Higonojo Masakazu

Higonojo Masakazu - 肥後ノ城政和 (born November 5, 1984) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Kumamoto City, Kumamoto Prefecture. He made his debut in November 2007 and wrestled for Kise stable. He reached the juryo division in November 2013. His highest rank was juryo 9 and he retired in November 2021.

Early Life[]

Masakazu Ogata was born on November 5, 1984, in the town of Jonan (currently incorporated in Kumamoto's Minami Ward) in Kumamoto. He began practicing sumo in the fourth grade after receiving an invitation from a friend, having previously played handball and trained in judo. In junior high school, Ogata declined recruitment offers from prestigious programs and instead established a sumo club with a friend and the friend’s older brother. Ultimately, they achieved third place in the team competition and second place individually at the national junior high school championships.^[1]

HigonojoYoung — Ogata after winning a local tournament

After completing his education at Kumamoto Shimomashiki Jonan Junior High School and Kumamoto Prefectural Agricultural High School, Ogata went on to study in the Department of Martial Arts at Nippon Sport Science University. He was a member of their sumo club and was a regular on the team since his first year.^[1]

After graduating university, he originally intended to become a teacher in Kumamoto, however there were no available slots. As a result, he worked at Aqua Dome Kumamoto as a sports instructor, however, Ogata was so busy that he had no time to practice sumo and had to settle for disappointing results in the corporate sumo scene. Dissatisfied with his role, and with advice from his father, Ogata decided to try out professional sumo. He joined Kise stable, because Kise Oyakata was also from Kumamoto. He made his debut 4 days before his 23rd birthday (the age limit for new recruits at the time was capped at 23).^[1]

Career[]

Early Career[]

Ogata made his debut in November 2007 and took the jonokuchi championship in his second professional tournament in January 2008. The following March 2008 tournament he achieved a 5-2 and was promoted from to sandanme. In his sandanme debut in May 2008, he won all seven matches and a playoff against Hakiai for the sandanme yusho. This result earned him a promotion to makushita in July 2008, just four tournaments after his debut.^[2]

In his makushita debut in July 2008, Ogata produced a 5-2 record and was promoted to makushita 27 for the November 2008 tournament. He produced more winning records until the January 2009 tournament where Ogata posted his first losing record, or make-koshi. After this, he was given the shikona "Higonojo" (肥後ノ城). After this shikona change, Higonojo produced three consecutive winning records and was promoted to makushita 11 for the September 2009 tournament. After that tournament, Higonojo went on a slump for two years, where he produced mixed results. In the November 2011 tournament, Higonojo finished with a 6-1 record and was placed in an eight-man playoff for the makushita yusho, however, he lost in the first round to Sensho.^[2]

In July 2012 Higonojo defeated his first juryo-ranked wrestler Masuraumi and finished with a 4-3 record at the rank of makushita 4. This result placed him at makushita 2 for the September 2012 tournament. Even though he defeated juryo-ranked Oniarashi in the September 2012 tournament, he finished with a 2-5 record and was unable to capitalize on a juryo promotion. He stayed in the top ranks of makushita for another six tournaments, and a 4-3 record at the rank of makushita 4 in the September 2013 tournament saw him promoted to juryo for the November 2013 tournament.^[2]

Juryo Career[]

HigonojoPrepares — Higonojo prepares for his upcoming match (c. 2014)

Higonojo made his juryo debut in November 2013 and his record was 7-6 by the end of 13th day, however, he lost his two final bouts and finished with a losing record of 7-8. Luckily, he suffered no loss in rank for the following January 2014 tournament. In this tournament, Higonojo produced an 8-7 record and was promoted to a career-best rank of juryo 9 for the March 2014 tournament. However, he finished with a 6-9 record and in the following May 2014 tournament, he posted another losing record of 5-10. This sent him down to makushita for the July 2014 tournament and he never managed a return back to juryo.^[2]

Later Career[]

Higonojo would remain in makushita for majority of his later career. He was fighting predominantly in the mid-levels of makushita. In March 2018, Higonojo won the makushita yusho with a perfect 7-0 record. He was promoted to the rank of makushita 6 for the following May 2018 tournament, but he could only manage a 3-4 record in this tournament. Higonojo fell down to sandanme for the first time in 12 years in July 2020, however he posted a strong 6-1 performance and was promoted back to makushita for the September 2020 tournament.^[2]

Retirement from Sumo[]

After finishing with a 2-5 record in sandanme, Higonojo's retirement was announced after the November 2021 tournament. After retirement, he returned to Kumamoto where he works as a lecturer at Kumamoto Kenritsu Kumamotoshien School.^[1]

Personal Life[]

Higonojo married a woman on April 16, 2016.^[3]
Higonojo's hobbies include muscle training and throwing darts.^[4]

Fighting Style[]

Higonojo is an oshi-sumo specialist who prefers pushing and thrusting techniques to grabbing the opponent's mawashi. His most common winning kimarite is oshidashi, or push out.^[5]