Kiryuko Hirokazu

Kiryuko Hirokazu - 木竜皇博一 (born October 31, 2002) is a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Kashiwa, Chiba. He made his debut in May 2021 and currently wrestles for Tatsunami stable. He reached the juryo division in September 2024. His highest rank as of 2025 is juryo 12.

Early Life[]

Hirokazu Sakamoto was born on October 31, 2002, in Sumida, Tokyo, as the eldest son of maegashira Tokitsuumi. He began sumo wrestling in his first year at Ryogoku Elementary School. Sakamoto won the Hakuho Cup during his second and forth year and he finished as the runner-up at the National Wanpaku Sumo Tournament in his fifth year.^[1] Sakamoto then moved to Chiba prefecture and attended Kashiwa 2nd Junior High School where he won the group championship during his third year at the school.^[1] After graduating junior high school, Sakamoto attended Aomori Prefectural Sanbongi Agricultural High School where he served as the captain of the sumo club.^[2]

Career[]

Early Career[]

After graduating high school, Sakamoto initially wanted to join Tokitsukaze stable because his father, the former Tokitsuumi, was the stablemaster. However, right when he was about to join, Sakamoto's father was caught breaking COVID-19 regulations and had to resign from the Japan Sumo Association. In response to the situation, Sakamoto decided it would be better to join Tatsunami stable.^[2]

KiryukoWakatakakage2023 — Kiryuko defeats ex-sekiwake Wakatakakage (c. 2023)

He made his professional debut in May 2021 under the shikona "Kiryuko" (木竜皇). In March 2022, he was aiming for the sandanme yusho, however, he lost his final match against Kanzaki. Nevertheless, Kiryuko finished with a 6-1 record and was promoted to makushita for the following May 2022 tournament. In March 2023, Kiryuko won the makushita yusho with a perfect 7-0 record.^[3]

Due to his makushita championship, Kiryuko was promoted to the rank of makushita 2 for the July 2023 tournament. However, he failed to capitalize on a juryo promotion, finishing with a 3-4 losing record. For the next year he continued to wrestle at the extremely competitive top ranks of makushita, but never achieved enough winning records to earn a promotion to the salaried juryo division. In March 2024, while ranked at makushita 8, Kiryuko posted a solid 5-2 record and followed with another 5-2 record in May while ranked at makushita 3. Despite the latter being enough for a juryo promotion, he had to be overtaken by the May basho's makushita championship winner, Fujiseiun, for the promotion, as there were not sufficient juryo rikishi subjected to demotion to make Kiryuko's promotion possible. Nevertheless, Kiryuko was promoted to a then-career best rank of makushita 1 for the July 2024 tournament. Despite losing his opening day bout against ex-juryo Kazekeno, Kiryuko won all of his remaining six bouts, including wins against Aoiyama and Fujiseiun, both in juryo. Due to his strong performance, his performance to the juryo division for September 2024 was confirmed after the tournament.^[3]

Juryo Career[]

In his first tournament as a sekitori, Kiryuko finished with a poor 4-11 record and was demoted back down to makushita for the November 2024 tournament. After just one tournament in makushita, Kiryuko returned to juryo for the January 2025 tournament. On the sixth day of the March 2025, Kiryuko ruptured his right knee's anterior cruciate ligament in a match against Shimanoumi, sidelining him for three months.^[4] He subsequently withdrew from the seventh day and was demoted back down to makushita for the May 2025 tournament.^[3]

Personal Life[]

Kiryuko's father is former maegashira Tokitsuumi.^[2] Kiryuko's younger brother Shoma joined Tatsunami stable at the same time as him and wrestles under the shikona Shunrai.^[5]
Kiryuko's hobby is going to bathhouses and playing the guitar, his favorite food is yogurt, and his favorite movie is Titanic.^[6]

Fighting Style[]

Kiryuko's favored techniques are listed at the Sumo Association as hidari-yotsu (a right hand outside, left hand inside grip on the opponent's mawashi), yori (forcing) and oshi (pushing).^[6] His most common winning kimarite are straightforward: yorikiri (force out) and oshidashi (push out).^[7]