Miyabiyama Tetsushi

雅山哲士 Miyabiyama Tetsushi
Personal information
Born	Masato Takeuchi July 28, 1977 (1977-07-28) (age 34) Ibaraki, Japan
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 1 1⁄2 in)
Weight	182 kg (400 lb; 28.7 st)
Web presence	website
Career
Heya	Fujishima
Current rank	see below
Debut	July 1998
Highest rank	Ōzeki (July 2000)
Yūshō	2 (Jūryō) 2 (Makushita)
Sanshō	Outstanding Performance (2) Fighting Spirit (5) Technique (1)
Kinboshi	2 (Asashōryū)
* Career information is correct as of Nov 2011.

Miyabiyama Tetsushi (born July 28, 1977 as Masato Takeuchi) is a sumo wrestler from Mito, Ibaraki, Japan. A former amateur champion, he turned professional in 1998. He has been ranked in the top division of professional sumo since 1999, holding the second highest rank of ōzeki from 2000 to 2001. He has won eight special prizes and been runner-up in four tournaments during his top division career. He wrestles for Fujishima stable (formerly Musashigawa stable).

Early career

Miyabiyama competed in amateur sumo tournaments while at Meiji University, but left before graduation to join the professional ranks. He was accepted by Musashigawa stable in July 1998 and given makushita tsukedashi status, meaning he could begin at the bottom of the third highest makushita division. He quickly worked his way through the ranks, logging in four consecutive championships, two in makushita and two in jūryō to reach the top makuuchi division in March 1999 just eight months after entering professional sumo. His rise to the middle ranks of makuuchi was so quick, that he still did not have a topknot, a true rarity and one that did not go unnoticed by announcers. He won a fighting spirit prize in his first top division tournament, and was promoted to komusubi in January 2000. In that tournament he delivered an impressive 12-3 record, finishing as runner up to stablemate Musoyama. He followed that up with two 11-4 marks at sekiwake rank in March and May 2000. After that tournament he was promoted to sumo's second highest rank of ōzeki. He had made the rank only 12 tournaments after his professional debut, tying for the record with Yutakayama (another amateur champion) and Haguroyama.

Ōzeki

Miyabiyama's promotion was controversial. The Sumo Association's decision was not unanimous, with three of the ten directors present at the meeting voting against the promotion. Sakaigawa-oyakata (ex yokozuna Sadanoyama), in particular, was reported to have felt it was too soon as Miyabiyama had only been in makuuchi for just over a year, and had not yet won a top division title.^[1] In the end the doubters were proved correct as Miyabiyama lasted just eight tournaments in the rank, never scoring more than 9 wins, before being demoted in the wake of two consecutive losing records. He was one of the most short-lived ōzeki on record (not counting of course, wrestlers who have quickly been promoted to yokozuna).

Later career

Miyabiyama in May 2009.

Miyabiyama sat out the two tournaments following his demotion with an injury, and so had to start all over again from the maegashira ranks. In January 2003 he looked to have defeated yokozuna Takanohana for the first time in eleven attempts by producing a rare counter-attacking nichonage throw but although the referee declared him the winner the judges ordered a rematch, which he lost. He produced the occasional strong tournament, finishing as runner-up in July 2004, and he held a sanyaku rank several times, but he was unable to go further and continued to move up and down the banzuke.

It was not until mid-2006 that Miyabiyama was able to make his first sustained challenge for promotion to ozeki since his demotion five years previously. In May at sekiwake rank he produced a superb 14-1 record, only losing the championship on the last day in a playoff to then-Ōzeki Hakuhō. There was speculation that another strong performance in July 2006 would see him return to ōzeki, but he got off to a poor start, winning only three bouts in the first seven days, and though he recovered somewhat to post a 10-5 score, it was not considered good enough. He was only the second wrestler after Kotogahama in 1957 to post more than 33 wins in three tournaments in sanyaku and not get promoted to ozeki. He could score only 9-6 and 8-7 in the next two basho and in January 2007 his run of five tournaments at sekiwake came to an end when he could only manage a 5-10 record.

In March 2007 Miyabiyama earned his first ever kinboshi or gold star by defeating yokozuna Asashōryū on the second day. He had defeated yokozuna on four previous occasions - Akebono in January 2000, Akebono and Wakanohana in March 2000 and Asashoryu himself in September 2004, but each time had had been ranked in sanyaku and was not eligible for a kinboshi. The victory was all the more surprising as prior to this bout Miyabiyama had lost thirteen in a row to Asashōryū. However on the 7th day he picked up a hamstring injury and had to withdraw from the tournament. He returned with a comfortable 9-6 mark in May, and remained in the upper maegashira ranks, defeating Asashōryū again in September 2008. In May 2009 he slipped to maegashira 11, his lowest ever top division ranking, but he responded with two consecutive winning records, the first time he had achieved this since 2006. In November 2009 he was runner-up alongside Tochinoshin on 12-3 and shared the Fighting Spirit award.

He was suspended along with over a dozen other wrestlers from the July 2010 tournament after admitting involvement in illegal betting on baseball. As a result he became the first former ozeki since Daiju in 1977 to be demoted to the jūryō division. This broke a run of 69 consecutive tournaments ranked in makuuchi. However, he had no problem in securing a return to the top division (the first ex-ozeki ever to do so), scoring 12-3 at the rank of jūryō 2.

Fighting style

Miyabiyama (right) faces Rohō in May 2007.

Miyabiyama specialises in pushing and thrusting techniques, with about a third of his wins being a simple push-out, or oshi-dashi. Like most oshi specialists, he is at a disadvantage if his opponents manage to grab hold of his mawashi or belt. At 182 kg (400 lb), he was the heaviest man in the top division from the retirement of his stablemate Musashimaru in November 2003, until the arrival of the 250 kg (550 lb) Yamamotoyama in 2009.

Family

Miyabiyama was married in 2008 to a 24 year old former office worker from Kurume, Fukuoka, and their wedding reception was held in June 2009 with 450 guests including his stablemaster Musashigawa Oyakata attending.

Tournament record

Miyabiyama Tetsushi^[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
1998	x	x	x	Makushita #60 7–0 Champion	West Makushita #6 7–0 Champion	West Jūryō #11 12–3 Champion
1999	West Jūryō #1 14–1 Champion	East Maegashira #7 9–6 F	West Maegashira #2 6–9	East Maegashira #4 7–8	Maegashira #5 10–5	West Maegashira #1 8–7
2000	West Komusubi 12–3 O	West Sekiwake 11–4 F	East Sekiwake 11–4 F	West Ōzeki 6–9	West Ōzeki 8–7	West Ōzeki 9–6
2001	West Ōzeki 8–7	East Ōzeki 7–8	West Ōzeki 9–6	East Ōzeki 7–8	West Ōzeki 3–7–5	West Sekiwake Sat out due to injury 0–0–15
2002	East Sekiwake Sat out due to injury 0–0–15	East Maegashira #8 9–6	East Maegashira #3 10–5	East Komusubi 6–9	East Maegashira #1 7–8	East Maegashira #2 8–7
2003	West Maegashira #1 1–3–11	West Maegashira #9 9–6	East Maegashira #5 10–5	East Maegashira #1 10–5	West Sekiwake 4–11	East Maegashira #4 6–9
2004	East Maegashira #7 11–4	East Maegashira #1 8–7	East Komusubi 3–12	East Maegashira #7 12–3	West Sekiwake 9–6	West Sekiwake 9–6
2005	West Sekiwake 9–6	East Sekiwake 5–10	East Maegashira #3 8–7	West Komusubi 7–8	East Maegashira #1 6–9	East Maegashira #4 10–5 F
2006	East Maegashira #1 8–7	West Komusubi 10–5	West Sekiwake 14–1–P OT	East Sekiwake 10–5	East Sekiwake 9–6	East Sekiwake 8–7
2007	West Sekiwake 5–10	East Maegashira #3 4–4–7 ★	West Maegashira #9 9–6	East Maegashira #5 7–8	West Maegashira #5 9–6	West Maegashira #1 7–8
2008	West Maegashira #2 7–8	West Maegashira #2 7–8	East Maegashira #3 6–9	East Maegashira #5 9–6	West Maegashira #1 4–11 ★	East Maegashira #7 10–5
2009	East Maegashira #2 6–9	East Maegashira #3 4–11	East Maegashira #11 9–6	East Maegashira #4 8–7	West Maegashira #1 4–11	West Maegashira #9 12–3 F
2010	West Maegashira #2 5–10	East Maegashira #7 10–5	West Maegashira #1 5–10	West Maegashira #5 Suspended 0–0–15	(Juryo)	West Maegashira #14 9–6
2011	East Maegashira #10 6–9	East Maegashira #16 Tournament Cancelled 0–0–0	East Maegashira #16 8–7	West Maegashira #8 8–7	East Maegashira #5 7–8	East Maegashira #6 –
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 second division winners
• List of active sumo wrestlers

References

1. ^ Newton, Clyde (2001-07-08). "Plain sailing for Musashimaru with Taka absent from Nagoya". Japan Times. http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ss20010708a1.html. Retrieved 2008-07-10. 
2. ^ "Rikishi in Juryo and Makunouchi". szumo.hu. http://www.szumo.hu/sekitori/Miyabiyama.html. Retrieved 2007-11-03. 

External links

• Sumo Association Biography
• Official profile
• Miyabiyama's blog
• Miyabiyama's basho results

Persondata
Name	Miyabiyama Tetsushi
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1977-07-28
Place of birth	Ibaraki, Japan
Date of death
Place of death