Akinoshu Kenji

Akinoshu Kenji - 安芸乃州賢二 (born January 17, 1969) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Naka-ku, Hiroshima. He made his debut in September 1984 and wrestled for Izutsu stable. He reached the makuuchi division in September 1997. His highest rank was maegashira 9 and he retired in January 2001.

Career[]

Early Career[]

Imada joined Izutsu stable in September 1984 and initially wrestled under his surname. In May 1986 he won all seven matches, but missed out on the jonidan yusho after losing to Tenryugawa by tsuridashi (lift out) in a playoff. Nevertheless, he was promoted to sandanme in the following July 1986 tournament and makushita in May 1990. In November 1991 he changed his shikona to "Akinoryu" (安芸ノ竜) before finally changing it to "Akinoshu" (安芸乃州) in November 1993. Due to his lightweight he struggled to rise up the ranks of makushita and he remained in the division for nearly seven years. It was not until November 1996 when Akinoshu produced a 4-3 record at the rank of makushita 2 which earned him a promotion to the juryo division.

Juryo Career[]

Even though Akinoshu struggled in the lower divisions for several years he excelled in the much more competitive juryo division. He produced four consecutive winning records from his juryo debut and was promoted to makuuchi in September 1997.

Makuuchi Career[]

Akinoshu produced an 8-7 record in his juryo debut and followed with a 9-6 record which promoted him to his career-best rank of maegashira 9 in January 1998. However, he only managed 5 wins at this rank and two tournaments later he was demoted back down to juryo. He returned to makuuchi in September 1998, but could only maintain his rank for two tournaments.

Retirement from Sumo[]

Screen Shot 2021-03-30 at 11.11.15 AM — Yakiniku Akinozen

Akinoshu was comfortably ranked in juryo, however, he suffered a myocardial infarction, more commonly known as a heart attack, during a tour in Maebashi on April 2000. He was hospitalized and had to sit out of the May 2000 tournament. Although this prevented him from doing sumo, it did not interfere with his daily life. He announced his retirement after the January 2001 tournament after falling all the way down to sandanme. His danpatsu-shiki, or retirement ceremony, was held at the Ryogoku Kokugikan.

After retirement he opened up a yakiniku restaurant in Kinshi, Sumida, Tokyo, called "Yakiniku Akinozen" (和牛専科安芸の膳).

Personal Life[]

Akinoshu served as Terao's tsukebito, or personal servant, for 10 years before reaching juryo.
Akinoshu played baseball at Hiroshima Commercial High School for six months before quitting and joining sumo in September 1984.

Fighting Style[]

Akinoshu's favorite technique was tsuppari (a series of rapid thrusts to the opponent's chest). However, he won most of his matches by yorikiri (force out), followed closely by oshidashi (push out).