Tochinowaka Michihiro - 栃乃若 導大 (born April 6, 1988) is a former Korean-Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Amagasaki, Hyogo. He made his debut in January 2007 and wrestled for Kasugano stable. He reached the makuuchi division in May 2011. His highest rank was maegashira 1 and he retired in January 2015.
Early Life[]
Dae-won Lee was born on April 6, 1988, to a Zainichi Korean father (an ethnic Korean with permanent residency in Japan) and a mother who had immigrated from South Korea.[1] It is unclear whether Lee was born in Japan or South Korea—most sources list Amagasaki, Hyogo, Japan, while some claim he was born in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea.[2] Lee is a third-generation Zainichi Korean and holds South Korean citizenship rather than Japanese.[1][3]
Lee as the High School Yokozuna (c. 2006)
From a young age, Lee had a large build. In second grade, Lee entered Amagasaki’s local children’s sumo tournament—his first-ever sumo competition. Although he finished second, the frustration of missing out on victory drove him to attend a sumo training class held during the following summer vacation. By fifth grade, he had begun serious training at a sumo dojo. He also practiced judo, and by the time he graduated elementary school, he had grown into a giant, standing 180 cm (5 ft 11 in) tall and weighing 120 kg (265 lb).[1]
Lee had caught the attention of Koji Fukuda, then coach of the sumo team at Hotoku Gakuen Junior & Senior High School, located near Lee’s home. Lee decided to enroll, and during his third year of high school, he won the individual competition at the National High School Sumo Championship to earn the title of High School Yokozuna. After winning the tournament, he joined Kasugano stable, led by Kasugano Oyakata (former sekiwake Tochinowaka), who had a close relationship with coach Fukuda.[1]
Career[]
Early Career[]
He entered professional sumo as a wrestler for Kasugano stable in the 2007 January tournament. After posting a strong 5-2 record in his first official tournament, he achieved a perfect 7-0 record to face fellow up and coming wrestler Yamamotoyama to whom he lost the playoff bout for the jonidan championship or yusho. Promoted to sandanme in the following tournament, he posted a 6-1 record and a 5-2 record in the following tournament, garnering him promotion to makushita.[2]
He continued fulfilling the expectations of a former high school yokozuna with four consecutive kachi-koshi or winning records. However, upon reaching upper makushita his progress slowed and he finally posted a make-koshi or losing record of 2-5, his first such record in nine tournaments in sumo. In the next tournament he only achieved a 3-4, marking the only time so far in his sumo career that he has had consecutive losing records. It was during this period of struggle that he changed to his current shikona or ring name of "Tochinowaka" (栃乃若), which is the former ring name of his stable coach, Tochinowaka Kiyotaka. His ring name up to this time had been his simple one character Korean family name of "Ri" (李), the Japanese transliteration of his family name, Lee. This had apparently been somewhat of a challenge for the yobidashi who are required to announce every wrestler's name in a drawn out singsong style of voice and very rarely, if ever, had to call out a ring name consisting of just one syllable.[1]
His fortunes after his name change did not change right away, and after several tournaments alternating between winning and losing records, with an early withdrawal in the March 2009 tournament, he finally achieved two consecutive winning records in upper makushita to grant him promotion to sekitori level, the second highest juryo division.[2]
Juryo Career[]
Tochinowaka defeats Masunoyama (c. 2011)
In contrast to his previous struggles, Tochinowaka soared through juryo in just three tournaments. In his first tournament he posted a solid 8-7 record after winning his last four matches. The following tournament, he produced a strong 11-4 record and was a main contender for the juryo yusho, however, he lost the playoff to Kaisei. The next tournament, Tochinowaka produced an even better 12-3 record, but also lost the playoff to fellow Korean Kasugao. This earned him a promotion to the top makuuchi division for the March 2011 tournament.[2]
Makuuchi Career[]
His promotion to the top makuuchi division in March 2011 was ill-timed as this tournament was cancelled, the first such cancellation in the history of sumo, due to the bout fixing scandal of that year. Though there was no tournament and no official banzuke, he and fellow makuuchi promotee Kaisei did receive compensation as top division wrestlers for the period of that tournament.[4] He only managed a 7-8 record in the following May "technical examination tournament" but in March 2012 he reached his highest rank to date, maegashira 1. In his first tournament facing all the top ranked men he managed to defeat ozeki Kisenosato on the opening day, but his only other win over a san'yaku wrestler was sekiwake Aminishiki, and he finished on 5–10. Ranked at maegashira 4 in the May 2012 tournament he had a much easier schedule, facing only fellow maegashira, but he performed well below expectations posting only a 2–13 record. He was demoted from the top division after winning only five bouts at maegashira 14 in July 2012.[2]
He managed to fight back after two tournaments and was again promoted to makuuchi in January 2013. However, the following March tournament, he dropped out from injury after losing his first seven bouts.[5] He again fell back to juryo and was again re-promoted after two tournaments. Since then he alternated winning and losing tournaments, moving him up and down the maegashira ranks with regularity.[2]
Retirement from Sumo[]
Tochinowaka after retirement (c. 2017)
After the November 2014 tournament, with only a 3-12 record at a low maegashira rank, he faced demotion to juryo. Following the winter tour he told his stablemaster Kasugano Oyakata that he wished to retire. Kasugano was surprised and talked with him for four hours in an effort to change his mind, but in the end submitted the official retirement papers to the Sumo Association on December 15, 2014.[6] Tochinowaka's name appeared on the January 2015 banzuke despite his retirement. In interviews Tochinowaka revealed that he had been contemplating retirement for two years and had consulted his parents.[7] He did not give any physical injuries as a reason for his retirement but indicated that he suffered from a lack of mental toughness. His retirement ceremony was held on January 25, 2015 at the Tokyo Metropolitan Hotel.[8]
Following his retirement, he joined the Hakuju Bioscience Research Institute, which handles healthcare equipment and food, and he currently provides healthcare guidance as the manager of Hakuju Plaza.[9]
Personal Life[]
- His father is Zainichi Korean and his mother is a Korean immigrant. Despite holding South Korean nationality, Tochinowaka was raised in Japan, enabling Kasugano stable to accept him despite already having a foreigner, Georgian Tochinoshin.[1]
- Tochinowaka has a gentle and quiet personality.[10]
- Kasugano Oyakata (former sekiwake Tochinowaka) had always held high expectations for Tochinowaka. Viewing him as a protégé, he gave him the same-sounding shikona (ring name) and stated that he believed Tochinowaka had the potential to reach the rank of ozeki or even yokozuna. He even considered giving him the prestigious shikona "Tochinishiki" (栃錦), in reference to the yokozuna of that name.[11] In addition, some supporters hoped that Tochinowaka could become the 'next Japanese yokozuna,' which left him somewhat perplexed, as he is actually Korean.[1]
- Upon securing promotion to juryo, his stablemate Tochiozan used his prize money to buy him a new mawashi.[12]
- Tochinowaka's hobby is listening to music.[13]
Fighting Style[]
Tochinowaka defeats Tamaasuka by yorikiri (force out)
Tochinowaka was a yotsu-sumo wrestler who preferred techniques involving grabbing the opponent's mawashi. His favourite grip was hidari-yotsu, with his right hand outside and left hand inside his opponent's arms.[14] Nearly half his career victories to date were achieved with just two kimarite or techniques, yorikiri (force out) and oshidashi (push out), the two most common in sumo.[15]
Record[]
Division Results[]
- Total: 267-244-11/510 (47 basho)
- Makuuchi: 106-156-8/261 (18 basho)
- Juryo: 69-36/105 (7 basho)
- Makushita: 69-47-3/116 (17 basho)
- Sandanme: 11-3/14 (2 basho)
- Jonidan: 7-0/7 (1 basho)
- Jonokuchi: 5-2/7 (1 basho)
Shikona History[]
- Ri Dewon (2007.01 - 2009.09)
- Tochinowaka Michihiro (2009.11 - 2015.01)
Gallery[]
JSA Profile Pictures and Tegata[]
Career Overview[]
(c. 2010)
See Also[]
External Links[]
- Tochinowaka Michihiro Japanese Wikipedia Article
- Tochinowaka Michihiro Rikishi Information
- Tochinowaka Michihiro JSA Profile Page
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Nikkei Shimbun: A candidate for Ozeki, with a Yokozuna-class build - Tochinowaka
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Tochinowaka Rikishi Information
- ↑ Mindan: Lee Dae-won, did changing his name to Tochinowaka help? He was promoted to Juryo
- ↑ Sponichi Annex: Kaisei and Tochinowaka will be given top-tier treatment due to their ranking
- ↑ Shikoku News: Tochinowaka also withdraws due to right leg injury
- ↑ Nikkei Shimbun: Tochinowaka retires at age 26; stablemaster Kasugano says "I was surprised"
- ↑ Nikkan Sports: Tochinowaka's seven-year career as a sumo wrestler comes to an end
- ↑ Nikkan Sports: Tochinowaka at retirement ceremony: "Everything has come back to life"
- ↑ Athlete Live: Taking responsibility is living your own life
- ↑ Sanspo: 26-year-old Tochinowaka, a promising young wrestler, suddenly retires
- ↑ Nikkei Shimbun: Throwing away pride and moving towards upward momentum: Tochinowaka
- ↑ Sponichi Annex: Tochiozan, unexpected prize, "a belt" for a junior apprentice
- ↑ Tochinowaka Japanese Wikipedia Article
- ↑ Tochinowaka JSA Profile
- ↑ Tochinowaka Kimarite Information