Naruto stable
Naruto stable (鳴戸部屋, Naruto-beya) is a stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Nishonoseki ichimon or group of stables It was established on April 1, 2017 by former ozeki Kotooshu, who branched off from Sadogatake stable.
As of January 2023 it has 15 active sumo wrestlers.
History[]
Naruto stable was established on April 1, 2017 by former ozeki Kotooshu, who branched off from Sadogatake stable. One of the stable's early recruits was also a Bulgarian – former junior wrestling champion Ventsislav Katsarov (Torakio Daiki) who retired in April 2019 and returned to Bulgaria. The opening ceremony of the stable was attended by one hundred people including Kotooshu's former stablemate Kotoshogiku. Kotooshu commented, "I want to nurture a wrestler who will eclipse me."
Kotooshu became a naturalized Japanese citizen two months after his retirement in March 2014. His official name is Ando Karoyan. He is the first European-born stablemaster. He is also only the third foreign-born wrestler to open his own stable after Takamiyama and Musashimaru.
According to a report in May 2018, some wrestlers said that they chose Naruto stable because they had the most information when they searched the internet. Naruto stable is not related to Tagonoura stable which had the same name until 2013.
Naruto Oyakata suspended one of his wrestlers (reported to be a 20 year old sandanme level rikishi) from the January 2019 tournament after it emerged he had choked a more junior wrestler as a punishment. This is the first time the Compliance Committee and the Anti-Violence Provisions, which were established in December 2018, were applied. On February 19, 2019, an apology statement was posted on the official Twitter of Naruto stable "To all of you who always support us. This time, I was very sorry for the trouble that occurred in the stable. We will reflect firmly and take the disposition of the Sumo Association seriously, and will provide guidance and supervision to prevent this from happening in the future." and the official blog of Naruto oyakata.
In July 2022, Mongolian-born Oshoma became the stable's first sekitori.
Ring Name Conventions[]
Many wrestlers in this stable have ring names or shikona that start in the character 欧 (read: o), meaning Europe, in deference to the head coach's shikona of Kotooshu (琴欧洲). Examples include Oshoma, Oshoumi and Oyamada.
Some wrestlers also have the character 洲 (read: shu), meaning continent, as another way of including parts of the stablemaster's shikona in their own. One example is Hoshuzan.
Owners[]
Notable Active Wrestlers[]
- Oshoma (best rank maegashira)
- Oshoumi (best rank juryo)
- Oshoryu (best rank makushita)
- Hoshuzan (best rank makushita)
- Oyamada (best rank makushita)
- Gyokuozan (best rank makushita)
Notable Former Wrestlers[]
Referee[]
- Shikimori Komei (jonidan gyoji)