Amatsunada Fukuichi - 天津灘 福一 (born August 2, 1932 - March 28, 2001) was a Korean-Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Ushizu, Saga. He made his debut in September 1950 and last wrestled for Nishonoseki stable. He reached the makuuchi division in May 1958. His highest rank was maegashira 18 and he retired in September 1961.
Career[]
Early Career[]
Born in Ushizu, Saga, he moved to Tokyo at the age of 18 and joined Nishonoseki stable. He made his professional debut in September 1960 and was given the shikona "Amatsunada" (天津灘). He was promoted to sandanme in January 1952 and makushita in January 1954. In January 1957 he posted a 6-2 record at the rank of makushita 1 and was promoted to juryo for the following March 1957 tournament.
Juryo Career[]
In his first tournament as a sekitori, Amatsunada finished with a strong 10-5 record. After a string of losing records, he posted three consecutive double-digit winning records and was promoted to makuuchi in May 1958.
Makuuchi Career[]
Amatsunada posted an 8-7 record in his makuuchi debut and was promoted to the rank of maegashira 18. At this rank he finished with an 7-8 record, but followed with a poor 3-12 record and was demoted back down to juryo after only three tournaments ranked in the top division.
Retirement from Sumo[]
He remained in juryo for three year before retiring from sumo in September 1961 to avoid an inevitable demotion to makushita. After retiring, he married Taiho's sister (Taiho was his stablemate) and he ran a sushi restaurant in Osaka. However, shortly afterwards, the restaurant closed down and he separated from his wife.
He subsequently moved to South Korea by himself as he was a Zainichi Korean (Korean with permanent residency in Japan). He reverted his surname from Tamura to Jeon (전) and ran a Japanese restaurant in Seoul. Moreover, he remarried to a Korean woman.
Death[]
He died on March 28, 2001, at a hospital in Yeongcheon due to liver failure. He was 68 years old.
Fighting Style[]
Amatsunada was a yotsu-sumo wrestler who prefers grappling to pushing and thrusting techniques. He favored a hidari-yotsu (right hand outside, left hand inside) position when gripping his opponent's mawashi (belt). His most common kimarite was yorikiri, or force out.
Record[]
Division Results[]
- Total: 308-302/610 (51 basho)
- Makuuchi: 18-27/45 (3 basho)
- Juryo: 179-181/360 (24 basho)
- Makushita: 60-44/104 (13 basho)
- Sandanme: 24-24/48 (6 basho)
- Jonidan: 21-17/38 (3 basho)
- Jonokuchi: 6-9/15 (1 basho)
Shikona History[]
- Tamura Fukuichi (1950.09 - 1952.01)
- Amatsunada Fukuichi (1952.05 - 1961.09)
Gallery[]
