Sumowrestling Wiki
Advertisement
in: Japanese Sumo Wrestlers, Thai Sumo Wrestlers, Juryo,
and 8 more

Nabatame Tatsuya

Edit

Nabatame Tatsuya - 生田目 竜也 (born February 22, 2002) is a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Sakura, Tochigi. He made his debut in January 2020 and currently wrestles for Futagoyama stable. He reached the juryo division in July 2024. His highest rank as of 2025 is juryo 5.

Early Life[]

Tatsuya Nabatame was born on February 22, 2002, in Otawara, Tochigi, as the eldest son of a Thai mother and Japanese father. His father left the family when he was in elementary school which lead to financial difficulties for the Nabatame family. Additionally, his mother struggled with Japanese and became both mentally and physically unwell. As a result, Nabatame was placed in a support facility in Yaita, Tochigi, in his first year of junior high school, and from the second semester of his second year, at the age of 14, he was transferred to a welfare facility in Sakura, Tochigi.[1]

NabatameYoung

Nabatame with his family at a sumo tournament (c. 2017)

Despite being in the welfare facility, his mother visited regularly.[2] During his time in junior high school, Nabatame was a member of the baseball and band club and also participated in swimming and table tennis.[3] However, apart from placing second in a Wanpaku Sumo tournament in Tochigi Prefecture during elementary school, he did not seriously engage in sumo until high school.[4]

Due to a connection with his middle school teacher, who was the son of the sumo club coach at Tochigi Prefectural Yaita High School, he joined the sumo club after enrolling in the school and began practicing sumo in earnest.[5] Nabatame began taking sumo wrestling seriously during his first year at the school and was later approached by Futagoyama Oyakata (former ozeki Miyabiyama) for professional sumo around this time.[6] He was appointed captain in team matches from his first year and participated in the national high school individual sumo competition in his second and third year.[6] He also finished runner-up at a Kanto tournament during his second year and competed in the National Sports Festival for two consecutive years.[7] After high school, Nabatame joined Futagoyama stable.

Career[]

Early Career[]

He made his professional debut in January 2020 and wrestled under his surname Nabatame. In July 2020, he was aiming for the jonidan yusho and won his first six matches before losing his final match to Takeoka. He replicated this exact performance in the following September 2020 tournament where he won his first six matches before losing to Hokuseiho in his final match. Nevertheless, Nabatame was promoted to sandanme in November 2020 and makushita in July 2021.[8]

In September 2023, while ranked at a then career-best rank of makushita 7, Nabatame injured his left knee's anterior cruciate ligament during a match against Tochimusashi on Day 8.[9] He subsequently withdrew from the tournament on Day 9, but returned on Day 13 only to lose to Hatsuyama. Nevertheless, following his injury, Nabatame posted three consecutive winning records and was promoted to makushita 2 in May 2024. On the final day of the tournament, Nabatame defeated juryo-ranked Kazekeno to finish with a 5-2 record and secured his promotion to juryo for the following July 2024 tournament.[8]

Juryo Career[]

Nabatame is the first sekitori from Sakura, Tochigi, and is also the first sekitori of Thai descent.[2] Nabatame struggled in his juryo debut and finished with a 4-11 record, sending him back down to makushita for the September 2024 tournament. Participating at the rank of makushita 4, he secured a 4-3 record on the final day with a win over juryo wrestler Kiryuko. This score saw him re-promoted to the juryo division in November 2024.[8]

Returning to the rank of juryo 14, Nabatame left Day 11 with a score of 7-4, verging on a winning record. However, he lost his remaining four matches leaving him with a make-koshi, or losing record. Despite his losing record, the subsequent banzuke indicated that he would retain his salaried rank for the January 2025 tournament. Going into Day 5 with a record of 1-3, he would then defeat Wakaikari and go on a ten match winning streak until he was defeated by Aonishiki on Day 15. Nevertheless, he finished with a strong 11-4 record and was promoted to the rank of juryo 5 for the following March 2025 tournament. On the third day of the March 2025 tournament, Nabatame re-aggravated a previous injury to his left knee and withdrew from the tournament the next day.[10]

Personal Life[]

  • Nabatame's hobbies are DJ'ing and bar hopping. His favorite singers are ZORN, ID, Will Sparks, and Karen Tsuchiya. His favorite food is sushi, especially tamago (egg). His favorite shows are Shabekuri 007 and Prison Break. His favorite manga is Seikimatsu Leader den Takeshi.[11]
  • Nabatame has developed a popular online presence due to his appearances on his stable's YouTube channel, where he is seen as an outgoing and friendly figure.[12]

Fighting Style[]

Nabatame's Fighting Style 3

Nabatame defeats Chiyosakae by oshidashi (push out)

Nabatame is an oshi-sumo wrestler who prefers pushing and thrusting techniques to fighting on the mawashi. His most common kimarite used is a straightforward oshidashi (push out), followed by tsukidashi (thrust out).[13]

Record[]

Division Results[]

  • Total: 108-76-6/183 (27 basho)
  • Juryo: 22-23/45 (3 basho)
  • Makushita: 71-54-1/124 (18 basho)
  • Sandanme: 16-7-5/23 (4 basho)
  • Jonidan: 12-2/14 (2 basho)
  • Jonokuchi: 5-2/7 (1 basho)

Shikona History[]

  • Nabatame Tatsuya (2020.01 - )

Gallery[]

JSA Profile Pictures and Tegata[]

Career Overview[]

External Links[]

References[]

Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.
Advertisement