Tomonohana Shinya

Tomonohana Shinya - 智乃花伸哉 (born June 23, 1964) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Yatsushiro, Kumamoto. He made his debut in March 1992 and wrestled for Tatsunami stable. He reached the makuuchi division in July 1993 and has 2 special prizes. His highest rank was komusubi and he retired in November 2001.

Early Life[]

Narimatsu's parents divorced when he was young and grew up with his uncle and aunt. Since his uncle worked at the sumo club at Hosei University, Narimatsu decided to try out sumo wrestling. He continued his amateur career all the way to the collegiate level where he competed for Nihon University. He played an active role in national competitions and was the captain of the sumo club in his fourth year. After graduation, he worked as a high school physical education teacher in Yamaguchi prefecture. He did not join the professional sport until March 1992, when he was nearly 28, an extraordinarily late age. (The Sumo Association have since changed its rules and all former amateurs must now make their professional debuts before the age of 25).

Career[]

Early Career[]

He made his debut in the third highest makushita division due to his amateur accomplishments (makushita tsukedashi), fighting out of Tatsunami stable. At just 174 cm (5 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in) and 100 kg (220 lb), he was not much bigger than Mainoumi, the lightest wrestler at the time. He began wrestling under his own surname of Narimatsu. After four tournaments in makushita, he was promoted to juryo in November 1992.

Juryo Career[]

Upon reaching sekitori status he adopted the formal shikona of Tomonohana, meaning "flower of wisdom." He posted a strong 10-5 record in his sekitori debut and followed with three more winning records which earned him a promotion to makuuchi in July 1993.

Makuuchi Career[]

Tomonohana had winning records or kachi-koshi in his first twelve tournaments, reaching the second highest juryo division in November 1992 and the top makuuchi division in July 1993. A popular wrestler, he was nicknamed "Sensei" because of his teaching background. He used a wide variety of techniques to counteract his light weight, and won the prestigious Gino-sho, or technique prize, in two consecutive tournaments in September and November 1993. In January 1994 he reached the sanyaku ranks at komusubi, but turned in the first losing record of his career, 4–11, and never made the rank again. He was demoted back to juryo in March 1996 and subsequent injuries prevented him from returning to the top division. Nevertheless, he carried on fighting until November 2001 when he announced his retirement at the age of 37.

Retirement from Sumo[]

Upon his retirement he temporarily used his old fighting name as an elder, under the jun-toshiyori system. In February 2003 he switched to the elder name of Asakayama owned by former ozeki Kaio, after it was vacated by ex-maegashira Owakamatsu who left the Sumo Association. He transferred from Tatsunami stable to coach at Tomozuna stable in April 2005. In March 2006 he obtained the Tamagaki stock upon the mandatory retirement of its previous owner, the former Wakanami.

In February 2024, due to the consequences of Hokuseiho's violence scandal at Miyagino stable, it was also announced that Tamagaki would be appointed as acting stablemaster for an unspecified period of time to oversee training and the stable while the stablemaster Miyagino (ex-Hakuho), now in name only, would be receiving guidance on how to properly run a stable.

He began his overseeing tenure on February 27, 2024, immediately installing a policy of ‘No going out, no eating out and no interaction with supporters.’ for the stable’s rikishi until after the March 2024 tournament, while the long-term future of Miyagino stable is still discussed by the JSA. Tamagaki expressed that the remaining wrestlers were taking the situation seriously and that they were all 'obedient and good boys' and that they were training well ahead of the March tournament. He also talked and urged worried wrestlers to not retire by 'taking a personal approach and chatting to them individually to consider their own unique situations'.

When the Association decided for the dissolution of the stable and its absorbance into Isegahama stable, the ex-Tomonohana returned to his assistant coach position at Oshima stable.

Personal Life[]

Tomonohana's hobbies are watching movies and playing golf.
Tomonohana's cousin, Yukio Narimatsu (born July 24, 1971), was also a sumo wrestler. He made his debut in January 1994 wrestled under his surname "Narimatsu" and rose as high as makushita 49. He retired in January 1998 and is currently a member of the Yatsushiro City Council in Kumamoto Prefecture.

Fighting Style[]

Tomonohana preferred a migi-yotsu or right hand inside, left hand outside grip on his opponent's mawashi, and his speciality was shitatenage, or underarm throw, which was his most common winning kimarite. He used 34 different kimarite during his career, some of them extremely rare. In January 1993 he defeated Hananokuni with izori, or backwards body drop, a technique that had not been seen at sekitori level since 1964.