Sadanofuji Akihiro

Sadanofuji Akihiro - 佐田の富士哲博 (born December 25, 1984) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Kazusa, Nagasaki. He made his debut in January 2003 and wrestled for Sakaigawa stable. He reached the makuuchi division in November 2011. His highest rank was maegashira 2 and he retired in May 2017.

Early Life[]

Akihiro Yamamoto was born in Kazusa (currently Minamishimabara), Nagasaki. He began practicing judo in his fifth year of elementary school and continued all the way through high school. After graduating from high school, through the efforts of a former teacher, he made contact with Nakadachi (later Sakaigawa) stable and was accepted.

Career[]

Early Career[]

Yamamoto made his professional debut alongside stablemates Shironoryu and Katsunofuji in the January 2003 tournament. The next tournament, he changed his shikona from his family name to "Sadanofuji" and produced a winning record in his jonokuchi debut. He would spend around one year in jonidan before earning promotion to sandanme in the May 2004 tournament. Sadanofuji would spend around two years in sandanme and he was promoted to makushita in the May 2006 tournament.

Sadanofuji would spend a couple tournaments bouncing back and forth between makushita and sandanme. In 2007, Sadanofuji gradually stated to rise the ranks of makushita and became a regular in the upper-level makushita ranks by the end of the year. In the March 2009 tournament he achieved a 6–1 record and participated in an eight wrestler playoff for the makushita championship. He won against his first two opponents (Daiyubu and Dewaotori) in the playoff, but ultimately lost the championship to Tokushinho in the final bout of the playoff. Following this, his sumo grew more consistent and over the next five tournaments he achieved strong winning records in all but one tournament. In March 2010 he finally reached the second juryo division.

Juryo Career[]

Sadanofuji was the first sekitori from Nagasaki Prefecture in six years since Dewanofuji in 2004. He suffered two straight losing records in his first juryo stint and was demoted back down to makushita.

He returned back to juryo after one tournament in makushita and achieved his first kachi-koshi as a sekitori in the September 2010 tournament. He was significantly boosted up the rankings to juryo 2 for the following tournament. In the May 2011 tournament, Sadanofuji was ranked at juryo 9 and produced a 5-10 losing record, however, he was promoted to juryo 7 as a result due to 2011 Match-fixing Scandal. After this surprise promotion, Sadanofuji produced two straight winning records and earned promotion to the makuuchi divison for the November 2011 tournament.

Makuuchi Career[]

Sadanofuji9 — Sadanofuji prepares for his upcoming match (c. 2014)

Sadanofuji produced a bare majority of wins in his first two top division tournaments, but then had four successive make-koshi or losing scores, which saw him demoted back to juryo. However, he made a strong comeback in the November 2012 tournament, winning his first yusho or tournament championship with a 14–1 record and earning immediate promotion back to makuuchi.

He was in the top division for eight consecutive tournaments until being demoted for the May 2014 tournament. In 2015 he established himself as a top division regular, recording his best score to date of 10–5 in the July 2015 tournament, which saw him ranked among the top maegashira for the first time. In September however, wrestling at maegashira 2 he lost his first thirteen matches before salvaging wins in the last two days to end with a 2–13 record. He was demoted from the top division after scoring only 4–11 in the following tournament in November 2015. He re-appeared in makuuchi in July 2016 but was unable to stay longer than a single tournament.

Later Career[]

Sadanofuji would only spend two tournaments in juryo where he produced two disastrous losing records. He was demoted back down to makushita for the first time since July 2010 and produced another losing record.

Retirement from Sumo[]

After getting demoted back to makushita in January 2017, Sadanofuji still struggled and produced a poor 1-6 record. He pulled to of the next tournament and as a result was demoted down to the sandanme division for the first time since November 2006. He would announce his retirement after the May 2017 tournament. He cited that the poor condition of his right hip joint was the main reason that his sumo deteriorated. His danpatsu-shiki, or retirement ceremony, was held on September 2, 2020, in the Ryogoku Kokugikan and over 300 guests took turns cutting his hair.

After retirement, he stayed with the Japan Sumo Association as a coach at his stable, initially under the borrowed elder name of Nakamura Oyakata held by Yoshikaze. In August 2019 he switched to the Yamashina elder name, previously used by former komusubi Onishiki. When that was needed by his retiring former stablemate Toyohibiki in June 2021, he switched to the Dekiyama name. In December 2023, he switched kabu with the ex-Hochiyama, taking on the Furiwake name.

On April 17 2024, he resigned from the JSA, leaving the Furiwake kabu open, as it was apparently on loan.

Personal Life[]

Sadanofuji was the tsukebito of the upper division wrestler Iwakiyama for many years, but in 2009 his coach, seeing his potential, released him from his duties so he could concentrate on his sumo.
His younger brother Koki joined his stable in 2009 under the shikona Sadanoryu and reached makushita in July 2017.
Sadanofuji was the first wrestler in makuuchi since Chiyonofuji to have five characters in his ring name.
Sadanofuji announced his engagement at a press conference in June 2013. The wedding reception was held the following February, and the couple's first child was born in January 2015.
Sadanofuji's hobby is watching DVD's. His favorite foods are sashimi and beer. He also a drinker and can finish a bottle of sake in 20 seconds.

Fighting Style[]

Sadanofuji was a pusher–thruster who was not keen on fighting on the mawashi or belt. His most common winning kimarite was oshidashi, a straightforward push out. He weighed 208 kg (459 lb) at the Aki basho in September 2015, making him the joint-heaviest man in the top division alongside Ichinojo.