Genbu Mitsuru - 玄武 満 (born May 4, 1946) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Ashibetsu, Hokkaido. He made his debut in March 1964 and last wrestled for Tatsunami stable. He reached the juryo division in January 1973. His highest rank was juryo 7 and he retired in May 1977.
Career[]
Early Career[]
During his second year of high school, he was recruited by Oshima Oyakata (former maegashira Wakanami) who worked as a coach for Tatsunami stable. He subsequently dropped out of high school and made his professional debut in March 1964 under the shikona "Kuriharayama" (栗原山) which was derived from his surname Kurihara. In July 1964, he won all seven matches, but missed out on the jonidan yusho after losing to the Hawaiian Takamiyama in a playoff. He was promoted to sandanme in the following September 1964 tournament and makushita in November 1967. In January 1970, he changed his shikona "Genbu" (玄武) and after six consecutive winning records, he was promoted to juryo in January 1973.
Juryo Career[]
Genbu was ranked in juryo for a total of ten tournaments and his highest rank was juryo 7 in May 1973. His first juryo appearance only lasted five tournaments and he was demoted back down to makushita in November 1973. He returned to juryo on three separate occasions, but was unable to establish himself as a sekitori. His last juryo appearance was in March 1975 and he announced his retirement two years later in May 1977.
Retirement from Sumo[]
After retiring from sumo, he opened up a chanko restaurant in Sapporo, Hokkaido, called "Chanko Izakaya Genbu" (ちゃんこ居酒屋玄武). His restaurant closed down in April 2017. In addition, he was also an actor and appeared in many commercials.
Fighting Style[]
Genbu was proficient in both yotsu-sumo (grappling) and oshi-sumo (pushing and thrusting) techniques. His favored grip on his opponent's mawashi was migi-yotsu, a left hand outside, right hand inside position. His most often used winning kimarite was oshidashi (push out), followed by yorikiri (force out).
Record[]
Division Results[]
- Total: 321-285-27/606 (80 basho)
- Juryo: 69-81/150 (10 basho)
- Makushita: 164-151-7/315 (46 basho)
- Sandanme: 60-46-13/106 (17 basho)
- Jonidan: 24-4-7/28 (5 basho)
- Jonokuchi: 4-3/7 (1 basho)
Shikona History[]
- Kuriharayama Mitsuru (1964.03 - 1969.11)
- Genbu Mitsuru (1970.01 - 1977.05)
Gallery[]
