Oikari Tsuyoshi

Oikari Tsuyoshi - 大碇剛 (born June 16, 1972) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Kyoto City, Kyoto. He made his debut in March 1995 and wrestled for Isenoumi stable. He reached the makuuchi division in November 1998. His highest rank was maegashira 11 and he retired in November 2004.

Early Life[]

Saito attended Kyoto Gakuen High School and in his third he won the national high school sumo tournament. He continued his amateur sumo career at Doshisha University where he played an active role in national competitions. He joined Isenoumi stable, where another Doshisha University graduate, Tosanoumi, had joined the previous year.

Career[]

Early Career[]

He made his debut in March 1995 and due to his amateur success, he was given makushita tsukedashi status, allowing him to begin in the third makushita division. He was given the shikona of Oikari (literally "large anchor"). In his first tournament he produced a strong 6-1 record and he steadily rose up the ranks of makushita. By July 1996, he was ranked at the top of makushita, but he could only manage a 3-4 record. In March 1997, he produced a strong 6-1 at the rank of makushita 1 and was guaranteed a promotion to juryo in May 1997.

Juryo Career[]

Oikari was the first sekitori from Kyoto Prefecture since the retirement of Daimonji in July 1973. In Oikari's sekitori debut he won his first five matches before losing his following eight matches. In September 1997 he was demoted back down to makushita after pulling out on the fifth day due to injury. He returned back to juryo in March 1998 and in May he won the juryo yusho with a strong 10-5 record. He followed with two more winning records and was promoted to makuuchi in November 1998.

Makuuchi Career[]

He first reached the top makuuchi division in November 1998 but was demoted after only one tournament. He had two further stints the top division, a two tournament run in January and March 2000, and four tournaments from January until July 2002. His highest rank was maegashira 11 and he had an overall win/loss record in makuuchi of 45–60.

Later Career[]

Oikari remained mainly in juryo for majority of his career and he won his second juryo yusho in November 2001. He was demoted back to the makushita division in September 2004 due to injuries and announced his retirement after the following tournament in November.

Retirement from Sumo[]

Oikari's danpatsu-shiki or official retirement ceremony was held in the ground floor of the Ryogoku Kokugikan on May 28, 2005 with 230 invited guests including former ozeki Musoyama. He has remained in sumo as a coach at Isenoumi stable under the elder name of Kabutoyama Oyakata. He has worked as a trainer and instructor in the sumo school for new recruits.

Personal Life[]

He was married in March 2004. He has two sons, Seigo Saito (齋藤成剛) born in 2005, who joined Isenoumi stable in January 2023 and wrestles under the shikona "Wakaikari" (若碇), and Chugo Saito (斎藤忠剛), born in 2007, who followed his brother into Isenoumi stable in January 2025, and wrestles under the shikona Ikarigata (碇潟).
Oikari considers Kinkaiyama to be his main rival. They met a total 17 times (14 times between 1998-2000 where their record was 7-7). Kinkaiyama leads with 9 wins and Oikari followed closely with 8.

Fighting Style[]

Oikari was a tsuki/oshi specialist, who prefers pushing and thrusting at his opponents rather than fighting on the mawashi or belt. His favorite techniques were oshidashi (push out), tsukiotoshi (thrust over) and hikiotoshi (pull down).