Satoyama Kosaku

Satoyama Kosaku - 里山浩作 (born May 31, 1981) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Amami, Kagoshima. He made his debut in March 2004 and wrestled for Onoe stable. He reached the makuuchi division in May 2007. His highest rank was maegashira 12 and he retired in November 2018.

Early Life[]

Kosaku Satoyama was born on May 31, 1981, and his father founded and cultivated the "Satoyama Ornamental Botanical Garden" (里山観葉植物園) in Amami, Kagoshima. He began sumo wrestling after joining the sumo club at Amami Shiritsu Akakina Junior High School. After junior high school, he attended Kagoshima Commercial Senior High School and was also a member of the school's sumo club.^[1]

After graduating from high school he enrolled at Nihon University and was also a member of their prestigious sumo club. At Nihon University he was teammates with the future Shirononami and Homasho. Although he participated in national tournaments and showed potential, he failed to win any major titles and did not qualify for makushita tsukedashi status. Satoyama made his professional debut in March 2004, joining Mihogaseki stable alongside his team-mate at Nichidai Sumo Club, Shiraishi. He was attracted to the stable because of his admiration for Onoe Oyakata, (ex komusubi Hamanoshima), himself a former amateur champion.^[1]

Career[]

Early Career[]

Satoyamaunsalaired — Satoyama in makushita (c. 2010)

In his jonokuchi debut in May 2002, he sat out his first two matches after injuring himself at a training session with Baruto. He later returned to the tournament and won his following five matches. In September 2004, Satoyama won all seven matches but lost to stablemate Baruto in a playoff for the jonidan championship. After producing a 6-1 in November 2004, Satoyama was promoted to makushita for the January 2005 tournament.^[2]

Initially Satoyama was somewhat overshadowed by Shiraishi and Baruto, who made their juryo division debuts together in September 2005. However, Satoyama was still highly regarded, despite his short height and relatively light weight. He made his way quickly up the ranks, recording only one make-koshi along the way to sekitori status, which he achieved in January 2006 upon promotion to the juryo division.^[2]

Juryo Career[]

In September 2006 Satoyama, Shiraishi, Baruto and a number of other wrestlers scouted by Onoe Oyakata joined his newly created Onoe stable.^[3] Satoyama remained in juryo for eight tournaments where produced mainly winning records. In the March 2007 tournament, Satoyama defeated Goeido on the final day to finish with a 12-3 record and the juryo yusho. As a result, he was also promoted to the top makuuchi division for the May 2007 tournament.^[2]

Makuuchi Career[]

Satoyama entered the top makuuchi division for the first time in May 2007 at maegashira 12, where he scored seven wins against eight losses. After a poor 2–13 record in July he was demoted back to juryo. Restricted by a neck injury, he had two more losing scores in September and November 2007, pushing him towards the bottom of the second division. In January 2008 he won only two bouts in the first 11 days, and although he won his last four matches to finish on a 6–9 score, it was not enough to prevent demotion to the third makushita division.^[2]

201811230000594-w1300 0 — Satoyama prepares for his upcoming match (c. 2016)

Satoyama produced a 2–5 score in March 2008, and 3–4 in May, meaning he had chalked up seven consecutive losing scores. In July 2008 he returned to form and won the makushita championship with a 6–1 score after an eight-way playoff, defeating his 232 kg stablemate Yamamotoyama Ryuta in the final. It was his first kachi-koshi or winning score since his juryo division championship in March 2007. However he could manage only two wins in each of his next two tournaments. Remaining firmly stuck in the makushita ranks, he became a tsukebito, or personal attendant, to Baruto. However, in the July 2011 basho he scored 5–2 at makushita 6 which returned him to juryo for the first time in 21 tournaments. His score of 7–8 in September was enough to keep him in the second division, but not the 6–9 that followed in November. However he achieved his majority of wins against losses in the January 2012 basho, coming from 0–3 down to score 4–3, and this was enough to return him immediately to juryo.^[2]

In the January 2014 tournament Satoyama returned to the top division for the first time since July 2007. The 37 tournament gap between appearances in makuuchi is the most in sumo history,^[4] breaking the record of 28 tournaments held by Wakanoyama. During the January 2014 tournament, Satoyama held a 7–7 record going into the final day. Had he defeated Takayasu, he would have secured his first top division kachi-koshi and been awarded the Technique Prize.^[5] During the bout, it initially appeared that he had won by oshitaoshi (frontal push down), but the shimpan called a mono-ii. Upon review, it was revealed that Satoyama had grabbed Takayasu’s topknot, resulting in an automatic disqualification.^[5] Satoyama followed with a disappointing 4-11 record in March 2014 and was demoted back down to juryo in May 2014. He was promoted to the top division in July 2015 and again in March 2016, but a kachi-koshi or majority of wins in a makuuchi tournament continued to elude him.^[2]

Later Career[]

Satoyama remained in the sekitori ranks until July 2017 where he scored a 3-12 at the rank of juryo 12 and was demoted back down to makushita in September 2017. For the next year he recorded solid results in the third division but was unable to gain a promotion back to the sekitori ranks.^[2]

Retirement from Sumo[]

Satoyama retired after the November 2018 tournament. He has stayed with the Japan Sumo Association as a coach at his stable under the borrowed elder name of Sanoyama Oyakata (owned by Chiyonokuni).^[6] His danpatsu-shiki, or official retirement ceremony, was held on September 29, 2019, at the Ryogoku Kokugikan, on the same day as Kisenosato's.^[7] In April 2021 he acquired the Chiganoura name.^[8]

Personal Life[]

Satoyama was married in September 2012 and the wedding reception was held the following February, with Kitanoumi and Hakuho among the 500 guests.^[9] His wife also has an amateur sumo background, and is a former winner of the Women's Asian Championships.^[9]
Satoyama is good friends with former sekiwake Aminishiki. Their connection began because his wife was a childhood friend of Aminishiki, which led to them becoming acquainted. On the second day of the September 2016 tournament, they faced each other for the first time in a juryo division match. Although he lost the bout, Satoyama appeared visibly happy.^[10]
Satoyama's favorite food is citrus fruits.^[1] His hobbies include massage and collecting houseplants.^[1]

Fighting Style[]

At 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) and 123 kg (271 lb) Satoyama was one of the smallest sekitori and had to rely on technical skill to defeat his heavier opponents. According to his Japan Sumo Association profile Satoyama favored yotsu-sumo, fighting on the mawashi or belt. His preferred grip was listed as hidari-yotsu, with his right hand outside and left hand inside his opponent's arms.^[11] He is known for his underarm throw, or shitatenage. However, his most common winning kimarite was actually oshidashi, or push out.^[12]