Homasho Noriyuki

Homasho Noriyuki - 豊真将紀行 (born April 16, 1981) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi. He made his debut in March 2004 and wrestled for Shikoroyama stable. He reached the makuuchi division in May 2006 and has 7 special prizes. His highest rank was komusubi and he retired in January 2015.

Early Life[]

Yosuke Yamamoto was born on April 16, 1981, in the town of Toyoura (later merged into the city of Shimonoseki) in Yamaguchi Prefecture. He began sumo wrestling during the second grade. Making use of his large physique, he placed third at the national tournament, during the fourth grade. At his local school, the former Toyoura Junior High School (now Shimonoseki Municipal Yumegaoka Junior High School), there was a proper dohyo training hut in the schoolyard. He trained there alongside high school students and achieved strong results in local tournaments. One of his juniors at the time was Toyohibiki of Sakaigawa stable. After graduating from junior high school, he accepted an invitation to attend Saitama Sakae High School.^[1]

At Saitama Sakae High School, he played an active role in national competitions and was accepted by the Nihon University sumo club. However, due to cellulitis, he had to quit the club and instead did various part-time jobs in between attending lectures at the university.^[2] He did not make his professional debut until March 2004, at the age of nearly 23, just before the upper age limit set by the Sumo Association. He was recruited by former sekiwake Terao, the head coach of the newly opened Shikoroyama stable, who he had admired as a young boy.^[3]

Career[]

Early Career[]

Homasho during his time in makushita (c. 2006)

Initially debuting under his surname, Yamamoto, he rose through the bottom divisions quickly. He spent only one tournament in jonokuchi and two in jonidan. He captured the yusho or tournament championship in the sandanme division with a perfect 7-0 record in November, 2004, upon which he changed his shikona to "Homasho" (豊真将). This earned him a promotion to makushita for the following January 2005 tournament. Homasho did not achieve a single losing record, or make-koshi, in makushita, and after six tournaments, he earned promotion to juryo for the January 2006 tournament. This made him the first sekitori from Shikoroyama stable.^[4]

Juryo Career[]

Homasho spent only two tournaments in juryo. He first achieved double-digit record of 10-5 and followed with an even more impressive 12-3 record in March 2006 which earned him a promotion to makuuchi for the May 2006 tournament. He achieved kachi-koshi in every tournament until he reached the top makuuchi division, only the third wrestler to do so since 1958, following Akebono and Kotooshu.^[4]

Makuuchi Career[]

He took his first make-koshi or losing score in his top division debut in May 2006, but an exceptional result of 12-3 in November of that year, in which he was runner-up, gained him two prizes. Homasho was promoted to maegashira 4 for the following tournament in January 2007. He only managed a 7-8 score there and so slipped down the rankings slightly, but he produced a strong 11-4 record from maegashira 5 in March 2007, which earned him his second Technique prize. He was promoted to his highest rank to date of maegashira 1 for the following tournament, just missing out on the two available komusubi positions which instead went to the demoted sekiwake Kotoshogiku, and Toyonoshima who had scored 8-7 at maegashira 1.^[4]

Homasho7 — Homasho pushes out and defeats Ryuo (c. 2007)

Homasho suffered his first big setback in the May 2007 tournament, dropping his last four matches (all against maegashira ranked wrestlers) to finish with a poor 5-10 record. In July 2007 he won nine of his first ten bouts but lost the last five, finishing on 9-6. He returned to maegashira 1 in September and recorded eight wins, but again was not promoted to the san'yaku ranks, instead being moved from the west to the east side of the banzuke. He would only manage three wins at that rank in the November tournament.^[4]

At the end of 2007 he dropped 10 kilos in weight, due to the effects of medication for high cholesterol,^[5] and he turned in a poor 4-11 score in January 2008, sliding to maegashira 13 for the March 2008 tournament. At this low rank he was able to produce a kachi-koshi score of 9-6. He had climbed to maegashira 2 by September 2008 but was unable to compete in that tournament due to a wrist injury, the first time in his career that he has missed any bouts.^[5] After having surgery, he returned in November but despite being ranked as low as maegashira 15 he could only win seven matches. He was one of seven wrestlers who NHK commentator Shuhei Nagao (the former Mainoumi) in 2008 called the "Seven Samurai" and identified as "holding the key" to a Japanese resurgence in sumo, which was dominated by foreigners in the top ranks. (The others were Goeido, Kisenosato, Kotoshogiku, Toyohibiki, Toyonoshima and Tochiozan).^[6]

Homasho was in better condition for the January 2009 tournament and from the very bottom maegashira 16 rank he scored eleven wins and won the Fighting Spirit Prize. In the following tournament in March he won nine bouts in a row from 2-3, finishing as a runner-up with another 11-4 score and winning his second successive Fighting Spirit Prize, and third overall. Once again he was denied a san'yaku debut, with the komusubi positions going to Kakuryu and Tochiozan, and was ranked at maegashira 1 for the fourth time in the May 2009 tournament. However, he performed very badly in May, losing his first fourteen matches before managing a solitary win on the final day. He recovered to score 10-5 in July.^[4]

Homasho12 — Homasho defeats Harumafuji (c. 2012)

He rose to maegashira 2 for the May 2010 tournament, but withdrew after losing his first six matches, citing an injury to his cervical vertebrae picked up in training shortly before the tournament.^[7] He made a strong comeback in the July 2010 tournament, winning his first ten bouts and finishing joint runner-up alongside Aran and Kakuryu on 11-4. He was awarded his fourth Fighting Spirit Prize (shared with Aran). In the September tournament he defeated ozeki Kotooshu and Baruto on consecutive days. This came after he had lost his previous twenty matches against ozeki-ranked wrestlers. However, he lost five of his last six matches to finish with a disappointing 7-8 score. Ranked at maegashira 2 in May 2011, he won just three bouts; although these did include wins over Kotooshu and sekiwake Kisenosato. Fighting from a more comfortable position at maegashira 9 in the July tournament, he scored 11-4 and won his fifth Fighting Spirit Prize and seventh Special Prize overall. This resulted in his promotion to maegashira 1 for the fifth time in the September 2011 tournament. He is the first wrestler to be ranked at maegashira 1 more than three times without ever making the san'yaku ranks.^[8]

In the September tournament he went 10-5, including victories over all three ozeki, and this performance saw him finally reach san'yaku in the November 2011 tournament at komusubi rank. At 30 years and six months he became the fourth oldest san'yaku debutant since the six tournament a year system began in 1958.^[9] He was able to win only four matches in his komusubi debut. In 2012 he reached komusubi twice more, in May and November, but scored only 4–11 in these tournaments too. He was forced to sit out the first two tournaments of 2013 after undergoing shoulder surgery, resulting in a fall to the bottom of the juryo division.^[10] He returned to the top division in September 2013 but after missing the opening tournament of 2014 through injury he was once again demoted to juryo.^[11]

He came back strongly by taking the juryo championship with a 14–1 record, losing only on the final day. His 9-6 showing in the following May 2014 tournament would again put him into the upper makuuchi ranks, the level he had been competing at before his injuries sidelined him. However he had to withdraw from the July 2014 tournament after damaging his right hamstring and right anterior cruciate ligament in a defeat to Harumafuji on Day 5.^[12]

Retirement from Sumo[]

ShikoroyamaOyakata2023 — Shikoroyama Oyakata (c. 2023)

Homasho never managed to return to competition and in the middle of the January 2015 tournament, which he sat out of, he announced his retirement. His retirement ceremony or danpatsu-shiki was held before a sell-out crowd of 10,000 at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in January 2016, and unusually saw him rotate and face all four sides of the hall during the ceremony so all spectators could get a good view.^[2]^[13] After retiring, He remained in the Japan Sumo Association as a coach at his stable under the name Tatsutagawa Oyakata. He put on his mawashi again in February 2016 when he took part in an exhibition bout against Furiwake Oyakata (the former Takamisakari) in the 40th Fuji TV Grand Sumo Tournament held at the Kokugikan. He takes an active role in training and has helped to develop top wrestlers such as Abi.^[2]

Following the death of stablemaster Shikoroyama (ex-sekiwake Terao) in December 2023, Homasho announced his intention to inherit his late master's name. The changes, which were reportedly discussed with Terao's widow and members of the stable,^[14] were approved by the Sumo Association on February 23, 2024.^[15]

Personal Life[]

Homasho is married with two sons, born in 2011 and 2013.^[16]
Homasho was a popular wrestler among sumo fans, and was noted for his deep and graceful bow at the end of a match.^[17]
Homasho's hobbies include reading and visiting historic sites.^[3]
In March, 2014, Homasho served as Kakuryu's flag bearer in his championship parade.^[18]

Fighting Style[]

Homasho was a straightforward, unspectacular yotsu-sumo wrestler, rarely employing throwing moves. His favourite grip on his opponent's mawashi was a left hand outside, right hand inside position, or migi-yotsu.^[19] Yorikiri (force out) and yoritaoshi (force out and down) accounted for about 45 percent of his career wins.^[20] He was admired for his deep and respectful bow to his opponents after losing a match.^[2]