Sumanofuji Shigeo

Sumanofuji Shigeo - 須磨ノ富士茂雄 (born December 21, 1977) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Kobe, Hyogo. He made his debut in March 1993 and wrestled for Nakamura stable. He reached the juryo division in May 2001. His highest rank was juryo 9 and he retired in July 2007.

Early Life[]

Shigeo Adachi was born in Kobe, Hyogo, on December 21st, 1977. In junior high school, Adachi was a member of the judo club. However, due to his large size, he took up sumo and performed well in the Hyogo Prefectural Tournament. After graduating junior high school he joined Nakamura stable.

Career[]

Early Career[]

He made his debut in March 1993 alongside Hokutoriki, Wakatenro, Wakatoba, and Kyokunankai. He briefly wrestled under the shikona "Adachifuji" (足立富士) for one tournament before changing it to "Sumanofuji" (須磨ノ富士) in July 1993. In the following September tournament he produced a perfect 7-0 record, but missed out on the jonidan yusho after losing to Wakaryuo in a playoff. Nonetheless, he was promoted to sandanme in November 1993 at the age of 15. He was promoted to makushita four years later in November 1997. In September 2000, he won the makushita yusho with a perfect 7-0 record. Three tournaments later he was promoted to juryo in May 2001.

Juryo Career[]

Sumanofuji could only manage six wins in his sekitori debut and he was demoted back down to makushita. He returned back to juryo after three tournaments in makushita. During his second stint, he produced three straight losing records, which comprised of 7-8 and 6-9 records, and was demoted back to makushita in July 2002.

20080603 361418 — Sumanofuji during the juryo dohyo-iri

He returned for a one tournament stint in May 2003. In January 2004, he was promoted back to juryo for the fourth time and he produced his first winning record of 8-7. He followed with another 8-7 record and was promoted to a career-best juryo 9 in May 2004. However, he only managed to stay in juryo for another three tournaments and was demoted back down to makushita in November 2004. Nevertheless, he was promoted back to juryo after only spending one tournament in makushita, but he could only manage three wins in the January 2005 tournament and was yet again demoted back to makushita. He was immediately promoted back to juryo after producing a strong 6-1 record. He stayed in juryo for two tournaments before falling back to makushita in September 2005. He stayed in makushita for two tournaments before earning a promotion back to juryo in January 2006. He stayed in juryo for three tournaments before falling back down to makushita in July 2006. He was promoted back to juryo for a record eighth time (now held by Kizenryu who was promoted nine times). He posted an 8-7 record followed by a career-best 9-6 record in November 2006. However, in the January 2007 tournament, Sumanofuji suffered an fractured right eye socket on day 6 in a match against Ryuo and subsequently had to pull out of the tournament. This proved to be his last tournament in juryo. He competed in a total of 19 tournaments as a sekitori and could only produce a winning record (kachi-koshi) in four of those tournaments.

Retirement from Sumo[]

After demotion from juryo, Sumanofuji spent two tournaments in makushita before announcing his retirement on July 4th, 2007. After retirement, he went on to become a cook and in December 2019 he opened up a chanko restaurant called "Suma" (力士料理すま) in Shin-Koiwa, Katsushika, Tokyo.

In 2005, he enrolled in the Japan Airline High School's correspondence course to qualify for high school graduation and he graduated in March 2008.

Fighting Style[]

Sumanofuji was an oshi-sumo specialist, preferring pushing and thrusting techniques. The Sumo Association lists tsuppari, a series of rapid thrusts to the chest, as his favorite. His most common winning kimarite was oshidashi, or push out.