a sumo elder, under the name Ikazuchi (雷).

Career

Kakizoe was an amateur sumo champion at Nippon Sport Science University, winning the ''Kokutai'' (Japan Games) and the All Japan University Championship in 2000, his final year, which earned him the amateur ''yokozuna'' title. He joined Musashigawa stable, which, at the time, was one of the strongest in sumo with ''yokozuna'' Musashimaru and other successful former collegiate competitors such as Dejima and Miyabiyama amongst its wrestlers. Because of his amateur success, Kakizoe was given ''makushita tsukedashi'' status, meaning he was able to debut at the ''makushita'' 15 ranking. He was the first ''makushita tsukedashi'' entrant to be put at #15 instead of the bottom of the ''makushita'' division. He had initially hoped to debut in March 2001, but his entry was delayed because of a nagging injury. Although his first appearance on the ''banzuke'' was in September 2001, he was still unable to compete and dropped to ''makushita'' #55. He fought his first professional bout in November 2001 instead, fighting under his real name. Unusually, he never adopted a traditional ''shikona''. He rose to the ''jūryō'' division in March 2003 and the top ''makuuchi'' division in September 2003.

Kakizoe's rank peaked at ''komusubi'' after the January 2004 tournament when, ranked ''maegashira'' 5, he achieved a result of 11-4 and the technique prize. He failed to retain his ''san'yaku'' rank for more than a single tournament, but mostly remained amongst the top half of ''maegashira'' for the next few years. However, he suffered a big setback in May 2007, losing eleven bouts in a row before pulling out of the tournament citing a fracture to his right knee. He could manage only six wins on his return in July and slid to the lowest rung on the top division ladder for the September tournament. He produced a comfortable 9-6 score there to maintain his top division status, but remained near the bottom of ''makuuchi'' for the next two years.

In January 2010, he rose to ''maegashira'' 4 and fought his first bout against a ''yokozuna'' since his injury. Due to the absence of Chiyotaikai and Kotomitsuki, on the final day he took part in the '' san'yaku soroibumi'' ceremony. He finished the tournament with a respectable 6-9 record, but was unable to produce a ''kachi-koshi'' or winning score in the next four tournaments either.

Kakizoe's 3-12 performance in September 2010 saw him demoted to ''jūryō'' for the first time and he lost ''sekitori'' status after scoring only 4-11 at Juryo 9 in January 2011. Despite only scoring a ''make-koshi'' 3-4 in the May 2011 "technical examination" tournament, he was nonetheless promoted back to ''jūryō'' because of the large number of slots available after the forced retirements of many wrestlers following a match-fixing scandal. However, his return to ''jūryō'' was short-lived as he turned in a disastrous 1-14 score, his ninth consecutive ''make-koshi''.

Retirement from sumo

Troubled by a foot injury, Kakizoe fell to ''makushita'' 56 for the May 2012 tournament, at the time the sixth lowest rank ever held by a former ''san'yaku'' wrestler. He announced his retirement before the tournament began, and stayed in sumo as a coach at his stable (now renamed Fujishima stable) under the elder name Oshiogawa-''oyakata''. In October 2012, he switched to the Ikazuchi name. In August 2013, when his former stablemate Musashimaru established his own Musashigawa stable, Kakizoe moved with him. In October 2020 he moved to Irumagawa stable. It was announced after the January 2023 tournament that on February 1 he would be taking over as head coach of the stable, which would be changing its name to Ikazuchi stable accordingly, due to the imminent retirement of Irumagawa Oyakata (former ''sekiwake'' Tochitsukasa).

Fighting style

Kakizoe was an ''oshi-sumo'' specialist, preferring pushing and thrusting techniques. His most common winning move was ''oshi-dashi'' (push-out), which accounted for around 43 percent of his career victories. He was vulnerable to defeat if his opponents grab hold of his ''mawashi''.

Family

Kakizoe is married, with two children. His wife, Eimi, is a former amateur sumo wrestler who won the Sumo World Championships. His eldest son, Haruku, is a member of the renowned Saitama Sakae High School sumo club.

Career record

See also

*Glossary of sumo terms
*List of sumo tournament second division champions
*List of past sumo wrestlers
*List of sumo elders
*List of komusubi

References

External links

*

Kakizoe's basho results



{{DEFAULTSORT:Kakizoe, Toru
1978 births
Living people
Japanese sumo wrestlers
Komusubi
People from Usa, Ōita
Sumo people from Ōita Prefecture
Nippon Sport Science University alumni
Sumo wrestlers who use their birth name