Takanofuji Sanzo

Takanofuji Sanzo - 貴ノ富士三造 (born May 13, 1997) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Sakai, Ibaraki. He made his debut in March 2013 and wrestled for Chiganoura stable. He reached the juryo division in March 2018. His highest rank was juryo 5 and he retired in November 2019.

Early Life[]

Screen Shot 2020-12-19 at 10.58.24 AM — Three year old Kamiyama with his twin brother

He was born as Tsuyoshi Kamiyama in Oyama, Tochigi Prefecture. He has a Japanese father and Filipino mother. He is the older of identical twins, and is distinguished from his brother by the fact that he has a mole near his upper lip. They also have an older sister. They grew up in Sakai, Ibaraki Prefecture.

Their sister played soccer in national competitions at high school and the twins both played basketball, representing Ibaraki Prefecture in national competition and coming in third place. He also participated in karate from his fourth to fifth year of elementary school and kickboxing in junior high school. He joined professional sumo alongside his twin brother after their father recommendation. They joined Takanohana Stable since they already met yokozuna Takanohana in the third grade.

Career[]

Early Career[]

Tsuyoshi made his debut in March 2013 under the shikona of "Takayoshitoshi". In his jonokuchi debut, he produced a strong 5-2 record and in May 2014, he was promoted to the fourth highest sandanme division. Takayoshitoshi spent five tournaments in the sandanme level and was promoted to the third highest makushita division in March 2015.

In his makushita debut, Takayoshitoshi produced a 4-3 record and in November 2015, he was promoted to the upper-half of makushita. He would remain in makushita for another three years and in January 2015, Takayoshitoshi produced a 5-2 record at the rank of makushita 7. Usually this would not lead to a juryo promotion, but there were seven new openings in the juryo division.

Juryo Career[]

201908120000375-w500 1 — Takanofuji prepares for his upcoming match (c. 2019)

With his brother Takagenji already in the division it was the first time in sumo history that twins had both achieved sekitori status. However he withdrew partway through that tournament and was suspended from the next for assaulting his personal attendant or tsukebito after a match. He was reportedly angry that the attendant was late in telling him the time of his match, making him late entering the stadium.

His absence resulted in him falling back to the makushita division. His stablemaster, former yokozuna Takanohana, was demoted in the Sumo Association's hierarchy for failing to report the incident to them and subsequently decided to leave the Sumo Association altogether. Upon the resignation of his stablemaster Takayoshitoshi moved along with his stablemates to Chiganoura stable in October 2018.

He returned to juryo in March 2019 under his new name of Takanofuji, although he lasted only one tournament before being demoted. In May he won the makushita championship or yusho with a perfect 7–0 score, ensuring his return to juryo. In July 2019 he was ranked at juryo 12, his highest rank to date, with his brother Takagenji making his top makuuchi division debut in the same tournament. Takanofuji had his best result in the division, an 11–4 record, which ensured a new highest rank of juryo 5 for the following tournament. However, this was to be his final tournament appearance.

Retirement from Sumo[]

Kyodo takanofuji — Takanofuji addresses the press about his assault scandal

He was withdrawn by his new stablemaster Chiganoura from the September 2019 tournament after it emerged that he had once again assaulted an attendant after a practice session on August 31st. The incident was investigated by Japan Sumo Association's compliance committee which on September 26 recommended that he retire. He had been found to have hit his attendant in the forehead with his fist, and also used derogatory language toward him and two other attendants. However, the following day Takanofuji held a press conference in which he said he would not go voluntarily because "this penalty is too heavy and I can't accept it." His retirement was urged by his stablemaster, and the Sumo Association said they would take disciplinary measures against him at a later meeting which could involve a forced retirement. Takanofuji was accompanied by a lawyer at his press conference and he said he had written to the Sumo Association asking for a lighter penalty, and sent a petition to the Japan Sports Agency seeking better governance of professional sumo. He moved out of the stable to an apartment and refused to deal directly with his stablemaster, asking his lawyer to be the intermediary.

On 11 October 2019 his retirement was announced by the Japan Sumo Association. Through his attorney Takanofuji said, "I still wanted to continue, but my interactions with the Sumo Association left me exhausted." His decision to retire before harsher penalties were imposed means he is entitled to severance pay.

MMA Career[]

In July 2020 Takanofuji said in an interview that he was training to become an MMA fighter and hoped to enter a Rizin event. He made his professional debut against James Raideen under the ring name "Tsuyoshi Sudario" on September 27 at Rizin 24. He won the fight via doctor stoppage after the first round.

Takanofuji made his sophomore appearance in the sport against Ikuhisa Minowa at Rizin 26 on December 31, 2020. He won the fight via first-round technical knockout.

Sudario faced Kazushi Miyamoto at Rizin 27 on March 21, 2021. He won quickly via knockout eight second into the bout. Sudario kept punching even as the ref was pulling him off, causing a brawl to break out. Sudario was subsequently fined with a 25 percent pay cut due to the incident.

Sudario faced Shoma Shibisai at Rizin 28 on June 13, 2021. He lost the bout via rear-naked choke in the third round.

Sudario faced Saint at Rizin 31 on October 24, 2021. He won the bout via knockout in the first round.

Sudario faced Hideki Sekine at Rizin 37 on July 31, 2021. He won the fight by a first-round knockout, stopping Sekine 53 seconds into the opening round.

Sudario faced Janos Csukas on October 23, 2022 at Rizin 39, winning by TKO in the 2nd round with a right hook as Csukas was getting up from a fall, pounding him, and following it up with a knee kick on the ground.

Sudario faced Junior Tafa on December 31, 2022 at Rizin 40, losing by TKO in the first round via punches.

Sudario faced Roque Martinez at Rizin Landmark 5 on April 29, 2023. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Personal Life[]

Takanofuji's twin brother, Takagenji, is also a professional sumo wrestler who trained under the same stable. They were the first pair of twins to be ranked in the sekitori ranks simultaneously. Takanofuji and Takagenji performed shokkiri, or comedic sumo, together from the summer of 2016 to the spring of 2017.
Takanofuji's hobbies incude listening to sumo and training. His favorite band is Ketsumeishi and his favorite show is Shabekuri 007. His favorite colors are green and blue, and his mawashi was dark green.

Fighting Style[]

Takanofuji was a yotsu-sumo wrestler, who sought a grip on the mawashi rather than pushing or thrusting. His preferred grip was migi-yotsu, a right hand inside and left hand outside position. His most common winning kimarite was a straightforward yori-kiri or force out.