Kijuin Akihiro

Kijuin Akihiro - 禧集院昭広 (born September 25, 1985) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Hioki, Kagoshima. He made his debut in January 2008 and wrestled for Kise stable. His highest rank was makushita 2 and he retired in January 2021.

Early Life[]

Yamashita was born in Hioki, Kagoshima, and began sumo wrestling at the age of 5. He attended Kagoshima Commercial High School and was a member of the school's sumo club. After a strong high school career, he enrolled at Nihon University's prestigious sumo club where he was teammates with the future Akiseyama. He initially aspired to become a teacher, however, after losing to the future Homarefuji at the National Student Sumo Championship, he decided to become a professional sumo wrestler. After graduating college, he joined Kise stable due to its connection with Nihon University.^[1]^[2]

Career[]

He made his professional debut in January 2008 alongside Homarefuji, Keitenkai, and college teammate Akiseyama. In July 2008, he won his first six matches, but missed out on the jonidan yusho after losing to Homarefuji in his final match. In the following September 2008 tournament, Yamashita won all seven matches and defeated stablemate Kamei to claim the sandanme yusho. He was promoted to makushita for the following November 2008 tournament. He was given the shikona "Kisenoyama" (禧勢ノ山) in November 2012.^[3]

He was promoted to a career-best makushita 2 in September 2015. In this tournament, he faced off against juryo-ranked Kyokutaisei and Shotenro, however, he lost both matches and finished with a 3-4 record, thus missing out on a promotion to juryo. In March 2018, he was given the shikona "Kiseoka" (禧勢岳), however, he was given the new shikona "Kijuin" (禧集院) shortly after in May 2019.^[3]

Retirement from Sumo[]

Having fallen down to the lower sandanme ranks, Kijuin retired from sumo after the January 2021 tournament. After retiring, he moved to Fukuoka, where he began working in road-related construction.^[4] As of 2024, he was working in the caregiving industry.^[5]

Fighting Style[]

Kijuin was an oshi-sumo wrestler who prefers pushing and thrusting techniques to fighting on the mawashi. His most common kimarite used was a straightforward oshidashi, or push out.^[6]