Wakanoyama Hiroshi

Last updated
Wakanoyama Hiroshi
和歌乃山 洋
Personal information
BornHiroshi Nishizaki
(1972-05-12) May 12, 1972 (age 49)
Wakayama, Japan
Height1.77 m (5 ft 9+12 in)
Weight166 kg (366 lb)
Career
Stable Musashigawa
Record629-618-33
DebutMarch, 1988
Highest rankKomusubi (March, 2001)
RetiredSeptember, 2005
Elder name Yamawake
Championships 2 (Jūryō)
3 (Makushita)
Special Prizes Fighting Spirit (1)
* Up to date as of June 2020.

Wakanoyama Hiroshi (born May 12, 1972 as Hiroshi Nishizaki) is a former sumo wrestler from Gobo, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. His highest rank was komusubi .

Contents

Career

Wakanoyama made his professional debut in March 1988. Joining at the same time as him were future yokozuna Akebono, Takanohana and Wakanohana, and ōzeki Kaiō. He began wrestling under his own surname, Nishizaki, but from November 1989 onwards adopted the shikona of Wakanoyama, the name adapted from his home prefecture. He reached sekitori status in July 1991 upon promotion to the second highest jūryō division, and made his debut in the top makuuchi division in May 1992. However, he lasted only four tournaments there before being demoted back to jūryō. Although he reappeared in makuuchi once in September 1994, he could not stay there. In July 1996 he fell back to the unsalaried makushita division where he languished for thirteen tournaments, before winning promotion back to jūryō in November 1998 and makuuchi in July 1999.

Wakanoyama had been absent from the top division for 28 tournaments. No other wrestler had ever managed to return to makuuchi after so long away. His remarkable comeback may have been helped by the fact that during this period his stable, Musashigawa, had become one of the strongest in sumo, with a yokozuna (Musashimaru), and three soon to reach ōzeki (Musōyama, Dejima and Miyabiyama). Wakanoyama was certainly not short of strong training partners.

Wakanoyama was able to hold his own in the top division this time, rising slowly up the rankings. In March 2000, ranked at maegashira 1, he faced yokozuna Wakanohana on the opening day. The last time the two had fought was eight years previously in May 1992. This is the longest ever gap between meetings in the top division. Wakanoyama lost the match and fell short with a 6-9 record, but in January 2001 he scored 9-6 at maegashira 3 and won his first ever special prize. In the following tournament he was promoted to komusubi , the highest rank he was to achieve. He was the first non-foreign and non-college wrestler from his stable to reach a sanyaku rank. [1] He fought his last tournament in the top division in March 2004, and retired in September 2005 at the age of thirty three.

Retirement from sumo

Wakanoyama remained in the sumo world as an elder, or oyakata, affiliated to Musashigawa stable where he worked as a coach under the name Yamawake-oyataka. However, he left the Sumo Association in September 2010.

Fighting style

Wakanoyama was a pusher-thruster, preferring tsuki/oshi techniques to fighting on the mawashi . His most common winning kimarite was a straightforward oshi-dashi, or push out.

Career record

Wakanoyama Hiroshi [2]
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
1988 x(Maezumo)WestJonokuchi#13
43
 
WestJonidan#122
52
 
WestJonidan#75
61
 
WestJonidan#10
34
 
1989 WestJonidan#27
43
 
EastJonidan#6
25
 
EastJonidan#38
43
 
WestJonidan#12
52
 
EastSandanme#72
70P
 
EastMakushita#52
34
 
1990 EastSandanme#7
43
 
WestMakushita#57
52
 
EastMakushita#35
43
 
WestMakushita#26
34
 
EastMakushita#35
43
 
WestMakushita#23
52
 
1991 WestMakushita#11
34
 
EastMakushita#16
52
 
WestMakushita#8
70
Champion

 
WestJūryō#10
69
 
WestJūryō#12
87
 
EastJūryō#6
87
 
1992 WestJūryō#5
87
 
EastJūryō#3
105
 
EastMaegashira#12
87
 
WestMaegashira#9
69
 
EastMaegashira#12
69
 
EastMaegashira#15
510
 
1993 EastJūryō#5
78
 
WestJūryō#6
96
 
EastJūryō#3
96
 
EastJūryō#1
69
 
WestJūryō#5
312
 
EastMakushita#1
34
 
1994 WestMakushita#5
70
Champion

 
WestJūryō#10
114
 
WestJūryō#5
96
 
WestJūryō#1
96
 
EastMaegashira#16
78
 
EastJūryō#1
69
 
1995 EastJūryō#5
69
 
EastJūryō#9
96
 
EastJūryō#6
87
 
WestJūryō#4
312
 
EastMakushita#1
70
Champion

 
WestJūryō#9
114P
Champion

 
1996 EastJūryō#4
87
 
EastJūryō#3
87
 
WestJūryō#2
411
 
EastJūryō#10
411
 
WestMakushita#3
133
 
EastMakushita#22
52
 
1997 WestMakushita#11
52
 
EastMakushita#5
43
 
WestMakushita#2
25
 
WestMakushita#11
Sat out due to injury
007
WestMakushita#11
34
 
EastMakushita#17
52
 
1998 EastMakushita#9
43
 
WestMakushita#6
34
 
EastMakushita#11
52
 
EastMakushita#5
52
 
EastMakushita#2
52
 
WestJūryō#13
114
 
1999 WestJūryō#3
78
 
WestJūryō#4
105
 
WestJūryō#1
105
 
WestMaegashira#13
87
 
EastMaegashira#11
96
 
EastMaegashira#6
78
 
2000 WestMaegashira#7
96
 
EastMaegashira#1
69
 
EastMaegashira#2
510
 
WestMaegashira#4
78
 
EastMaegashira#6
87
 
WestMaegashira#1
78
 
2001 EastMaegashira#3
96
F
WestKomusubi#1
69
 
EastMaegashira#2
267
 
EastMaegashira#12
Sat out due to injury
0015
EastMaegashira#12
87
 
WestMaegashira#9
69
 
2002 EastMaegashira#12
510
 
WestMaegashira#15
96
 
WestMaegashira#7
69
 
EastMaegashira#10
69
 
EastMaegashira#12
87
 
WestMaegashira#9
87
 
2003 EastMaegashira#7
87
 
EastMaegashira#4
411
 
WestMaegashira#10
69
 
WestMaegashira#13
78
 
WestMaegashira#14
78
 
EastJūryō#2
411
 
2004 WestJūryō#6
114PPP
Champion

 
EastMaegashira#16
213
 
WestJūryō#8
105
 
EastJūryō#2
78
 
EastJūryō#3
510
 
EastJūryō#7
78
 
2005 EastJūryō#8
771
 
WestJūryō#8
87
 
WestJūryō#7
87
 
WestJūryō#6
312
 
EastMakushita#1
Retired
000
x
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. Kuroda, Joe (October 2008). "Rikishi of Old" (PDF). Sumo Fan Magazine. Retrieved 10 February 2008.
  2. "Wakanoyama Hiroshi Rikishi Information". Sumo Reference. Retrieved 2012-08-25.