Hakusan Momotaro - 伯山 桃太郎 (born November 28, 1956) is a former Brazilian professional sumo wrestler from Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais. He made his debut in March 1977 and last wrestled for Izutsu stable. His highest rank was makushita 9 and he retired in May 1986.
Early Life[]
Pasquale Boschi (sometimes spelled Pasquale Bosche or Paschoale Boschi) is a third generation Italian-Brazilian and the son of a baker. Because of this, he was use to manual labor and discipline from a young age. He grew up in Belo Horizonte, the capital of Minas Gerais, and was an avid practitioner of judo. When Kimigahama oyakata (former sekiwake Tsurugamine) was on a three-man tour of Brazil in 1976, he was extremely impressed with Boschi's showing at an amateur sumo tournament and he immediately offered Boschi an invitation to join his Kimigahama stable.
Career[]
He made his debut in the March 1977 tournament under the shikona, Hakusan (伯山). He achieved a 6-1 in his first jonokuchi tournament. In the September 1977 tournament, he was in the jonidan yusho race for majority of the tournament, but lost his final match to finish with a still impressive 6-1 record. He was promoted to sandanme in November 1977, but he would start to struggle due to his injury proneness.
He was promoted to the makushita division in July 1979, however, he started to struggle and even posted a winless tournament in his second tournament ranked in makushita. Hakusan became a makushita regular by 1980, but fell back down to sandanme due to injuries. He eventually returned and in May 1984 he was promoted to a career-best makushita 9 rank. Even though he scored a 2-6 record in this tournament, it contained the most significant moment of his career. He was placed against juryo-ranked wrestler Fujinosato on the thirteenth day which meant that he wore an oichomage (the first Brazilian to do so), a privilege only reserved for sekitori. He defeated Fujinosato by oshidashi (push out).
In March 1985, Hakusan pulled out of the tournament due to more Injuries. He fell back down to sandanme in September of that year and after pulling out of four consecutive tournaments due to injuries, he announced his retirement after the May 1986 tournament.
Retirement from Sumo[]
After retiring from professional sumo, Hakusan returned to Brazil and became a judo teacher in his hometown of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais.
Record[]
Division Results[]
- Total: 176-151-59/327 (56 basho)
- Makushita: 99-103-16/202 (31 basho)
- Sandanme: 61-42-23/103 (18 basho)
- Jonidan: 10-5-20/15 (5 basho)
- Jonokuchi: 6-1/7 (1 basho)
Shikona History[]
- Hakusan Momotaro (1977.03 - 1986.05)
Gallery[]
See Also[]
Sources[]
- Hakusan Momotaro Rikishi Information
- Sharnoff, Lora (1993). Grand Sumo. Weatherhill
- Japan Times Article on Multiculturalism in Sumo