Masatsukasa Koshin

Masatsukasa Koshin - 将司昂親 (born June 7, 1984) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Fukaura, Aomori. He made his debut in January 2003 and wrestled for Irumagawa stable. He reached the makuuchi division in July 2008. His highest rank was maegashira 8 and he retired in May 2011.

Early Life[]

Masahito Ono began wrestling from an early age at a local sumo dojo. He was a member of the sumo club at Fukaura Choritsu Odose Junior High School and Goshogawara Agricultural & Forestry High School and participated in many national competitions. After graduation, the director of his sumo club introduced him to former sekiwake Tochitsukasa who was the owner of Irumagawa stable. He joined the stable in January 2003.

Career[]

Early Career[]

In his first tournament on the banzuke ranking sheets in March 2003 he took the yusho or tournament championship with a perfect 7-0 record. Six consecutive kachi-koshi or winning scores saw him reach the third highest makushita division in March 2004. In his makushita debut, he posted six wins and was promoted all the way to makushita 19. In March 2005, he produced a 6-1 record at the rank of makushita 7 and this qualified him for a seven man playoff, however, he lost in the first round. Nonetheless, he was promoted to the top of makushita and was promoted to juryo two tournaments later in September 2005.

Juryo Career[]

After three poor performances he was demoted back to makushita in March 2006 but made an immediate return to the second division, and although he was never able to win more than nine bouts out of fifteen in any one tournament, a series of steady scores took him up to juryo 3. A 9-6 score in May 2008, winning his last four matches, was enough to earn him promotion to the top makuuchi division for the July 2008 basho.

Makuuchi Career[]

He scored an impressive ten wins in his top division debut, which resulted in promotion to his highest rank of maegashira 8, but he had three make-koshi or losing scores in the next three tournaments, and fell back to the juryo division in March 2009. In September he returned to the top division at the very lowest rank of maegashira 16. He made an excellent start, winning his first five bouts, but eight losses in the next ten days saw him narrowly fail to maintain his makuuchi position. In July 2010 he secured the juryo championship by the 13th day, and was promoted back to the top division at maegashira 8. However, he was unable to take part in the September tournament due to an injury to his left ankle. Back in juryo for the November tournament, he secured his kachi-koshi by winning his last two bouts to finish on 8-7.

Retirement from Sumo[]

Masatsukasa was one of 23 wrestlers found guilty of fixing the result of bouts after an investigation by the Japan Sumo Association, and he was ordered to retire in April 2011. According to his Facebook, as of 2020 he operates a kickboxing gym called "Ono Gym" (小野道場).

Personal Life[]

Upon becoming a sekitori in August 2005 he revealed that he had been married since May 2003. His wife and his two-year-old son were living with his parents back in Aomori. He did not feel he could say anything publicly before reaching a salaried rank. He first adopted the shikona or fighting name of Masatsukasa in July 2003. In September 2008 he changed the second part of his shikona from Tadashi to Koshin, the name of his son. In June 2010 he remarried and became the father of four children.
His hobbies include pachinko and fishing.

Fighting Style[]

Masatsukasa was a tsuki/oshi specialist, who prefers pushing and thrusting at his opponents rather than fighting on the mawashi or belt. His most common winning kimarite or technique is oshidashi or a straightforward push out.