Masuraumi Kota

Masuraumi Kota - 益荒海幸太 (born October 15, 1988) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Toyota, Aichi. He made his debut in March 2004 and wrestled for Onomatsu stable. He reached the juryo division in March 2010. His highest rank was juryo 5 and he retired in May 2013.

Early Life[]

At Toyota Shiritsu Sanagedai Junior High School, Kurosawa belonged in the track and field club and he also participated in shot put. Although he had no experience with sumo, he was invited to Onomatsu stable on July 2003 through an acquaintance. He was recruited into the stable in March 2004. Standing at only 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) he was below the minimum height requirement of 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) but was allowed to make his debut after passing a secondary physical exam.

Career[]

Early Career[]

Kurosawa gradually rose up the lower divisions and he was promoted to sandanme in November 2005. He wrestled in the division for two years before earning promotion to makushita in November 2007. He initially struggled to accelerate up the rankings of makushita and was even demoted back down to sandanme in July 2008. He began to rise up the rankings and after a strong 6-1 performance in January 2009 he was promoted to the top quartile of makushita, the juryo-promotion zone. However, he struggled immensely and could only produce one win. In November 2009, Kurosawa won all seven matches to win the makushita yusho. As a result he was promoted to makushita 2 and in this tournament he produced a 4-3 record which earned him a spot in the salaried juryo division in March 2010.

Juryo Career[]

He was promoted alongside stablemate Daido and changed his shikona from his family name to "Masuraumi" (益荒海). He was also the third sekitori after Toyonoshima and Sagatsukasa who passed a secondary physical exam. Masuraumi had a strong start to his juryo debut and had 7 wins and 3 losses by the end of the tenth day. However, he lost his last five matches and finished with a losing record of 7-8.

As a result, he was demoted back down to makushita but would immediately return after one tournament in the unsalaried ranks. However, in his return he posted a disastrous 3-12 record after losing his first eleven matches and was again demoted back down to makushita.

He returned back to juryo in May 2011 after three tournaments in makushita. However, in his return he produced yet another losing record of 5-10. This would usually result in a demotion, but the 2011 match-fixing scandal allowed for an excess of available slots in juryo. As a result he was instead bumped up from juryo 13 to juryo 12 for the following tournament. In this tournament he produced a strong 10-5 record and was promoted to a career-best juryo 5 for the September 2011 tournament. At his highest rank, Masuraumi posted a 7-8 record after losing on the last day and was demoted back down to the mid-juryo levels. In July 2012 he produced a 6-9 record at the rank of juryo 13 and was demoted back down to makushita for the following tournament.

Retirement from Sumo[]

Masuraumi pulled out of the March 2013 tournament due to a neck injury. He also sat out fo the following two tournament which would guarantee a fall back down to sandanme. He announced his retirement on the eleventh day of the May 2013 tournament at the young age of 24. His danpatsu-shiki, or retirement ceremony, was held at his stable's senshuraku party on May 27, 2012. He intends to be a social insurance labor consultant after retirement.

Personal Life[]

Masuraumi's older brother Shota, who was a canoeing champion in high school, also joined Onomatsu stable in September 2005 and wrestled under the shikona "Tomoegawa". However, he immediately quit after less than two months in professional sumo.
Masuraumi's hobby is watching movies.

Fighting Style[]

Nakanokuni 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. He was also fond of employing kekaeshi, or minor inner foot sweep.