- Asahifuji Seiya
-
旭富士 正也
Asahifuji Seiya
Personal information Born Seiya Suginomori
July 6, 1960
Tsugaru, AomoriHeight 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) Weight 148 kg (330 lb) Career Heya Ōshima Record 575-324-35 Debut January, 1981 Highest rank Yokozuna (July, 1990) Retired January, 1992 Yūshō 4 (Makuuchi)
1 (Makushita)
1 (Sandanme)
1 (Jonokuchi)Sanshō Outstanding Performance (2)
Fighting Spirit (2)
Technique (5)Kinboshi 2 (Kitanoumi, Futahaguro) * Career information is correct as of August 2007. 旭富士 正也 (Asahifuji Seiya) (born July 6, 1960 as Seiya Suginomori (杉野森 正也 Suginomori Seiya)) is a former sumo wrestler from Aomori, Japan. He joined professional sumo in 1981, reaching the top makuuchi division just two years later. He reached the second highest rank of ozeki in 1987 and became the 63rd Yokozuna in the history of the sport in 1990 at the age of 30. He won four tournaments and was a runner-up on nine other occasions. He retired in 1992 and is now the head coach of Isegahama stable.
Contents
Early life
He was born in the fishing town of Kizukuri in Nishitsugaru District. His father, who worked as an electrician, was a keen amateur sumo enthusiast and Vice President of the Prefectural Sumo Federation.[1] He was determined to see his son succeed in sumo and even built a dohyo in the garden for him to practise.[1] Asahifuji also did well at sumo at school, finishing third in a national schoolboy competition, and later winning the West Japan Student Newcomers tournament while studying at Kinki University.[1] However, tiring of the never-ending training, he gave up sumo for a while and spent his time fishing.[1] Eventually an acquaintance of his father introduced him to Oshima Oyakata, formerly Asahikuni, who had recently opened his own heya or stable of wrestlers, Oshima stable.[1]
Early sumo career
Asahifuji made his professional debut in January 1981. He was already 20 years old, considerably older than most new recruits who tend to be 15 or 16. However, because of his amateur sumo experience he was able to work his way up the ranks very quickly and won tournament championships in the jonokuchi, sandanme and makushita divisions with perfect records. He reached the second highest jūryō division after only eight tournaments, a record that stood unbeaten till 2008. He was promoted to the top makuuchi division in March 1983. He won his first special prize for Fighting Spirit in the November 1984 tournament, where he finished runner-up. He reached sekiwake rank for the first time in January 1986. After regular training sessions at Takasago stable, where he knew Asashio from his university days,[2] he began to develop a more rounded technique,[1] and after three double figure scores he was promoted to sumo's second highest rank of ozeki after the September 1987 tournament.
Ozeki
In January 1988 he won his first top division tournament championship, which was also the first for the Tatsunami-Isegahama icihimon or group of stables in nearly twenty years.[2] In 1989 he won 40 out of a possible 45 bouts in the first three championships of the year and came very close to promotion to the highest rank of yokozuna, but he was defeated by yokozuna Hokutoumi in playoffs in both January and May 1989. His 13-2 mark in May was his fifth consecutive runner-up performance, and his seventh overall, but he had been unable to win two tournaments in a row, regarded by the Japan Sumo Association as the minimum requirement for yokozuna promotion after the embarrassment of Futahaguro's brief tenure at sumo top's rank.
After managing only 8-7 in the following tournament in July, Asahifuji endured a long slump. This was partly caused by longstanding pancreatic trouble,[2] which had first been diagnosed in 1984 and had also afflicted his stablemaster during his active days.[1] After a string of mediocre 8-7 and 9-6 scores it seemed Asahifuji would finish his career as an ozeki. However, by mid 1990 his health began to improve, and after encouragement from his stablemaster, who reminded him that he would soon turn 30 years of age and was down to his last chance, he won consecutive championships in May and July 1990. He scored 14-1 in both tournaments, securing his yokozuna promotion on the final day in July by defeating yokozuna Chiyonofuji for only the fifth time in 28 meetings.
Yokozuna
Asahifuji began his yokozuna career with 12 straight wins in the September 1990 tournament, but he lost to Kirishima on Day 13 and was defeated by Hokutoumi in the championship deciding bout on the final day. In November 1990 he finished runner-up again, to Chiyonofuji. In January and March 1991 he posted reasonable scores of 11-4 but was never really in contention for the championship in either tournament, although he did have a memorable win over the young rising star Takahanada in March.[3] He had to wait until May 1991 for his first title as a yokozuna, when he defeated Konishiki twice on the last day, once in their regulation match and once in the playoff, to finish with a fine 14-1 record.
This was to prove Asahifuji's only tournament championship as a yokozuna, as the rest of his career was dogged by illness and injury. He managed only a bare majority of 8-7 in July 1991, the last tournament he was to complete. He pulled out of the September 1991 tournament with an injured shoulder on the sixth day, and hampered by the return of his old pancreatic problems missed the November 1991 tournament altogether. He returned in January 1992 but after losing his opening three bouts to Akebono, his nemesis Akinoshima (for the fifth time in a row) and finally Wakahanada, he announced his retirement at the age of 31.
After retirement
Asahifuji has remained in the sumo world as a coach. He had married a niece of the former Kasugayama Oyakata in 1988, and seemed set to revive Kasugayama stable,[2] but instead he took over the Ajigawa stable in 1994. The first top division wrestler he produced was Aminishiki in 2000, who reached the sekiwake rank in 2007. Aminishiki's brother Asōfuji is also a former top division rikishi who now fights in the jūryō division. Asahifuji's greatest success has come with Harumafuji (formerly known as Ama), who reached the second highest rank of ozeki in November 2008 and won his first top division yusho in May 2009.
In November 2007 he acquired the prestigious Isegahama elder name and renamed his stable Isegahama stable. (The Ajigawa name has now been acquired by Aminishiki and is being used temporarily by a coach in another stable). He has also worked as a shinpan, or judge at tournament matches.
Fighting style
Asahifuji's favoured kimarite or techniques were listed by the Sumo Association as migi-yotsu ( a left hand outside, right hand inside grip on the opponent's mawashi), yorikiri (force out) and uwatedashinage (pulling overarm throw). However, he was also fond of employing more unorthodox techniques little used by other wrestlers and certainly not taught by coaches. He was criticised for this by his stablemaster, the former ozeki and noted technician Asahikuni, whose view was that by winning by his own idiosyncratic methods, he would be unable to cure his faults.[4] Asahifuji himself claimed in an interview with Channel 4 television to have no favourite technique, but did say that while "everyone likes to throw an opponent, that's not sumo."[5]
Top division record
Asahifuji Seiya[6]
year in sumo January
Hatsu basho, TokyoMarch
Haru basho, OsakaMay
Natsu basho, TokyoJuly
Nagoya basho, NagoyaSeptember
Aki basho, TokyoNovember
Kyūshū basho, Fukuoka1983 x West Maegashira #10
8–7
East Maegashira #4
4–11
East Maegashira #11
9–6
West Maegashira #5
8–7
West Komusubi
6–9
1984 East Maegashira #4
1–3–11
East Maegashira #14
9–6
East Maegashira #6
8–7
West Maegashira #2
8–7
★West Komusubi
5–10
East Maegashira #5
11–4
F1985 East Komusubi
7–8
East Maegashira
9–6
TEast Komusubi
8–7
East Komusubi
5–10
East Maegashira #2
10–5
TEast Komusubi
8–7
1986 West Sekiwake
11–4
OEast Sekiwake
7–8
West Komusubi
11–4
OEast Sekiwake
4–11
East Maegashira #2
8–7
★West Komusubi
7–8
1987 East Maegashira #1
8–7
West Sekiwake
10–5
West Sekiwake
10–5
TEast Sekiwake
11–4
TEast Sekiwake
12–3
TFWest Ōzeki
11–4
1988 East Ōzeki
14–1
East Ōzeki
12–3
East Ōzeki
12–3
East Ōzeki
11–4
East Ōzeki
12–3
East Ōzeki
12–3
1989 East Ōzeki
14–1–P
East Ōzeki
13–2
East Ōzeki
13–2–P
East Ōzeki
8–7
West Ōzeki
9–6
West Ōzeki
8–7
1990 West Ōzeki
9–6
West Ōzeki
8–7
West Ōzeki
14–1
East Ōzeki
14–1
West Yokozuna
13–2
West Yokozuna
12–3
1991 West Yokozuna
11–4
West Yokozuna
11–4
East Yokozuna
14–1–P
East Yokozuna
8–7
West Yokozuna
2–4–9
Sat out due to injury
0–0–151992 West Yokozuna
Retired
0–4–0x x x x x Record given as win-loss-absent Top Division Champion Retired Lower Divisions
Sanshō key: F=Fighting spirit; O=Outstanding performance; T=Technique Also shown: ★=Kinboshi(s) P=Playoff(s)
Makuuchi ranks: Yokozuna — Ōzeki — Sekiwake — Komusubi — Maegashira
Divisions: Makuuchi — Jūryō — Makushita — Sandanme — Jonidan — JonokuchiSee also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Patmore, Angela (1990). The Giants of Sumo. MacDonald & Co. ISBN 0-356-18120-0.
- ^ a b c d Sharnoff, Lora (1993). Grand Sumo. Weatherhill. ISBN 0-8348-0283-x.
- ^ "The Yokozuna: A Retrospective". Japan Sumo Association. http://sumo.goo.ne.jp/eng/kiroku_daicho/mei_yokozuna/asahifuji.html. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
- ^ Patmore, Angela (1990). The Giants of Sumo. MacDonald/Queen Anne Press. pp. 74. ISBN 0-356-18120-0.
- ^ "Sumo", Cheerleader Productions, Channel 4, 1990.
- ^ "Asahifuji Seiya". sumodb.sumogames.com. http://sumodb.sumogames.com/Rikishi.aspx?r=1342. Retrieved 2007-07-11.
External links
- previous:
- Ōnokuni Yasushi
- 63rd Yokozuna
- July 1990 - January 1992
- next:
- Akebono Tarō
Yokozuna is not a successive rank, and more than one wrestler can share the title Categories:- Japanese sumo wrestlers
- Sumo people from Aomori Prefecture
- Yokozuna
- 1960 births
- Living people
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