Jumonji Tomokazu

Jumonji Tomokazu - 十文字友和 (born June 9, 1976) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Hashikami, Aomori. He made his debut in November 1992 and last wrestled for Michinoku stable. He reached the makuuchi division in May 2000. His highest rank was maegashira 6 and he retired in May 2011.

Early Life[]

Jumonji was born in Hashikami, Sannohe District, the eldest son of a fisherman. He was named Tomokazu after the actor Tomokazu Miura. He played baseball in elementary school, switching to sumo at the beginning of junior high. Despite the opposition of his parents, he was persuaded by the former sekiwake Aonosato, then the head coach of Tatsutagawa stable, to give professional sumo a try and he made his debut in November 1992.

Career[]

Early Career[]

Jumonji posted a strong 6-1 record in his debut and was immediately promoted to jonidan. He was promoted to sandanme in November 1992 and makushita in May 1995 after winning the sandanme yusho with a perfect 7-0 record. In May 1997 he changed his shikona to "Kaigatake" (階ヶ嶽) and four tournaments later he was promoted to juryo in January 1998.

Juryo Career[]

He only lasted in juryo for one tournament as he produced a 5-10 record. He later reverted his Shikona back to his family name of "Jumonji" (十文字). Two tournaments he was promoted back to juryo after posting a strong 6-1 record. In his return to juryo he produced a solid 9-6 record and followed it with an 8-7 and 10-5 record which earned him a promotion to makuuchi.

Makuuchi Career[]

Jumonji made his debut in the top makuuchi division in May 2000. In September of that year, Tatsutagawa stable was absorbed into Michinoku stable because of the impending retirement of his stablemaster. He made his first winning score in the division in March 2001, but after suffering from a hernia he was demoted back to juryo and had to miss the September 2001 tournament.

Jumonji96 — Jumonji with his kesho-mawashi during the dohyo-iri

Upon his return to competition, he earned immediate promotion back to makuuchi but he mostly remained in the middle and lower maegashira ranks, without making much of a challenge for promotion to the titled sanyaku ranks. Despite competing in 34 top division tournaments and over 500 top division bouts, he never once rose high enough to face a yokozuna or an ozeki. In November 2006, he fell to the juryo division for the first time since 2002, but he won the juryo tournament title and was promoted straight back. He was demoted once again in May 2007 after suffering a shoulder injury in the previous tournament. He could only manage a 5-10 score in July 2007, pushing him towards the bottom of the juryo division.

Later Career[]

Jumonji held onto sekitori status with an 8-7 mark in September 2007, a tournament which saw him record his 500th career win, but could manage only a 3-12 record in November and fell to the unsalaried makushita division for the first time since 1999. He continued to slide down the rankings, turning in losing scores of 3-4 in the tournaments of January and March 2008. After falling to a low of Makushita 20, he recovered with four consecutive winning scores from September 2008 to March 2009. His 4-3 score at Makushita 2 East in March was enough to return him to the juryo division for the first time since November 2007, where he recorded a winning score of 9-6 in his 100th tournament in sumo. He maintained his sekitori status until January 2010, when he could score only 6-9 at the lowest juryo rank of No. 14 West. In July 2010, he won the makushita division yusho with a perfect 7-0 record, guaranteeing himself a third return to juryo. He became the oldest wrestler to win the makushita title at 34 years, one month (a record broken in May 2017 by Oiwato). He was demoted to makushita once again after the November 2010 tournament.

Retirement from Sumo[]

Jumonji was one of 23 wrestlers found guilty of fixing the result of bouts after an investigation by the Japan Sumo Association and he was forced to retire in April 2011. He had a topknot cutting ceremony or danpatsu-shiki at the Kokugikan on June 4. He returned to Aomori following his retirement and was reported to be working in newspaper delivery. He suffered from a gastric ulcer in May 2013, resulting in him falling to around 100 kg (220 lb) in weight. He is currently employed at his Chanko Kirishima (ちゃんこ霧島両国本店) which is owned by his stablemaster.

Fighting Style[]

Jumonji was a yotsu-sumo specialist, and in a grappling position preferred a migi-yotsu grip on the mawashi, with his left hand outside and right hand inside his opponent's arms. His most common winning kimarite was a straightforward yorikiri or force out, which accounted for roughly 40 percent of his victories at sekitori level.