Kakizoe Toru

Kakizoe Toru - 垣添徹 (born August 12, 1978) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Usa, Oita. He made his debut in September 2001 and last wrestled for Fujishima stable. He reached the makuuchi division in September 2003 and has one special prize. His highest rank was komusubi and he retired in May 2012.

Early Life[]

In elementary school, Kakizoe participated in the national sumo tournament and in junior high school he won the National Junior High School Sumo Championship and became a junior high school yokozuna. In junior high school he also participated in athletics and won the 100 meter dash in district competitions.

After graduating from Usa Shiritsu Hokubu Junior High School, he attended Usa High School of Industry and Science and was member of the school's sumo club. After graduation, he was recruited by many stables and universities, but he decided to attend Nippon Sport Science University's Department of Physical Education where he achieved great success. He won the Kokutai (Japan Games) and the All Japan University Championship in 2000, his final year, which earned him the amateur yokozuna title.

Career[]

Early Career[]

He joined Musashigawa stable, which, at the time, was one of the strongest in sumo with yokozuna Musashimaru and other successful former collegiate competitors such as Dejima and Miyabiyama amongst its wrestlers. Because of his amateur success, Kakizoe was given makushita tsukedashi status, meaning he was able to debut at the makushita 15 ranking. He was the first makushita tsukedashi entrant to be put at #15 instead of the bottom of the makushita division.

He had initially hoped to debut in March 2001, but his entry was delayed because of a nagging injury. Although his first appearance on the banzuke was in September 2001, he was still unable to compete and dropped to makushita #55. He fought his first professional bout in November 2001 instead, fighting under his real name. Unusually, he never adopted a traditional shikona. He rose to the juryo division in March 2003.

Juryo Career[]

In his first juryo tournament, Kakizoe produced a solid 9-6 record and followed it with a strong 10-5 record. In his third juryo tournament, Kakizoe was ranked at juryo 2 and produced an 11-4 record which won him the juryo yusho and a promotion the top makuuchi division in September 2003.

Makuuchi Career[]

Kakizoe's rank peaked at komusubi after the January 2004 tournament when, ranked maegashira 5, he achieved a result of 11-4 and the technique prize. He failed to retain his san'yaku rank for more than a single tournament, but mostly remained amongst the top half of maegashira for the next few years. However, he suffered a big setback in May 2007, losing eleven bouts in a row before pulling out of the tournament citing a fracture to his right knee. He could manage only six wins on his return in July and slid to the lowest rung on the top division ladder for the September tournament. He produced a comfortable 9-6 score there to maintain his top division status, but remained near the bottom of makuuchi for the next two years.

In January 2010, he rose to maegashira 4 and fought his first bout against a yokozuna since his injury. Due to the absence of Chiyotaikai and Kotomitsuki, on the final day he took part in the san'yaku soroibumi ceremony. He finished the tournament with a respectable 6-9 record, but was unable to produce a kachi-koshi or winning score in the next four tournaments either.

Later Career[]

Kakizoe's 3-12 performance in September 2010 saw him demoted to juryo for the first time and he lost sekitori status after scoring only 4-11 at Juryo 9 in January 2011. Despite only scoring a make-koshi 3-4 in the May 2011 "technical examination" tournament, he was nonetheless promoted back to juryo because of the large number of slots available after the forced retirements of many wrestlers following a match-fixing scandal. However, his return to juryo was short-lived as he turned in a disastrous 1-14 score, his ninth consecutive make-koshi.

Retirement from Sumo[]

Troubled by a foot injury, Kakizoe fell to Makushita 56 for the May 2012 tournament, at the time the sixth lowest rank ever held by a former san'yaku wrestler. He announced his retirement before the tournament began, and stayed in sumo as a coach at his stable (now renamed Fujishima stable) under the elder name Oshiogawa Oyakata. In October 2012, he switched to the Ikazuchi name. In August 2013, when his former stablemate Musashimaru established his own Musashigawa stable, Kakizoe moved with him. In October 2020 he moved to Irumagawa stable. It was announced after the January 2023 tournament that on February 1 he would be taking over as head coach of the stable, which would be changing its name to Ikazuchi stable accordingly, due to the imminent retirement of Irumagawa Oyakata (former sekiwake Tochitsukasa).

Personal Life[]

Kakizoe is married, with two children.
In May 2013, he published his autobiography "Beautiful Black Star" (美しい黒星).
Kakizoe's hobbies are listening to music and bathing in the sauna.

Fighting Style[]

Kakizoe was an oshi-sumo specialist, preferring pushing and thrusting techniques. His most common winning move was oshidashi (push-out), which accounted for around 43 percent of his career victories. He was vulnerable to defeat if his opponents grab hold of his mawashi.