Futen'ō Izumi

Sumo wrestler infobox

wrestlername = 普天王 水 Futen'ō Izumi


realname = Izumi Uchida
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1980|08|28
placeofbirth = Kumamoto, Japan
height = height|meters=1.80
weight = convert|150|kg|lb|abbr=on|lk=on
heya = Dewanoumi
rank = Maegashira 10
record = 258-247-4
debut = January, 2003
highestrank = Komusubi (September 2005)
yushos =
prizes = Fighting Spirit (1)
Technique (1)
goldstars =
weburl =http://futenou.ameblo.jp/
update = Sept 2008

Futen'ō Izumi (born August 28, 1980 as Izumi Uchida in Tensui, Tamana District, Kumamoto, Japan), is a sumo wrestler. The highest rank he has reached is "komusubi".

Career

He was born to a family of orange farmers. He had loved sumo since elementary school and had the full support of his parents in turning professional, although his father wished him to complete his education first.cite web|author=Mitchell, Andrew|title=SUMO: Futeno living out childhood dream in sumo ring|publisher=Asahi.com|url=http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200801250050.html|date=2008-01-25|accessdate=3008-05-31] After finishing high school he went to Nihon University, where he gained the amateur equivalent of the "yokozuna" title.

Futen'ō entered professional sumo in January 2003. He joined Dewanoumi stable, one of the most prestigious "heya" in sumo. Its longstanding history was one of the reasons he chose that particular stable. Because of his amateur achievements he was given "makushita tsukedashi" status and so was allowed to leapfrog the lower divisions, beginning his career as a "makushita" (third division) wrestler. He was runner-up in his first tournament, only losing on a tie-break after a 6-1 result. He was promoted to "jūryō" after only two tournaments, and the "makuuchi" division five tournaments later, in March 2004.

Futen'ō initially struggled in the top division, recording four "make-koshi" tournaments out of five before slipping back to the "jūryō" division in January 2005. He returned to the "makuuchi" division for the next tournament, however, and results of 11-4 and 10-5 in May and July saw him rewarded with two special prizes for Fighting Spirit and Technique and promotion to "komusubi", his highest rank so far. Despite unexpectedly defeating "yokozuna" Asashōryū on the opening day of the tournament (his only win against a "yokozuna" to date) he was unable to retain the rank, posting a 5-10 score. In November 2005 he tore ligaments in his right ankle, forcing him to withdraw from the tournament, and he has not yet managed to return to "komusubi". A series of mixed results in 2007 left him a middle-ranked "maegashira" for most of the year. In 2008 he produced three consecutive "kachi-koshi" or winning scores, which returned him to the upper "maegashira" ranks for July, but he could win only three bouts there.

His "shikona", or sumo name of Futen'ō was thought up by his father. Coming from Tensui village, he had wanted to use the "kanji" "ten", so his father combined "futen", meaning "everything in the universe", with "teno", from a traditional story about a boy who works hard to protect a mountain. Taken together, Futen'ō regards his fighting name as meaning "one who works hard on everything."

Futeno announced his engagement in April 2008, to a 27 year old former nurse who he met in Nagoya in 2005. They will officially celebrate their union in August. [ [http://www.kocosports.com/absolutenm/anmviewer.asp?a=20859&z=80 Futenoh, announces his engagement to 27 year-old former nurse, Sachi Kirii ] ]

He is one of several top sumo wrestlers to keep a blog which he regularly updates even during tournaments, reviewing each of his wins and losses.

Top division record

References

ee also

*Glossary of sumo terms
*List of active sumo wrestlers

External links

*Japanese Sumo Association Biography [http://sumo.goo.ne.jp/eng/ozumo_meikan/rikishi_joho/rikishi_2518.html (English)] [http://sumo.goo.ne.jp/ozumo_meikan/rikishi_joho/rikishi_2518.html (Japanese)]
* [http://www.szumo.hu/sekitori/Futeno.html Futen'ō's basho results]
* [http://www.fsinet.or.jp/~sumo/profile/1/20040302.htm complete biography and basho results (Japanese)]
* [http://ameblo.jp/futenou/ Futen'ō's blog (Japanese)]