Dewanofuji Tomoaki

Dewanofuji Tomoaki - 出羽乃富士智瑛 (born December 4, 1976) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Omura, Nagasaki. He made his debut in March 1992 and wrestled for Dewanoumi stable. He reached the juryo division in March 2003. His highest rank was juryo 9 and he retired in November 2007.

Early Life[]

Tominaka Tomokazu is from the city of Omura, in Nagasaki prefecture located in the west of Kyushu. He was born on December 4, 1976 and is the son of a building contractor. With a solid physique, he practiced several sports during his youth such as softball and judo. While in the third grade of junior high school, he was approached by a recruiter from the Dewanoumi stable. The young man chooses to try his luck in the world of professional sumo.

Career[]

Early Career[]

He made his debut in March 1992 and was given the shikona "Dewanofuji" (出羽乃富士). He was promoted to sandanme in July 1993 and makushita in November 1994 at the age of 17. In March 1997, he participated in an eight-man playoff for the makushita yusho, but lost in the second round to Tamarikido. He briefly changed his shikona to "Kionoyama" (喜生の山) for three tournaments in 1999, before reverting back to Dewanofuji. In November 2000, he fell back down to sandanme but won the yusho with a perfect 7-0 record. In November 2002, he won the makushita yusho with a perfect 7-0 record and followed with a 6-1 record which secured him a promotion to juryo for the March 2003 tournament.

Juryo Career[]

In his juryo debut, Dewanofuji produced a lackluster 7-8 record. He remained in juryo for another four tournaments where he produced subpar results and was demoted back down to makushita in January 2004. He immediately returned, but an injury in May 2004 sent him back down to makushita.

Later Career[]

Dewanofuji remained in makushita for another two years before suffering an injury which forced him to sit out of three consecutive tournaments which made him fall all the way down to jonokuchi in March 2007. He returned to sandanme after posting three winning records.

Retirement from Sumo[]

After producing a 2-5 record in the lower tier of sandanme in the November 2007 tournament, Dewanofuji announced his retirement after the tournament and cited lack of physical strength. His danpatsu-shiki, or retirement ceremony, was held on November 26th in his hometown of Omura.

Fighting Style[]

Dewanofuji's favored techniques are listed at the Sumo Association as migi-yotsu (a left hand outside, right hand inside grip on the opponent's mawashi), yori (forcing) and nage (throwing). His most common winning kimarite are yorikiri (force out) and uwatenage (overarm throw).