Akiseyama Mitsuhiko

Akiseyama Mitsuhiko - 明瀬山光彦 (born July 18, 1985) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Kasugai, Aichi. He made his debut in January 2008 and wrestled for Kise stable. He reached the makuuchi division in March 2016. His highest rank was maegashira 12 and he retired in September 2023.

Early Life[]

Akiseyama elementary yokozuna — Fukao performs the dohyo-iri as an Elementary Yokozuna.

Mitsuhiko Fukao was born on July 18, 1985, as the eldest son of the family that runs the construction materials store "Fukao Tile" (深尾タイル).

During his time at Kashihara Elementary School, Fukao began practicing sumo at Chukyo Sumo Club. This is where he met the future Kiyoseumi who was one year his senior. They developed a deep bond, and he respected him greatly. In his fourth and fifth year of elementary school, Fukao won the Wanpaku Sumo National Tournament to earn the title of Elementary Yokozuna. Along with Kiyoseumi, Fukao attended Saitama Sakae High School and Nihon University where they practiced and trained together. Although Kiyoseumi was his close friend they were also rivals, and in his junior year they faced off in the championship match of the All Japan Sumo Championship where he lost.

In 2005, Fukao won the "World S.U.M.O. Challenge-Battle of the Big Giants" held at Madison Square Garden in New York City. After his collegiate career, he opted for a professional career and joined Kise stable.

Career[]

Early Career[]

Fukao2010 — Fukao prepares for his upcoming match (c. 2010)

After Fukao's university career, he turned professional and joined the Kise stable, which also housed Kiyoseumi. He made his debut exactly one year after Kiyoseumi in January 2008, debuting alongside Kyokutaisei and Homarefuji. In March 2008, Fukao won the jonokuchi yusho with a 7-0 record. He replicated the performance in the following May 2008 tournament, but missed out on the jonidan yusho after losing to Homarefuji in a playoff. In the July 2008 tournament, he won his first six matches and was on track to win the sandanme yusho, however, he lost his final match to Surugatsukasa and missed out on the yusho. Nevertheless, Fukao was promoted to the makushita division for the following September 2008 tournament, after having only spent one tournament in the previous divisions. While in makushita, Fukao continued to post winning records and rose as high as makushita 7 without producing a losing record. However, in May 2009, Fukao finished with a 2-5 record, his first career make-koshi.

In July 2009, Fukao finished with a 6-1 record and was placed into an eight-man playoff for the makushita yusho. He defeated Matsutani in the first round, Sotairyu in the second round, and Nakanishi in the third round to claim the makushita yusho. In September 2010, while ranked at makushita 2, Fukao finished with a 4-3 record and secured promotion to juryo for the following November 2010 tournament.

Juryo Career[]

Upon promotion to juryo, he was given the shikona "Akiseyama" (明瀬山), with the "se" (瀬) kanji taken from his stable. He posted back to back 8-7 records in his first two tournaments as a sekitori. However, after the 2011 match-fixing scandal (which Kiyoseumi was involved in), Akiseyama posted two disastrous losing records which caused him to fall back down to the unsalaried makushita division. During this period he was restricted by a hernia.

Akiseyama (2010) — Akiseyama In his first tournament as a sekitori (c. 2010)

After spending seven tournaments in the unsalaried ranks, Akiseyama was promoted back to juryo in November 2012. Akiseyama was posted an 8-7 record in his return but followed with three consecutive 7-8 records which sent him back down to makushita for the July 2013 tournament.

Akiseyama returned back to juryo immediately in September 2013 after only one tournament in makushita. However, Akiseyama still struggled and was unable to establish himself as a sekitori. After posting three consecutive 6-9 records, he was again demoted back down to makushita in November 2014. Akiseyama was able to return to juryo in January 2015 after only one tournament in makushita. This time Akiseyama was able to establish himself in juryo and started to consistently put up winning records. After producing four consecutive winning records, Akiseyama was promoted to makuuchi for the March 2016 tournament.

Makuuchi Career[]

The 48 tournaments it took him to reach the top division from his professional debut was the fourth slowest by a former collegiate wrestler. He lasted just one tournament, scoring only four wins against eleven losses, and returned to juryo. After only managing one win against fourteen losses in the next tournament in May 2016 he was demoted straight to makushita, where he remained for the next two years.

AkiseyamaMidorifuji — Akiseyama defeats the much smaller Midorifuji (c. 2021)

He was promoted back to juryo in March 2018 and produced a strong 11–4 record, taking part in a playoff for the championship. He reached juryo 1 in July 2018, his highest rank since his single makuuchi appearance. However, seven consecutive losing scores saw him fall to the bottom of juryo and then be relegated to the makushita division after the July 2019 tournament. He returned to juryo after just one tournament away by recording a 4–3 score in September. He was demoted to makushita again in January 2020 but returned to the juryo division in March and remained in juryo for the rest of 2020.

Akiseyama returned to the makuuchi division in January 2021 for the first time in 28 tournaments, the fourth slowest return in sumo history. In his makuuchi return Akiseyama began the tournament with six straight wins, before suffering five straight losses. Another run of three wins saw him enter Day 15 with a 9–5 record, and the knowledge that he would be awarded the Fighting Spirit prize if he won. Matched against Kagayaki, he was called the winner by the gyoji after pulling off an amiuchi or fisherman's throw, but the judges called for a re-match, which he lost. He narrowly missed a winning record in the following March tournament, but remained in the top division. In May he withdrew from a tournament for the first time in his career, after suffering a jaw fracture in a bout against Chiyotairyu. He missed the next two tournaments causing him to fall to the makushita division.

Retirement from Sumo[]

After Akiseyama spent two years in the makushita division, his retirement was announced by the Japan Sumo Association on 10 August 2023. Akiseyama became an elder of the Japan Sumo Association, borrowing the Izutsu elder stock from Shimanoumi.

Akiseyama's retirement ceremony, or danpatsu-shiki, was held on 2 June 2024 at the Ryogoku Kokugikan, with about 300 people taking part in cutting his topknot.

Personal Life[]

Akiseyama's favorite food is his mother's homemade stew, his hobbies are listening to music, eating out, and watching anime.
On May 19, 2012, around 8:00 pm, Akiseyama was in a taxi with stablemate Tokushoryu. The taxi accidentally collided with a passenger car at an intersection, and Akiseyama suffered mild injuries from the accident.
Unlike most sumo wrestlers, Akiseyama started sumo at his peak weight of 198 kilograms (437 Ib) before slimming down to 169 kilograms (372 Ib) in 2011. Nevertheless, Akiseyama spent most of his career weighing around the 170 kg to 180 kg (375 Ib - 397 Ib).
In June 2024, he announced he had been married since December 2020 and had a son in November 2021.

Fighting Style[]

Akiseyama lists his preferred techniques on his Japan Sumo Association profile as tsuki/oshi, pushing and thrusting his opponents rather fighting on the mawashi or belt. However his most common winning kimarite in his career to date is yorikiri, or force out, which usually involves a mawashi grip. This is because he made a deliberate decision to change his style of wrestling after his hernia problem, working with his stablemaster Kise to grab the mawashi with his right hand to speed up the attack and use his weight to his advantage.

Former yokozuna Kitanoumi also encouraged him to go for a right hand grip when Akiseyama was temporarily a member of Kitanoumi stable from 2010 until 2012. Akiseyama also regularly employed oshidashi (push out), tsukiotoshi (thrust down), and hatakikomi (slap down).