Kotozakura Masakatsu (born 1997)

Kotozakura Masakatsu - 琴櫻将傑 (born November 19, 1997) is a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Matsudo, Chiba. He made his debut in November 2015 and currently wrestles for Sadogatake stable. He reached the makuuchi division in March 2020 and has 6 special prizes and 1 top division championship. His highest rank as of 2025 is ozeki.

Early Life[]

Masakatsu Kamatani was born on November 19, 1997, the only child of then-active top division wrestler Kotonowaka and Machiko Kamatani, the eldest daughter of sumo's 53rd yokozuna Kotozakura.^[1] Kotonowaka had married the daughter of his stablemaster the previous year, an old custom in the sumo world to secure the ownership of a stable.^[2] During his youth, Kamatani made a habit of attending Sadogatake stable's training sessions every day before going to school.^[3] It was also noted that during his childhood he had a good relationship with Kotoyuki, the latter seeing him as a little brother.^[4] He had a good relationship with his grandfather, who taught him basic sumo elements (such as shiko or using a teppo pole) and expected him to be a sumo wrestler in order to continue his legacy.^[2]^[4] Shortly before Kotozakura died, Kamatani–who was still in third grade of elementary school–promised him that he would inherit his ring name if he was promoted to the rank of ozeki.^[5] In November 2005 when Kamatani was in the second year of elementary school his father retired and took over the running of Sadogatake stable. Kamatani was in the Fukuoka International Center to witness his father's final bout, and his father told him to one day inherit the Kotonowaka ring name.^[6]

AS20200306002301 comm — A young Kamatani with his father, Kotonowaka, and grandfather, Kotozakura.

As a student, he decided to enter Saitama Sakae High School (well-known for its sumo club) where he also trained with future professional wrestlers Oho and Gonoyama, both his juniors.^[7] In 2013, Kamatani participated to the Hakuho Cup and came third in the junior high school individual competition.^[8] Initially, he thought about joining professional sumo after graduating from junior high school, but as he did not have the confidence to do so, he postponed his decision to become a professional wrestler until his graduation from senior high school.^[9] Despite his podium at the Hakuho Cup, it was noted that Kamatani struggled to gain momentum during his student years, achieving little success at first.^[2] In his third year, he was named captain of the sumo club and won both the team competition at the National High School Comprehensive Athletics Sumo Tournament and the World Junior Sumo Championship heavyweight competition, held that year in Osaka.^[5]^[9] After graduating from senior high school, he decided to become a professional sumo wrestler and logically joined the Sadogatake stable, where his mother and father announced that he would now be treated like any other wrestler, and Ozeki Kotoshogiku announced that he would receive no special treatment.^[4]

Career[]

Early Career[]

Kamatani made his professional sumo debut in November 2015 and was given the shikona, or ring name, Kotokamatani Masakatsu (琴鎌谷将且), taking up his original name combined with the kanji koto (琴) used by all the wrestlers in his stable and using the first name his grandfather used when he was a wrestler. During his presentation ceremony with the other new wrestlers, Kotokamatani used the kesho-mawashi that his father had used on his last day as an active wrestler.^[10]

Kotokamatani won all three of his maezumo bouts in November 2015. In the following tournament, in January 2016, he won the jonokuchi championship with a perfect 7–0 record. Moving up in the rankings, Kotokamatani made it to the makushita division in September 2016, hitting the wall of that division and stagnating for a while. In May 2019, in a position of potential promotion to the juryo division, Kotokamatani recorded a 4–3 record at makushita 2, including a victory over Hoshoryu and narrowly completed with a win over Churanoumi, that was enough to earn promotion to the status of sekitori for the first time.^[11]

Juryo Career[]

Kotonowaka2019 — Kotonowaka prepares for his upcoming match (c. 2019)

Kotokamatani adopted his father's shikona "Kotonowaka" (琴ノ若) upon promotion to juryo in July 2019. Kotonowaka struggled in his first few bouts in his juryo debut, but bounced back and won his last three matches to finish with a solid 8-7 record. He was promoted to juryo 11 for the September 2019 tournament and was in contention for the division championship, but he lost his last four matches to finish with a 9-6 record. The following two tournaments, Kotonowaka posted a 10-5 and a 9-6 record which earned him a promotion to the top makuuchi division for the March 2020 tournament.^[11]

Makuuchi Career[]

Kotonowaka was promoted to the top makuuchi division in March 2020. Kotonowaka and his father were the ninth father-and-son pairing to both reach the top division. Kotonowaka was ranked at maegashira 18, the first time since 1959 that maegashira had extended to an 18th rank.^[12] He secured a winning record on the 14th day of the tournament, having suffered four straight losses, and finished on 9–6. The next tournament to take place in July 2020 saw him pull out with a knee injury on Day 8, which he sustained the previous day in a loss to Kaisei.^[13] He re-entered on Day 14 but was unable to add any more wins, finishing on 4–6–5 which saw him demoted back to juryo. He earned immediate promotion back to makuuchi for the November 2020 tournament with a 9–6 record (although he lost his last four matches).^[11]

Upon his return to makuuchi Kotonowaka only managed a 7–8 record (this time losing his last three matches) although it was enough to keep him in the top division as he fell just one place from maegashira 14 to 15. He performed better in the January 2021 tournament, scoring 10–5. He narrowly failed to get a majority of wins in the March and May 2021 tournaments, scoring 6–9 and 7–8 respectively.^[11]

In the July 2021 tournament Kotonowaka had his best career performance to date. He scored 12–3 and was awarded his first special prize, for Fighting Spirit. He moved up to maegashira 3 for the September tournament. On the eighth day of the September tournament he defeated ozeki Shodai.However, he had to withdraw from the tournament with a left knee injury on Day 10.^[14] This injury, to the medial collateral ligament and medial meniscus of his left knee, could have cost him a year's absence from the ring had he opted for surgery. However, Kotonowaka decided to opt for regenerative surgery and obtained mixed results at the following tournaments as a result of his therapy.^[15]

In January 2022 Kotonowaka won eleven matches from maegashira 14, and was awarded the Fighting Spirit prize for the second time. In March Kotonowaka was in contention for the championship on the final day for the second straight tournament, but lost to Hoshoryu when victory would have given him a chance of a playoff with the other two contenders, Wakatakakage and Takayasu. He finished in third place with 11–4, but did receive his third Fighting Spirit prize. In the May 2022 tournament he reached maegashira 2.^[11]

After a 9-6 winning record at his highest rank of maegashira 1, Kotonowaka was promoted to komusubi for the January 2023 tournament. At the January tournament he secured an 8–7 record on the final day with a win over Hokutofuji. Kotonowaka lost his first four bouts of the tournament, but rallied to get a winning record which included a win over eventual championship winner ozeki Takakeisho. He retained his komusubi rankings for the March tournament.^[11]

KotonowakaKiribayama — Kotonowaka defeats sekiwake Kiribayama (c. 2023)

In the March tournament Kotonowaka secured a 9–6 record, which included a win over eventual championship winner sekiwake Kiribayama. During the July tournament of the same year, Kotonowaka scored several significant victories, including against former ozeki Mitakeumi and Shodai, as well as ozeki promotion seekers, Daieisho. On Day 7, he even defeated one of the tournament leaders, maegashira Nishikigi, ending his streak of 14 straight wins. On the tenth day, Kotonowaka inflicted defeat on another ozeki title contender, sekiwake Hoshoryu. This victory was particularly significant for Kotonowaka, who had only beaten Hoshoryu once in eleven matches since the two joined the makuuchi division. In a letter to the editor published in Sankei Sports, former ozeki Musoyama commented with satisfaction on Kotonowaka's wrestling style, deeming it worthy of the rank of ozeki.^[16] For his performances during the tournament, Kotonowaka was promised a fourth sansho award for Fighting Spirit, which was nonetheless conditional on an eleventh victory. On the final day of the tournament, Kotonowaka won his match against Ryuden and was awarded the prize. Since he achieved double figures in a sanyaku rank, and was the first in this category to reach 10 wins during the July tournament, Kotonowaka commented on his satisfaction at having seriously strengthened his case for promotion to the rank of sekiwake, the highest rank held by his father and master (former sekiwake Kotonowaka Terumasa) after having stagnated at the rank of komusubi for 4 consecutive tournaments. He also commented on his ambition to be promoted to ozeki, in order to revive and inherit the shikona, or ring name, of his maternal grandfather, former yokozuna Kotozakura, to whom he had made this promise.^[17]

Kotonowaka's promotion to sekiwake was made official with the release of the September tournament rankings on 28 August 2023. He became Sadogatake stable's first sekiwake since Kotoyuki was promoted in May 2016.^[18] Upon his promotion, Kotonowaka said he was honored to be at the same ranking as his father, while his father and stablemaster said that the rank was not the end, adding his hopes that someday his son would be on par with Kotozakura.^[19] Since Kotonowaka had obtained a solid base to start a run towards the rank of ozeki, it was announced before the September tournament that his matches would be sponsored by the management and entertainment company LDH.^[20]

In the November 2023 tournament Kotonowaka defeated Meisei on Day 3 using the rare kimarite of osakate (backward twisting overarm throw), a technique that had not been used in the makuuchi division for 13 years.^[21] He was the co-leader in the championship race after Day 11 with two losses before suffering consecutive defeats to Kirishima and Ryuden. He finished the tournament with a record of 11–4 after defeating Atamifuji and was awarded his fifth Kanto-sho (Fighting Spirit) special prize. Kotonowaka finished 2023 with winning records at the san'yaku ranks in all six of his tournaments. His father Sadogatake, speaking as the head of the Sumo Association's refereeing department, said that ozeki promotion was at stake for Kotonowaka at the tournament in January 2024.^[22]

KotonowakaTobizaru — Kotonowaka defeats Tobizaru to ensure a playoff for the yusho (c. 2024)

Kotonowaka performed well in the first half of the January 2024 tournament, although he also recorded a defeat on Day 6 against Wakamotoharu. Kotonowaka maintained his position as one of the tournament's leading wrestlers (with Onosato and Onosho) by recording a kachi-koshi on Day 9 against fellow sekiwake Daieisho, securing an eighth consecutive tournament in the ranks of san'yaku. On the tenth day, Kotonowaka faced and defeated Onosato by yorikiri (force out), hence taking sole lead of the tournament. On Day 13, however, he suffered a defeat from Terunofuji, reportedly leaving him in a state of extreme frustration after the match and placing him equally with Terunofuji and ozeki Kirishima for the title race.^[23] Nevertheless, he managed to bounce back the following day by inflicting defeat on yokozuna promotion-seeking Kirishima, with the title to be decided on the final day. On the final day, it was announced that Kotonowaka was awarded the Technique Prize for his performances during the tournament. In addition, he won his final match against Tobizaru, claiming a thirteenth victory necessary to reach the milestone traditionally required for promotion to the rank of ozeki (33 victories in 3 tournaments).^[24] With this victory he also qualified for a playoff against Yokozuna Terunofuji to claim both his first championship and the Outstanding Performance award. However, he lost the championship playoff against Terunofuji, thereby missing both of them.^[25] After the tournament, a disappointed and tearful Kotonowaka was nevertheless praised by Terunofuji when the latter gave the traditional post-victory public interview, saying he hoped Kotonowaka would rise to the supreme rank of yokozuna.^[26]

Promotion to Ozeki[]

Immediately after the end of the January 2024 tournament it was announced that the Judging Department of the Sumo Association (led by Kotonowaka's father Sadogatake) had submitted a request to Chairman Hakkaku to promote Kotonowaka to the rank of ozeki. The promotion was formally confirmed on 31 January 2024. It was also reported that Kotonowaka expected to keep his shikona (ring name) until May 2024 to honor his father, whose highest rank in competition was sekiwake, before adopting the name of his late yokozuna grandfather Kotozakura.^[27]

The Sumo Association approved Kotonowaka's promotion on 31 January 2024, making him the first ozeki from Chiba Prefecture since the promotion of Matsunobori after the Autumn tournament in 1955.^[28] Director Hanakago (former sekiwake Daijuyama) officially delivered the news to the new ozeki along with Naruto (former ozeki Kotooshu), a sumo judge who had competed professionally as a member of Sadogatake stable.^[29] In his customary acceptance speech, Kotonowaka said: "With a feeling of gratitude I will devote myself to the way of sumo in order to live up to the title of ozeki." He also confirmed that he would retain the Kotonowaka name for the next tournament in March, before changing to Kotozakura on the May 2024 banzuke. His father Sadogatake shared his expectations that his son would ultimately reach sumo's top rank of yokozuna, saying that he had "one more step to climb."^[30]

Ozeki Career[]

KotonowakaHoshoryu — Kotonowaka defeats Hoshoryu (c. 2024)

During the March tournament, Kotonowaka remained in a position of potential contention for a championship win until Day 13, when he was defeated by fellow-ozeki Takakeisho, ending his chances of winning the tournament. On day 14, he nevertheless took away his chances of winning the tournament from fellow-ozeki Hoshoryu by beating him by yoritaoshi (frontal crush out).^[11]

After the conclusion of the tournament Kotonowaka, who secured 10 wins in his ozeki debut, submitted his official paperwork to change his ring name to Kotozakura starting in May.^[31] The name change became official on the banzuke for the May tournament, making the new Kotozakura the first wrestler to bear this name in 50 years.^[32] Interestingly, the name change was published on the banzuke on 30 April 2024 as Kotozakura Masakatsu (琴櫻将傑), changing the spelling of the first name borne by his grandfather (琴櫻傑將) by reversing its kanji with the same pronunciation. The new Kotozakura explained his choice by declaring that the current form of his first name inspired good omens.^[33]

Having practiced writing his new shikona to make autographs, however, Kotozakura declared that dedicating the kanji for Kotozakura (琴櫻) was too complicated.^[34] Although he had made the choice to keep the traditional kanji for cherry blossom (櫻) in his name, he would dedicate with the simplified kanji (桜) for simplicity, which his grandfather had also chosen to do.^[35]

During the 2024 November tournament, Kotozakura and two other ozeki were the top wrestlers competing with the withdrawal of yokozuna Terunofuji. Kotozakura won 13 of his first 14 matches and entered the final day of top-division competition to face fellow ozeki Hoshoryu, who also had 13 wins. In the final and deciding match Kotozakura countered Hoshoryu's overarm throw attempt, winning by hatakikomi (slap down) to take his first career Emperor's Cup and second overall professional sumo championship.^[36] By coincidence, Kotozakura won his first top-division title in his fifth tournament as an ozeki at 27 years of age, the same as his late grandfather Kotozakura I, who won under the exact same circumstances in July 1968.^[36] Commenting on his first Emperor's Cup, Kotozakura said: "I had experienced losses, but I was able to persevere and became convinced that I really could grab the championship," adding that he could not remember how the deciding match went because he was concentrating so much.^[36] Following the tournament, the Sumo Association stated that Kotozakura would be a candidate for yokozuna promotion at the following tournament in January 2025.^[36] Since Hoshoryu had also been designated by the Yokozuna Deliberation Council as an official candidate for the sport's supreme rank in the event of a championship victory, Kotozakura and Hoshoryu are the first two wrestlers in 55 years to be considered for promotion at the same time, since Kitanofuji and Tamanoumi in 1970.^[37] Kotozakura also finished 2024 with 66 wins, the most of any wrestler in the top division.^[36]

Kotozakura's bid for yokozuna promotion at the January 2025 tournament ended early, with the ozeki losing five straight matches from the second day. On Day 13 he lost to then-tournament leader Kinbozan for his eighth defeat, which meant that the former yokozuna candidate would need a winning record at the next tournament to retain his ozeki rank.^[11]

In February Kotozakura made visits to nearby Tokitsukaze stable for training sessions, in what was reported to be a rare move for him to do prior to the release of the March tournament rankings.^[38]

Personal Life[]

Kotozakura's favorite food is yakiniku and his favorite manga is One Piece.^[39] His hobbies are listening to music and watching TV drams.^[9]
Kotozakura's father is his stablemaster, Sadogatake Oyakata (ex-sekiwake Kotonowaka Terumasa). His grandfather is the 53rd yokozuna Kotozakura. Upon promotion to makuuchi, he became the first third-generation sumo wrestler in sumo history.^[5]

Fighting Style[]

Kotozakura prefers a migi-yotsu grip on his opponent's mawashi which is an left hand outside, right hand inside position. He also lists oshi/tsuki (pushing/thrusting) as a favorite style in his Japan Sumo Association profile.^[39]

Apart from yorikiri and oshidashi (force out and push out), his most common winning kimarite include uwatenage ('overarm throw'), tsukiotoshi ('thrust over') and uwatedashinage ('pulling overarm throw').^[40] He seeks to emulate the style of his grandfather, former yokozuna Kotozakura, and frequently watches his matches to draw inspiration from his thrusting style (tsuki/oshi) as well as his father's grip fighting style (yotsu).^[41] His fighting style, which allows him to stretch to nullify his opponents' strength, has been compared by former yokozuna Hakuho and Wakanohana III to that of a mochi, a rice cake that is elastic when fresh.^[42]