Sadanoumi Koji

Sadanoumi Koji - 佐田の海鴻嗣 (born July 19, 1956) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Sakai, Osaka. He made his debut in March 1972 and last wrestled for Dewanoumi stable. He reached the makuuchi division in November 1980 and has four special prizes. His highest rank was komusubi and he retired in July 1988.

Career[]

Early Career[]

After graduating junior high school he joined Dewanoumi stable and made his professional debut in March 1972. He won the jonokuchi yusho in his first tournament and rose through the lower divisions steadily. He was promoted to sandanme in March 1973 and makushita in September 1974. In January 1978, he produced a 5-2 record at the rank of makushita 3 and was promoted to juryo in the following tournament.

Juryo Career[]

He made his juryo debut in the March 1978 tournament but finished with a 3-12 record and was demoted back down to makushita. At the time, he was still wrestling under his surname Matsumara, but he changed it to Sadanoumi in May 1978. He was promoted back to juryo in September 1978, however, he could only managed 2 wins and was again demoted back to makushita. He returned to juryo for the third time after winning the makushita yusho in July 1979. After a strong 11-4 record in September 1980, Sadanoumi was promoted to makuuchi for the November 1980 tournament.

Makuuchi Career[]

Sadanoumi had a tremendous first top division appearance. He won his first nine matches and was tied for the lead alongside yokozuna's Wajima and Wakanohana. He was then paired up against sekiwake, and future yokozuna's, Chiyonofuji and Takanosato, in which he lost both matches. Nevertheless, he finished with an impressive 11-4 record and was awarded the Fighting Spirit Prize.

In November 1981, he finished with a strong 10-5 record and was awarded the Technique Prize. He was promoted to komusubi in the following January 1982 tournament. In this tournament, Sadanoumi defeated yokozuna Wakanohana on the 3rd day and yokozuna Chiyonofuji on the ninth day. He finished the tournament with an 8-7 record and was awarded the Outstanding Performance Prize. In the following tournament he finished with a 4-11 record and was demoted from the san'yaku level. He returned to the rank of komusubi on two other occasions, November 1983 and March 1984, but finished with losing records in both tournaments.

In Mach 1985, Sadanoumi was ranked at maegashira 13 and was on the verge of demotion if he did not perform well. He got off to a strong start and by the end of the 11th day, his record was 10-1 and he was tied in the lead alongside ozeki Wakashimazu. He eventually lost his last four matches as he was paired up against upper ranked wrestlers. Nevertheless, he finished with a strong 10-5 record and was awarded his second Fighting Spirit Prize.

Toward his later career, Sadanoumi struggled with elbow injuries and underwent multiple elbow surgeries. In March 1988, Sadanoumi went winless and produced a disastrous 0-15 record. He was demoted back down to juryo where he continued to struggle and he ultimately announced his retirement midway through the July 1988 tournament.

Retirement from Sumo[]

After retiring, Sadanoumi remained in the Sumo Association as an elder, but he was unable to obtain elder stock and instead borrowed from the names Hatachiyama, Nakadachi, and Tagonoura. He worked as a coach for Dewanoumi stable, but left the sumo world all together in August 1999. After leaving the sumo world, he opened up a chanko restaurant in Higashiosaka, Osaka, called "Sumo Teahouse Sadanoumi" (相撲茶屋佐田の海).

Personal Life[]

His eldest son, Kaname (born 1987), was also a sumo wrestler and he joined Sakaigawa stable in March 2003. He was given his father's shikona, Sadanoumi, and he was promoted to the top makuuchi division in May 2014. Like his father, Sadanoumi had an impressive debut and they became the first father-son to win special prizes in their first makuuchi tournament.

He is close friends with now retired-top tokoyama Tokoyasu, both were from the same stable and were close in age. Even after becoming sekitori, Sadanoumi only allowed Tokoyasu to do his hair and the two strongly trusted each other. Before the both of them married, they interacted almost daily. When his son was promoted to the top division, he also had his hair done by Tokoyasu, despite them being in different stables and Tokoyasu already being the chief tokoyama and only technically supposed to do a yokozuna's hair.

Fighting Style[]

Sadanoumi was a yotsu-sumo wrestler who prefers grappling to pushing and thrusting techniques. He favored a migi-yotsu (left hand outside, right hand inside) position when gripping his opponent's mawashi (belt). His most common kimarite was yorikiri, or force out.