Fukunohana Koichi

Fukunohana Koichi - 福の花孝一 (born July 1, 1940) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Koshi, Kumamoto. He made his debut in January 1958 and last wrestled for Dewanoumi stable. He reached the makuuchi division in September 1965 and has seven special prizes as well as five kinboshi. His highest rank was sekiwake and he retired in November 1975.

Career[]

Early Career[]

He made his professional debut in January 1958, wrestling for Dewanoumi stable under the shikona "Fukunohana" (福の花). He was promoted to sandanme in May 1960 and makushita in May 1961. In May 1964 he won the makushita yusho with a perfect 7-0 record at the rank of makushita 14 and was promoted to juryo for the following July 1964 tournament.

Juryo Career[]

In his first tournament as a sekitori, Fukunohana posted a strong 10-5 record. He followed up with two additional winning records and was promoted to the top of juryo in January 1965, however, he sat out of this tournament and missed out on a makuuchi promotion. Nevertheless, he bounced back three winning records and was promoted to makuuchi in September 1965.

Makuuchi Career[]

Fukunohana was ranked in the top division for over a decade and his highest rank was sekiwake which he held in January 1971 (this was the only time he was ranked as sekiwake). In addition he won the Fighting Spirit prize on seven different occasions and earned five total kinboshi.

His most notable match was in January 1970 where he knocked out ozeki Kitanofuji with a harite (open hand strike - a completely legal move). This earned him the nickname Fukunohana (フックの花), with the "Fuku" meaning hook. Fukunohana never managed to win a top division championship, but he was runner-up on three different occasions in November 1967, January 1972, and November 1972.

Fukunohana served as the mentor of stablemate Mienoumi and had high expectations for him. In a 1975 interview he announced that he would not retire until Mienoumi reaches the rank of ozeki. After six consecutive losing records he announced his retirement after the November 1975 tournament which coincided with Mienoumi's ozeki promotion.

Retirement from Sumo[]

Upon retirement from sumo, Fukunohana remained in the Japan Sumo Association as an elder under the name Sekinoto. In 2000 he was promoted to the rank of executive member in the sumo hierarchy and in June 2005 he reached the mandatory retirement age of 65.

Fighting Style[]

Fukunohana 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. He also liked to employ tsuppari, or a series of rapid thrusts to the chest.