Enazakura Tooru

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Enazakura Tooru
恵那櫻 徹
Personal information
BornToru Hayakawa
(1960-07-29) 29 July 1960 (age 63)
Sakashita, Gifu, Japan
Height1.81 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)
Weight135 kg (298 lb)
Career
Stable Oshiogawa
Record555-565-0
DebutMarch, 1977
Highest rankMaegashira 1 (November 1990)
RetiredJuly, 1994
Elder name See retirement
Championships 1 (Jūryō)
Special Prizes Fighting Spirit (1)
* Up to date as of June 25, 2020.

Enazakura Tooru (born 29 July 1960 as Toru Hayakawa) is a former sumo wrestler from Sakashita, Gifu, Japan. He made his professional debut in March 1977 and reached the top division in November 1987. His highest rank was maegashira 1. Upon retirement from active competition in 1994 he became an elder in the Japan Sumo Association, leaving in July 1999. [1]

Contents

Career

He was recruited by the former ozeki Daikirin and joined Oshiogawa stable in March 1977 at the age of 16. He began fighting under his own surname of Hayakawa, receiving the shikona of Enazakura (meaning ″the cherry blossoms of Ena″, a region in his native Gifu Prefecture) [2] in 1980. He was not particularly large, at around 180 cm and 120 kg, so it took him nine years of toil in the lower divisions before he became an elite sekitori ranked wrestler in March 1986. He won promotion to the top makuuchi division in November 1987, alongside Kotoinazuma and Nankairyu, and all three came thorough with kachi-koshi or winning records. In July 1989 he earned what was to be his only sansho or special prize, for Fighting Spirit after a fine 10–5 score. He never reached the sanyaku ranks, peaking at maegashira 1 which he reached in November 1990 at the age of 30. He was unable to defeat a yokozuna in his career, but won both of his two matches against ōzeki Konishiki.

Enazakura enjoyed cooking and listening to traditional Japanese music, and was an enka singer himself. [3]

Retirement

Enazakura′s last appearance in the top division was in March 1993, and he was demoted from the second juryo division a year later. He retired in July 1994 after two losing scores in the unsalaried makushita division. He remained in a sumo as a coach at Oshiogwawa stable, under the elder name Shikoroyama which was owned by the former komusubi Wakabayama. He switched to the Takenawa elder name in 1995, but when this was needed by the retiring Tochinowaka in July 1999, Enazakura had to leave the sumo world. He received a 2 million yen retirement payoff. Afterwards he ran a sumo-themed chanko restaurant.

Fighting style

Enazakura was a solid if unspectacular wrestler who favoured pushing and thrusting techniques to fighting on the mawashi or belt. [3] He regularly used oshi dashi (push out), tsuki otoshi (thrust over), hataki komi (slap down), hiki otoshi (pull down) and yori kiri (force out). He rarely employed throwing moves, occasionally using sukuinage (scoop throw). [3]

Career record

Enazakura Tooru [4]
Year in sumo January
Hatsu basho, Tokyo 		March
Haru basho, Osaka 		May
Natsu basho, Tokyo 		July
Nagoya basho, Nagoya 		September
Aki basho, Tokyo 		November
Kyūshū basho, Fukuoka
1977x(Maezumo)EastJonokuchi#8
4–3
 		WestJonidan#79
5–2
 		WestJonidan#45
3–4
 		WestJonidan#53
2–5
 
1978WestJonidan#78
6–1
 		WestJonidan#16
2–5
 		WestJonidan#40
5–2
 		EastJonidan#5
3–4
 		EastJonidan#21
3–4
 		WestJonidan#28
5–2
 
1979EastSandanme#89
4–3
 		WestSandanme#72
1–6
 		EastJonidan#11
5–2
 		WestSandanme#68
3–4
 		EastSandanme#83
5–2
 		EastSandanme#54
4–3
 
1980EastSandanme#42
3–4
 		EastSandanme#55
3–4
 		WestSandanme#68
5–2
 		EastSandanme#38
4–3
 		WestSandanme#22
4–3
 		EastSandanme#5
4–3
 
1981WestMakushita#50
4–3
 		WestMakushita#35
2–5
 		WestMakushita#50
4–3
 		WestMakushita#38
4–3
 		WestMakushita#30
3–4
 		WestMakushita#37
2–5
 
1982EastSandanme#2
4–3
 		WestMakushita#51
2–5
 		WestMakushita#14
5–2
 		WestMakushita#48
5–2
 		WestMakushita#27
2–5
 		WestMakushita#45
5–2
 
1983EastMakushita#30
4–3
 		EastMakushita#26
5–2
 		WestMakushita#50
4–3
 		WestMakushita#40
6–1
 		EastMakushita#15
3–4
 		EastMakushita#23
4–3
 
1984EastMakushita#15
3–4
 		EastMakushita#24
4–3
 		WestMakushita#15
3–4
 		WestMakushita#21
5–2
 		WestMakushita#11
4–3
 		WestMakushita#8
2–5
 
1985EastMakushita#26
3–4
 		EastMakushita#36
4–3
 		EastMakushita#25
4–3
 		EastMakushita#17
4–3
 		WestMakushita#12
4–3
 		EastMakushita#10
5–2
 
1986EastMakushita#3
5–2
 		WestJūryō#13
10–5
 		EastJūryō#7
8–7
 		WestJūryō#4
5–10
 		EastJūryō#9
10–5
 		WestJūryō#5
9–6
 
1987 WestJūryō#3
5–10
 		WestJūryō#9
8–7
 		EastJūryō#6
9–6
 		EastJūryō#3
8–7
 		EastJūryō#2
9–6
 		EastMaegashira#13
9–6
 
1988 EastMaegashira#8
8–7
 		EastMaegashira#3
4–11
 		WestMaegashira#11
8–7
 		EastMaegashira#8
8–7
 		WestMaegashira#3
3–12
 		EastMaegashira#12
8–7
 
1989 EastMaegashira#8
6–9
 		EastMaegashira#11
7–8
 		WestMaegashira#12
10–5
F		WestMaegashira#5
6–9
 		WestMaegashira#7
6–9
 		EastMaegashira#13
9–6
 
1990 WestMaegashira#5
6–9
 		EastMaegashira#11
8–7
 		WestMaegashira#5
6–9
 		WestMaegashira#10
8–7
 		WestMaegashira#7
8–7
 		WestMaegashira#1
3–12
 
1991 EastMaegashira#12
10–5
 		WestMaegashira#4
4–11
 		EastMaegashira#14
10–5
 		EastMaegashira#6
3–12
 		WestMaegashira#14
7–8
 		EastJūryō#1
4–11
 
1992 EastJūryō#10
8–7
 		EastJūryō#8
11–4
Champion
 		EastJūryō#1
9–6
 		WestMaegashira#13
4–11
 		WestJūryō#4
5–10
 		EastJūryō#10
10–5
 
1993 WestJūryō#5
10–5
 		WestMaegashira#15
6–9
 		EastJūryō#4
9–6
 		WestJūryō#2
8–7
 		EastJūryō#2
6–9
 		EastJūryō#6
6–9
 
1994 EastJūryō#10
7–8
 		EastJūryō#11
3–12
 		WestMakushita#10
2–5
 		WestMakushita#27
Retired
3–4		xx
Record given as win-loss-absent    Top Division Champion Top Division Runner-up Retired Lower Divisions

Sanshō key: F=Fighting spirit; O=Outstanding performance; T=Technique     Also shown: ★=Kinboshi; P=Playoff(s)
Divisions: Makuuchi — Jūryō — Makushita — Sandanme — Jonidan — Jonokuchi

Makuuchi ranks:  Yokozuna — Ōzeki — Sekiwake — Komusubi — Maegashira

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Enazakura Tooru Kabu History". Sumo Reference. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  2. ↑ Sharnoff, Lora (1993). Grand Sumo. Weatherhill. p. 147.
  3. 1 2 3 Patmore, Angela (1990). The Giants of Sumo. MacDonald & Co. p. 99. ISBN   0356181200.
  4. ↑ "Enazakura Tooru Rikishi Information". Sumo Reference. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
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