Kaio Hitoshi - 凱皇 仁 (born April 14, 1957) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Tokamachi, Niigata. He made his debut in March 1973 and last wrestled for Tokitsukaze stable. He reached the juryo division in March 1982. His highest rank was juryo 7 and he retired in July 1986.
Career[]
Kamimura joined Tokitsukaze stable and made his professional debut in March 1973 at the age of 15. He won the jonidan yusho in September 1975 and was promoted to makushita in January 1977. He changed his shikona to "Kaio" (凱皇) in September 1976. He won the sandanme yusho in March 1978 with a perfect 7-0 record. He was promoted to juryo in March 1982.
Over 500 people attended Kaio's juryo promotion party and many at the party predicted that he would become a future ozeki. However, Kaio had suffered an injury to his left arm and was not completely healed by the time of his sekitori debut. His first juryo stint lasted three tournaments. He fell down to makushita in September 1982 and did not return to juryo until November 1984. He rose as high as juryo 7 in July 1985, but finished with a poor 4-11 record in that tournament and was demoted directly back down to makushita. This proved to be his last appearance as a sekitori. He remained in makushita for another year before announcing his retirement in July 1986 due to a fall down to sandanme.
Retirement from Sumo[]
Two months after retiring, Kaio became a caretaker for former prime minister Kakuei Tanaka who also came from the same prefecture as Kaio. After this, he worked as a manager for a ryokan (traditional Japanese inn) and was also employed in the welfare institution.
Fighting Style[]
Kaio was proficient in both yotsu-sumo (grappling) and oshi-sumo (pushing and thrusting) techniques. His favored grip on his opponent's mawashi was migi-yotsu, a left hand outside, right hand inside position. His most often used winning kimarite was oshidashi (push out), followed by yorikiri (force out).
Record[]
Division Results[]
- Total: 306-285-25/591 (81 basho)
- Juryo: 46-59/105 (7 basho)
- Makushita: 163-155-4/318 (46 basho)
- Sandanme: 40-30-21/70 (13 basho)
- Jonidan: 49-35/84 (12 basho)
- Jonokuchi: 8-6/14 (2 basho)
Championships[]
- 1 Sandanme Championship (March 1978)
- 1 Jonidan Championship (September 1975)
Shikona History[]
- Kamimura Hitoshi (1973.03 - 1976.07)
- Kaio Hitoshi (1976.09 - 1986.07)
Gallery[]
