Akinomine Shoji - 秋乃峰 將司 (born March 20, 1977) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Odawara, Kanagawa. He made his debut in January 1995 and wrestled for Minezaki stable. His highest rank was makushita 26 and he retired in January 2013.
Career[]
Ryuji Akiyama joined Minezaki stable during his third year at Soyo High School and he made his professional debut in January 1995. In May 1996, he finished with a perfect 7-0 record and defeated Hokutowaka and Yoshiazuma in a three-way playoff to claim the jonidan yusho. He was promoted to sandanme for the following July 1996 tournament and given the shikona "Akinoyama" (秋ノ山). However, he had a mediocre showing after the shikona change and reverted back to fighting under his surname in March 1997.
He was promoted to makushita in July 2000 and became the third makushita wrestler from his stable. He was unable to establish himself in makushita so he was given the shikona "Hakuonada" (白鴎洋) in March 2001, however, he reverted back to fighting under his surname in January 2002 after no progression in the rankings. In the January 2002 tournament, Akiyama won his first six matches, but missed out on the sandanme yusho after losing to Kokkai in his final match. He reached a career-best makushita 26 in July 2004. In March 2006, he was given the new shikona "Hajimeyama" (一山). A year later in March 2007, he was given the new shikona "Akinomine" (秋乃峰), his seventh shikona change. In January 2011, he injured his left knee ligament and had to miss the May 2011 tournament (the March 2011 tournament was cancelled due to the 2011 match-fixing scandal).
Retirement from Sumo[]
Akinomine retired from sumo in January 2013. After retiring, he opened up a chanko restaurant called "Dosukoi Rikishi Shokudo" (どすこい 力士食堂) in his hometown of Odawara, Kanagawa.
Fighting Style[]
Akinomine defeats Isshinryu by yorikiri (force out)
Akinomine was a yotsu-sumo wrestler who prefers grappling to pushing and thrusting techniques. He favored a migi-yotsu (left hand outside, right hand inside) position when gripping his opponent's mawashi (belt). His most common kimarite were yorikiri (force out) and uwatenage (overarm throw).
Record[]
Division Results[]
- Total: 380-354-15/733 (108 basho)
- Makushita: 67-86-1/152 (22 basho)
- Sandanme: 276-249-14/525 (77 basho)
- Jonidan: 32-17/49 (7 basho)
- Jonokuchi: 5-2/7 (1 basho)
Championships[]
- 1 Jonidan Championship (May 1996)
Shikona History[]
- Akiyama Ryuji (1995.01 - 1996.05)
- Akinoyama Ryuji (1996.07 - 1997.01)
- Akiyama Ryuji (1997.03 - 2001.01)
- Hakuonada Ryuji (2001.03 - 2001.11)
- Akiyama Ryuji (2002.01 - 2006.01)
- Hajimeyama Akinori (2006.03 - 2007.01)
- Akinomine Shudo (2007.03 - 2007.07)
- Akinomine Shoji (2007.09 - 2013.01)
Gallery[]
