Genkai Momotaro

Genkai Momotaro - 玄海桃太郎 (born December 26, 1968) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Nishi-ku, Fukuoka. He made his debut in March 1984 and wrestled for Asahiyama stable. He reached the juryo division in May 1992. His highest rank was juryo 12 and he retired in January 2001.

Early Life[]

Kenji Tanaka belonged to the volleyball club in junior high school and had no experience with sumo wrestling. However, he received many offers from people affiliated with Asahiyama stable, and every time they visited Fukuoka for the November tournament they would reach out to Tanaka. After graduating junior high school, he joined the stable.

Career[]

He made his debut in March 1984 and initially wrestled under the shikona "Wakatanaka" (若田中) before switching to "Momotaro" (桃太郎) in September 1984. He was promoted to sandanme in November 1985 and makushita in November 1986. He changed his shikona to "Genkai" (玄海) in September 1991 and in March 1992 he posted a 4-3 record at the rank of makushita 1 which earned him a promotion to juryo in the following May 1992 tournament.

Genkai could only manage 5 wins in his sekitori debut and was demoted back down to makushita. He returned to juryo in March 1994 but finished with a 6-9 record which resulted in a fall back down to makushita. He returned immediately after one tournament in makushita but finished with a 6-9 record in July 1994 which demoted him back down to makushita.

Genkai remained in makushita for majority of his later career. He changed his shikona to his surname "Tanaka" (田中) in November 1996 before switching to "Ishinriki" (威神力) in November 1997. He had a late career resurgence where he won the makushita yusho with a perfect 7-0 record in January 1999. He was promoted to makushita 3 and reverted his shikona back to Genkai as a result. In this tournament he faced off against two juryo-ranked wrestlers (Wakatsutomu and Kitazakura), but he finished with a poor 1-6 record.

Retirement from Sumo[]

By July 2000, Genkai had fallen to sandanme and he subsequently announced his retirement after the January 2001 tournament. After retiring, he trained at a restaurant and worked as the manager for "Chanko Futaseryu" (ちゃんこ二瀬龍) in Higashiosaka. He currently runs a Korean restaurant in Higashiosaka.

Fighting Style[]

Genkai was a tsuki/oshi specialist, who prefers pushing and thrusting at his opponents rather than fighting on the mawashi or belt. His most common winning kimarite was oshidashi, or push out.