Aobayama Hirotoshi

Aobayama Hirotoshi - 青葉山弘年 (born April 3, 1950 - September 24, 1997) was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Osato, Miyagi. He made his debut in November 1968 and last wrestled for Kise stable. He reached the makuuchi division in November 1975 and has three special prizes. His highest rank was komusubi and he retired in September 1982.

Early Life[]

Takahashi attended Miyagi Prefectural Agricultural High School where he was a member of the judo club. An acquaintance introduced him to Kise Oyakata (former maegashira Kiyonomori) and he subsequently dropped out of high school and joined Kise stable.

Career[]

Early Career[]

He made his debut in November 1968 under the shikona "Aobayama" (青葉山). In his first professional tournament, Aobayama won the jonokuchi yusho. He was promoted to sandanme in July 1969 and makushita in March 1970. He won the sandanme yusho in November 1970 after defeating four wrestlers consecutively in a nine-man playoff. He subsequently was able to establish himself in makushita and rose to the top of the division by the end of the year.

In January 1972, he produced a 4-3 record at the rank of makushita 1 west and was promoted to the makushita 1 east in the following March tournament. In this tournament, he produced a 3-4 record after losing his match on the 14th day. Luckily, since there was an imbalance of wrestlers, he was put up against juryo-ranked Owashi for a rare 8th match. He defeated Owashi by sotogake (outside leg trip) to finish with a 4 win 4 loss record. Because of this he was able to keep his makushita 1 east rank, but finished with a 3-4 record in the following tournament. After this, he switched his shikona to "Takagiyama" (貴城山), but later reverted back to Aobayama in March 1974. After the shikona reversion, he produced a 5-2 record at the rank of makushita 4 and was promoted to juryo in May 1974.

Juryo Career[]

In his first tournament as a sekitori, Aobayama finished with a solid 9-6 record. After a year of mediocre records, Aobayama produced an impressive 13-2 record in September 1975 which also won him the juryo yusho. He was promoted to makuuchi in the following November 1975 tournament.

Makuuchi Career[]

In his makuuchi debut, Aobayama produced a strong 10-5 record and was awarded his first Fighting Spirit prize. However, he followed with three consecutive losing records and was demoted back down to juryo in July 1976. He returned to makuuchi in July 1977 after a year in juryo. In November 1978, Aobayama posted a 9-6 record, with wins over ozeki's Takanohana, Mienoumi, and Asahikuni. He was awarded the Technique prize and promoted to komusubi in the following January 1979 tournament. Aobayama struggled in his san'yaku debut and finished with a 4-11 record. He was promoted to komusubi on two other occasions, but he also struggled and finished with losing records. Moreover, Aobayama never managed to defeat a yokozuna in his career. The 28 attempts to never defeat a yokozuna was a record, until surpassed by Toki's 29 attempts in January 2003. His last meaningful performance came in September 1980 when he finished with an 11-4 record and was awarded hi second Fighting Spirt Prize.

Towards his later career, Aobayama began to struggle with diabetes and was demoted back down to juryo in January 1982. He announced his retirement after the 10th day of the September 1982 tournament.

Retirement from Sumo[]

After retiring, he became an elder in the Japan Sumo Association under the name Asakayama (now held by ex-ozeki Kaio). He worked as a coach for Kise stable and also served as a ringside judge during tournaments. However, his diabetes worsened and he died on September 24, 1997, at the age of 47.

Fighting Style[]

Aobayama 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 was yorikiri, or force out. His favorite kimarite was tsuridashi, or lift out, which he employed on 70 different occasions during his time as a sekitori.