Kōbō Kenichi (born as Kenichi Mineyama; August 18, 1973 – July 2, 2021) was a Japanese

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. His highest rank was '' maegashira'' 9.

Career

Kōbō made his professional debut in March 1989 at the age of 15. He worked his way quickly through the lowest three divisions, making his '' makushita'' debut shortly after his 18th birthday, less than three years into his career. However, he was unable to advance further for several years, reaching '' sekitori'' status only in January 1999 upon promotion to the second highest ''

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, after nearly ten years of toiling in the lower divisions. He reached 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 first time in November 2001 but only lasted two tournaments before being demoted. He returned on two other occasions but he largely remained a veteran of the ''jūryō'' division, in which he spent 44 tournaments. For a long period he was the highest ranking wrestler in Miyagino stable, before the emergence of Hakuho, now 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 o ...

.'' In July 2007, he fell to the unsalaried '' makushita'' division for the first time since September 2000, and he announced his retirement in December of that year.

Retirement from sumo and death

Kōbō remained with the

Japan Sumo Association The , officially the ; sometimes abbreviated JSA or NSK, and more usually called Sumo Kyōkai, is the governing body that operates and controls Professional sports, professional sumo wrestling, called , in Japan under the jurisdiction of the Min ...

as an elder under the name Ajigawa-oyakata, and initially worked as a coach at his old stable. In May 2008, he had his '' danpatsu-shiki,'' or official retirement ceremony, at the Ryogoku Kokugikan. In February 2010 he admitted that, against the wishes of the Tatsunami '' ichimon'', he voted for independent candidate Takanohana instead of the approved candidate Ōshima in the elections to the Sumo Association's board. He offered his resignation, but was persuaded to stay. Following the controversy he moved to the Takanohana stable where he coached under the name Nishiiwa-oyakata, which was owned by the active wrestler Wakanosato. In July 2015, with Wakanosato likely to retire, he switched to the Otowayama name formerly owned by the late Takanonami and subsequently controlled by Takanohana Oyakata. He left the Sumo Association in January 2018 after the Otowayama ''kabu'' was needed by ex-''maegashira'' Daido (formerly Onogawa Oyakata). Kōbō died from

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 ...

on July 2, 2021, at the age of 47.

Fighting style

Kōbō's favoured '' kimarite'' or techniques were ''hidari-yotsu'' (a right hand outside, left hand inside grip on the opponent's '' mawashi''), ''shitatenage'' (underarm throw), and ''yorikiri'' (force out).

Career record

References

External links