Rikishin Tatsuki - 力真 樹 (born October 7, 1995) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Taragi, Kumamoto. He made his debut in May 2011 and wrestled for Tatsunami stable. He reached the juryo division in January 2017. His highest rank was juryo 10 and he retired in September 2017.
Early Life[]
Tatsuki Kubota was born on October 7, 1995, in Taragi, Kumamoto. He began practicing judo in third grade at Kurohiji Elementary School, but quit in fifth grade after his training partner left the program. He would resume judo after enrolling in Taragicho Tachitaragi Junior High School. He belonged in the judo club for all three years during his time in junior high school.[1]
During his second year of junior high school, Tatsunami Oyakata (former komusubi Asahiyutaka) visited his junior high school and recommended that he try professional sumo. Although he received numerous offers from top-level judo high schools, Kubota accepted the offer. Prior to joining professional sumo, his only sumo experience was competing in a local tournament as a first grader.[1]
Career[]
Early Career[]
He made his debut under the shikona "Rikishin" (力真) in May 2011 alongside Meisei, Chiyotairyu, Terunofuji, Jokoryu, and Hakuyozan. He was initially set to make his debut in March 2011, however, the tournament was cancelled due to the 2011 match-fixing scandal.[2] Rikishin had a slow start in his professional sumo career and remained in the second lowest jonidan for nearly two years. Upon reaching sandanme in January 2013, he started to rise up the banzuke at a faster rate and reached the rank of sandanme 8 in September 2013, however he sat out of this tournament. He bounced back from his absence and earned a promotion to the makushita division for the July 2014 tournament.[3]
Rikishin during his early career (c. 2014)
In Rikishin's makushita debut he won all seven matches and took the makushita yusho. At 18 years of age, it was the third time that a teenager won the makushita yusho in their debut tournament. The previous wrestlers to accomplish this feat was the 47th yokozuna Kashiwado and the 65th yokozuna Takanohana.[1] As a result, Rikishin was promoted to makushita 6 for the following September 2014 tournament. However, in this tournament, Rikishin's opponents were significantly more experienced and Rikishin posted a 2-5 record.[3]
In September 2015, Rikishin produced a 6-1 record and was placed in an eight-man playoff for the makushita yusho. He defeated Tetsuyuzan in the first round, but lost to Sato (future ozeki Takakeisho) in the second round. A year later, in September 2016, while ranked at makushita 5, Rikishin finished with a 5-2 record and was promoted to the top of makushita for the November 2016 tournament. During the November 2016 tournament, Rikishin posted a strong 6-1 record and was promoted to juryo for the following January 2017 tournament.[3]
Juryo Career[]
Rikishin made his juryo debut in the January 2017 tournament and his record was 7-7 on the final day, however he lost his final match to Kyokutaisei to finish with a 7-8 losing record. He followed this with a solid 9-6 record and was promoted to a career-best juryo 10 for the May 2017 tournament. During the spring regional tour in Kawasaki on April 13, he engaged in butsukari-geiko (pushing practice) with Takanoiwa, using his chest for training. However, after 15 minutes of intense practice, he experienced hyperventilation.[4] At the Kashiwa tour stop on April 20, he reported the same symptoms as in Kawasaki—believed to be hyperventilation—after training and was rushed by ambulance to a hospital in Kashiwa City.[5] Perhaps due to the intense training during the regional tour dampening his morale, he recorded consecutive losing records in the May and July tournaments, ultimately relinquishing his juryo rank after just four tournaments.[3]
Retirement from Sumo[]
Rikishin was demoted to the makushita division for the September 2017 tournament but was unable to compete due to undergoing knee surgery after the July tournament. As a full recovery in time to return to the ring seemed unlikely, he chose to retire. His retirement was officially announced by the Japan Sumo Association on September 23, 2017, the 14th day of the tournament.[6] At the time of his retirement, he was still only 21 years old. His danpatsu-shiki, or retirement ceremony, was held the following day during his stable’s senshuraku (final day) party.[7]
After retiring, Rikishin currently works as the manager of a food bar called "Dining Bar JOGO" (ダイニングバー JOGO) in Yokohama.[8]
Personal Life[]
- Rikishin is close friends with his stablemate and former top-division wrestler Akua. In September 2018, he gave Akua a bright green mawashi that he had never used during his own career.[9]
- On the first day of the January 2017 tournament, Rikishin was nervous during the juryo dohyo-iri, or ring entering ceremony, and made a mistake by clapping his hand earlier than he should have.[10]
- Since Rikishin's stable is located at Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, he was sponsored by a recycling company called Nissho Tsukuba (日昇つくば) and they presented him with a kesho-mawashi.[11]
- Rikishin's hobby is listening to music.[1]
Fighting Style[]
Rikishin defeats Kitataiki by oshidashi (push out)
Rikishin is a oshi-sumo specialist, who prefers pushing 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.[12]
Record[]
Division Results[]
- Total: 158-126-14/284 (39 basho)
- Juryo: 26-34/60 (4 basho)
- Makushita: 63-42-7/105 (16 basho)
- Sandanme: 35-21-7/56 (9 basho)
- Jonidan: 30-26/56 (8 basho)
- Jonokuchi: 4-3/7 (1 basho)
Championships[]
- 1 Makushita Championship (July 2014)
Shikona History[]
- Rikishin Tatsuki (2011.05 - 2017.09)
Gallery[]
JSA Profile Pictures and Tegata[]
Career Overview[]
(c. 2016)
(c. 2017)
External Links[]
- Rikishin Tatsuki Japanese Wikipedia Article
- Rikishin Tatsuki Rikishi Information
- Rikishin Tatsuki JSA Profile Page
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 BBM Sumo November 2016 Issue
- ↑ Sponichi Annex: 36 people including Meigetsuin pass the exam for new sumo wrestlers
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Rikishin Rikishi Information
- ↑ Daily Sports: Juryo wrestler Rikishin collapses, "I was hyperventilating and couldn't exert myself"
- ↑ Sanspo: Rikishin feels unwell after practice and is rushed to hospital; will miss tour
- ↑ Sanspo: 21-year-old former juryo wrestler Rikishin retires, knee surgery difficult to recover from
- ↑ Twitter: Rikishin's retirement ceremony
- ↑ Hodogaya-ku.jp: "Chanko" cuisine made by a former sumo wrestler
- ↑ Nikkan Sports: The thoughts of two juryo wrestlers on their mawashi
- ↑ Nikkan Sports: Rikishin starts off with a win; his first dohyo-iri was a poor performance
- ↑ "Sumo Journal" June 2017 Issue p. 25
- ↑ Rikishin Kimarite Information