Hakuryo Katsuo - 柏梁 勝雄 (born December 10, 1942 - January 16, 2019) was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Ofunato, Iwate. He made his debut in March 1961 and last wrestled for Isenoumi stable. He reached the juryo division in September 1966. His highest rank was juryo 3 and he retired in January 1977.
Early Life[]
Born in the town of Sanriku (later merged into the city of Ofunato) in Iwate prefecture, Nakamura played baseball and sumo as kid, but preferred sumo. He wrote a letter of intent to Isenoumi stable and was accepted into the stable. He subsequently dropped out of high school and made his professional debut in March 1961.
Career[]
Wrestling under the shikona "Hakuryo" (柏梁), he was promoted to sandanme in September 1961 and makushita in May 1963. In July 1966, he finished with a perfect 7-0 record at the rank of makushita 4, but missed out on the yusho as he lost to Matsumaeyama in the playoff. Nevertheless, he was promoted to juryo for the following September 1966 tournament.
Hakuryo's first juryo run lasted seven tournaments before he was demoted back down to makushita in November 1967. He did not return to juryo until January 1970 where he would only last one tournament. He returned to juryo again in July 1970 and was able to maintain his sekitori status for two years. He rose as high as juryo 3 in July 1972 and wrestled in makuuchi twice, but he could only muster out a 3-12 record in this tournament.
He was demoted back down to makushita in January 1973. He returned to juryo for the fourth time in May 1974, but finished with a 2-13 record and this proved to be his last appearance as a sekitori. He was ranked in juryo for a total of 24 tournaments finishing with a 164 wins 196 losses record.
Retirement from Sumo[]
Choseiin (長生館)
He announced his retirement after the January 1977 tournament at the age of 34. He suffered from retinitis pigmentosa which is a congenital eye disorder which causes progressive vision loss. After retiring, he studied at the National Center for Visual Impairment in Hakodate, Hokkaido, with the aim of becoming a Shiatsu teacher, and ran the Shiatsu Institute "Choseiin" (長生院) in Kitakami, Iwate.
Death[]
He died on Janaury 16, 2019, due to leukemia at the age of 76. His body was donated to Iwate Medical University.
Fighting Style[]
Hakuryo was a yotsu-sumo wrestler who prefers grappling to pushing and thrusting techniques. He favored a hidari-yotsu (right hand outside, left hand inside) position when gripping his opponent's mawashi (belt). His most common kimarite was yorikiri, or force out.
Record[]
Division Results[]
- Total: 437-406-14/843 (96 basho)
- Juryo: 164-196/360 (24 basho)
- Makushita: 225-174-14/399 (59 basho)
- Sandanme: 37-33/70 (10 basho)
- Jonidan: 6-1/7 (1 basho)
- Jonokuchi: 5-2/7 (1 basho)
Shikona History[]
- Hakuryo Katsuo (1961.03 - 1977.01)
Gallery[]
