Rinho Kazuhisa

Rinho Kazuhisa - 輪鵬和久 (born January 22, 1960) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Okawa, Fukuoka. He made his debut in March 1977 and wrestled for Hanaregoma stable. He reached the juryo division in May 1983. His highest rank was juryo 11 and he retired in September 1986.

Early Life[]

Shiki's parents ran a furniture manufacturing company. He was a good runner in junior high school. He transitioned to judo in high school and in his third year, he finished third in the Kyushu High School Judo Tournament. Because of his success, he received many offers from sumo stables and he joined Hanakago stable.

Career[]

He made his professional debut in March 1977 and was given the shikona "Genkaiho" (玄海鵬). The "Genkai" refers to the Genkai Sea located in his hometown of Okawa, Fukuoka Prefecture. The "ho" was derived from the 48th yokozuna Taiho. Already weighing 184 kg (406 Ib) at the time of his debut, he was much bigger than most of his opponents. Because of his size advantage, he won the jonidan yusho in his second tournament with a perfect 7-0 record and was promoted to makushita in May 1978. In May 1982 he changed his shikona to "Rinho" (輪鵬) and in September of the same year, he won the makushita yusho. He was promoted to juryo in May 1983.

In his juryo debut, Rinho struggled and could only manage a 5-10 record. Despite being the heaviest sekitori in the juryo division (187 kg), he was the third shortest standing only at 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in). He was demoted back down to makushita after one tournament in juryo. This proved to be his only tournament ranked as a sekitori. In July 1984 he reverted back to his old shikona Genkaiho. He transferred to Hanaregoma stable in 1986 after his Hanakago stable closed down.

Retirement from Sumo[]

Genkaiho had fallen down to sandanme by 1985 and announced his retirement after the September 1986 tournament. After retiring, he returned back to his hometown to help with the family business. He also worked at a chanko restaurant called "Ofukuronoaji" in Kanazawa, Ishikawa. After this, he opened up a sumo teahouse called "Genkai" (玄海) in Kanazawa as well. In the store, there are many sumo memorabilia that belonged to his stablemate and 62nd yokozuna Onokuni.

Personal Life[]

When Genkaiho was in makushita, he weighed 203 kg (448 Ib) at his heaviest. Because of this he went on an extreme diet and in April 1982, he lost close to 40 kg (88 Ib). However, due to the sudden weight loss he struggled and went winless in May 1982 due to a lack of tenacity. Due to this, he gradually switched to a vegetable-based diet, and in September of the same year, he won the makushita yusho with a perfect 7-0 record.

Fighting Style[]

Rinho 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 was oshidashi, or push out.