Ōnokuni Yasushi

大乃国 康 Ōnokuni Yasushi
Personal information
Born	Yasushi Aoki October 9, 1962 (1962-10-09) (age 49) Hokkaidō, Japan
Height	1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight	203 kg (450 lb)
Career
Heya	Hanakago, Hanaregoma
Record	560-319-107
Debut	March, 1978
Highest rank	Yokozuna (September, 1987)
Retired	July, 1991
Yūshō	2 (Makuuchi) 1 (Jūryō)
Sanshō	Outstanding Performance (5) Fighting Spirit (2)
Kinboshi	4 (Kitanoumi, Chiyonofuji, Takanosato (2))
* Career information is correct as of January 2007.

Ōnokuni Yasushi (大乃国 康, born October 9, 1962 as Yasushi Aoki (青木 康)) is a former sumo wrestler from Hokkaidō, Japan. Making his professional debut in 1978, he reached the top division in 1983. In 1987 he won his first yusho or tournament championship with a perfect score and became the sport's 62nd yokozuna. However, he was able to win only one more championship before his retirement in 1991. He has remained in sumo as a coach and in 1999 became the head of Shibatayama stable.

Early life

Aoki was born in Memuro Town, Kasai District, Tokachi, Hokkaidō, Japan. At school he did judo, but after a sumo tournament in the area, he was recruited to Hanakago stable by wrestler Kaiketsu Masateru and fought his first bout in March 1978 aged 15. When Kaiketsu retired from the ring in 1981 he set up his own stable, Hanaregoma stable, and took Aoki with him.

Makuuchi

He reached the second jūryō division in March 1982, and the top makuuchi division a year later in March 1983. He made his sanyaku debut at komusubi just three tournaments later. In November 1983, ranked as maegashira 3, he won his first special prize and three gold stars by defeating all three yokozunas (Kitanoumi, Chiyonofuji and Takanosato). This earned him promotion to sekiwake. The next March, he defeated three yokozuna and three ōzeki and won special prizes for Fighting Spirit and Outstanding Performance. He was runner-up in the July 1985 tournament, recording 12 wins against 3 losses, enough to secure promotion to ōzeki. He was runner-up again in his ozeki debut, scoring 12-3 once more. His performance over the next few tournaments was good but not spectacular, until in May 1987 he won his first tournament title with a perfect record of 15 wins and no losses, becoming the first man other than Chiyonofuji to win a top division yusho in the new Ryogoku Kokugikan.^[1] After two runner-up performances in the next two tournaments, in September of that year he was promoted to yokozuna, sumo's highest rank. His three tournament record of 40 wins and just five losses tied with Wakanohana II as the best produced by a candidate for yokozuna promotion.

Yokozuna

His first tournament as yokozuna finished with a disappointing 8-7 score, but in March 1988 he beat yokozuna Hokutoumi in a play-off to achieve his second tournament victory. However, the Kokonoe stable yokozuna Chiyonofuji and Hokutoumi were to prove dominant over the next few tournaments and he never won another tournament. He scored a famous victory over Chiyonofuji on the last day of the November 1988 tournament, however, ending Chiyonofuji's 53-bout winning streak.

From 1989 he began to suffer from sleep apnea. He gained weight, passing 200 kg, and began to suffer leg problems. He lost some weight through a combination of training and diet, but this weakened him and he never fully recovered. He missed most of the July tournament due to a knee injury, then in September he became the first yokozuna ever to go makekoshi, or turn in a losing score of just 7 wins out of 15 bouts. He did the only thing expected of him - he offered to resign - but he was told by the Japan Sumo Association to soldier on. In his comeback tournament in January 1990 he scraped by with 8 wins but suffered a serious ankle injury and missed the next four tournaments, an unprecedented absence for a yokozuna.

He finally returned to the ring in November 1990, and scored ten wins, defeating Chiyonofuji again on the final day. In March 1991 he was runner-up for the seventh and final time in his career, finishing one win behind Hokutoumi on 12-3. His final day defeat to Kirishima handed the yusho to Hokutoumi and robbed him of the chance of a play-off (which Hokutoumi admitted he would almost certainly have lost as he was injured in his bout the previous day).^[2] Onokuni missed the following tournament in May due to a fever resulting from a skin infection,^[2] and upon his return in July he was defeated four times in the first eight days. He announced his retirement from sumo at the age of just 28 after being beaten by Akinoshima on Day 8, leaving a disappointing record of just one yusho and two runner-up performances in his 23 tournaments at yokozuna rank. Discounting the special circumstances of Futahaguro's departure from sumo he was the second youngest yokozuna to retire, after Tochinoumi.^[2]

Retirement from the ring

Ōnokuni has remained in the sumo world as an oyakata, or elder, and opened his own training stable, Shibatayama-beya in 1999. In March 2008 the stable produced its first sekitori, Daiyubu, but he spent only one tournament in jūryō and retired suddenly in June 2010 after falling out with his stablemaster. Daiyubu filed a lawsuit in September claiming that he was slapped and punched, and his topknot was cut off against his will.^[3] Shibatayama was questioned by police over the alleged incidents.^[4]

He also has a reputation as a baker of cakes, and published a book (第62代横綱大乃国の全国スイーツ巡業, 62nd Yokozuna Ōnokuni's National Sweets Tour).

His autobiography, titled Winning Even When You Lose, was published in 2008.

He has been married since 1989.

Fighting style

Ōnokuni favoured grip on his opponent's mawashi was migi-yotsu, a left hand outside and right hand inside position. His most common winning kimarite was yori-kiri, which accounted for nearly half his victories at sekitori level. He was also fond of uwatenage, or overarm throw. He had a somewhat defensive style, preferring to wait for his opportunity rather than take the initiative right from the beginning of a bout.

Top division record

Ōnokuni Yasushi^[5]

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
1983	x	West Maegashira #9 8–7	West Maegashira #2 6–9	East Maegashira #5 8–7	West Komusubi 6–9	East Maegashira #3 10–5 O★★★
1984	East Sekiwake 9–6 O	East Sekiwake 10–5 OF	East Sekiwake 6–9	East Maegashira #1 10–5 O★	West Sekiwake 10–5	East Sekiwake 8–7
1985	East Sekiwake 9–6	West Sekiwake 9–6	East Sekiwake 10–5 O	East Sekiwake 12–3 F	West Ōzeki 12–3	East Ōzeki 11–4
1986	West Ōzeki 12–3	East Ōzeki 9–6	West Ōzeki 11–4	West Ōzeki 9–6	West Ōzeki 8–7	East Ōzeki 10–5
1987	East Ōzeki 9–6	East Ōzeki 9–6	West Ōzeki 15–0	East Ōzeki 12–3	East Ōzeki 13–2	West Yokozuna 8–7
1988	West Yokozuna 5–5–5	East Yokozuna 13–2–P	West Yokozuna 11–4	East Yokozuna 12–3	West Yokozuna 8–7	West Yokozuna 11–4
1989	West Yokozuna 11–4	East Yokozuna 12–3	West Yokozuna 12–3	West Yokozuna 1–4–10	East Yokozuna 7–8	Sat out due to injury 0–0–15
1990	East Yokozuna 8–7	Sat out due to injury 0–0–15	Sat out due to injury 0–0–15	Sat out due to injury 0–0–15	Sat out due to injury 0–0–15	West Yokozuna 10–5
1991	East Yokozuna 10–5	East Yokozuna 12–3	Sat out due to injury 0–0–15	East Yokozuna Retired 4–5–0	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) Divisions: Makuuchi — Jūryō — Makushita — Sandanme — Jonidan — Jonokuchi Makuuchi ranks: Yokozuna — Ōzeki — Sekiwake — Komusubi — Maegashira

See also

• Glossary of sumo terms
• List of sumo tournament winners
• List of sumo tournament second division winners
• List of yokozuna
• List of past sumo wrestlers

References

1. ^ Sharnoff, Lora (1993). Grand Sumo. Weatherhill. pp. 59. ISBN 0-8348-0283-X. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} Kuroda, Jpe (August 2010). "Rikishi of Old: The 62nd Yokozuna Onokuni Yasushi (1962 ~ ) Part 2". Sumo Fan Magazine. http://www.sumofanmag.com/content/Issue_32/Rikishi_of_Old.pdf. Retrieved 3 September 2010. 
3. ^ "Former Mongolian sumo wrestler sues stablemaster over retirement". Mainichi Daily News. 8 September 2010. Archived from the original on 15 September 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5sm4zZWBC. Retrieved 15 September 2010. 
4. ^ "Sumo stablemaster quizzed over suspected injuring of ex-wrestler". Mainichi Daily News. 8 September 2010. Archived from the original on 15 September 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5sm5GBeH2. 
5. ^ "Onokuni Yasushi Rikishi Information". Sumo Reference. http://sumodb.sumogames.com/Rikishi.aspx?shikona=onokuni&heya=-1&shusshin=-1&b=-1&high=-1&hd=-1&entry=-1&intai=-1&sort=1. Retrieved 2007-07-11. 

External links

• Japanese Sumo Association Biography (English)(Japanese)
• Ōnokuni's basho results
• complete biography and basho results (Japanese)

previous: Hokutoumi Nobuyoshi	62nd Yokozuna September 1987 - July 1991	next: Asahifuji Seiya
Yokozuna is not a successive rank, and more than one wrestler can share the title

Persondata
Name	Onokuni Yasushi
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	9 October 1962
Place of birth	Hokkaidō, Japan
Date of death
Place of death