Shosei Takeshi - 勝誠 剛 (born May 27, 1986) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Uken, Kagoshima. He made his debut in March 2005 and wrestled for Sakaigawa stable. His highest rank was makushita 3 and he retired in January 2025.
Early Life[]
Takeshi Fukunaga was born on May 27, 1986, in Uken, a village on Amami Oshima, one of the Ryukyu Islands. Sumo is highly popular in the Ryukyu Islands and Fukunaga practiced the sport from an early age. In 1998, he won the National Wanpaku Sumo Tournament and earned the title of Elementary School Yokozuna. For junior high school and high school, he left his home island and studied abroad on the mainland in Yamaguchi prefecture. He attended Yamaguchi Kenritsu Hibiki High School where he was a member of the school's sumo club. During his third year of high school he was recruited for professional sumo by Sakaigawa Oyakata (former komusubi Ryogoku). After graduation, Fukunaga decided to join Sakaigawa stable because his high school senior classmate Toyohibiki was already in the stable. However, he was below the minimum height requirement of 173 cm but was allowed to make his debut after passing a secondary physical exam.[1]
Career[]
He made his professional debut in March 2005 and regularly trained with high school rival and stablemate Goeido during their early years. Fukunaga reached the makushita division by March 2006 and had not posted a single losing record at the time. In November 2008 he was given the shikona "Satsumahibiki" (薩摩響) and he reached the rank of makushita 5 in January 2010.[2]
In July 2011, Shosei was given the new shikona "Shosei" (勝誠) in July 2011. In November 2011 he finished with a 6-1 record and qualified for an eight-man playoff for the makushita yusho. He defeated Amuru in the first round, but lost to Sensho in the second round. He was promoted to a career-best makushita 3 in July 2012, but finished with a 2-5 record. He fell back down to sandanme in March 2018 and bounced back and forth between sandanme and makushita for the following four years.[2]
After the fifth day of the September 2023 tournament, Shosei withdrew from the tournament. He continue to sit out of the following tournaments before falling off the banzuke in July 2024. He never returned to action and his retirement was announced after the January 2025 tournament.[2]
Fighting Style[]
Shosei defeats Kotofukuju by zubuneri (head pivot throw)
Shosei's favored techniques are listed at the Sumo Association as maemitsu (gripping the front of the opponent's mawashi) and nage (throwing).[3] He won majority of his bouts with a straightforward yorikiri, or force out. Due to his short stature, he usually goes extremely low during the tachi-ai, or initial charge. He is also fond of employing moves such as kainahineri (two-handed arm twist down) and zubuneri (head pivot throw).[4]
Record[]
Division Results[]
- Total: 388-371-32/759 (114 basho)
- Makushita: 291-318/609 (87 basho)
- Sandanme: 85-51-11/136 (21 basho)
- Jonidan: 6-1-14/7 (3 basho)
- Jonokuchi: 6-1-7/7 (2 basho)
Shikona History[]
- Fukunaga Takeshi (2005.03 - 2008.09)
- Satsumahibiki Takeshi (2008.11 - 2011.05)
- Shosei Takeshi (2011.07 - 2025.01)
Gallery[]
(c. 2025)
External Links[]
- Shosei Takeshi Japanese Wikipedia Article
- Shosei Takeshi Rikishi Information
- Shosei Takeshi JSA Profile Page