Toyonoumi Shinji

Toyonoumi Shinji - 豊ノ海真二 (born September 22, 1965 - November 20, 2021) was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Buzen, Fukuoka. He made his debut in March 1981 and wrestled for Futagoyama stable. He reached the makuuchi division in November 1988. His highest rank was maegashira 1 and he retired in March 1999.

Early Life[]

Born Shinji Hamada in Buzen, Fukuoka, he was first spotted while at elementary school by ozeki Takanohana Kenshi, who was on a regional tour, and the youngster was promised a spot in Futagoyama stable. After graduating from junior high in March 1981, he made his professional debut alongside future sekiwake Tochitsukasa.

Career[]

Early Career[]

Hamada rose up the lower division ranks steadily. In March 1982 he followed the now retired Takanohana to a new stable the former ozeki had founded, Fujishima. Having previously fought under his own surname of Hamada, to mark the occasion his shikona was modified to Takanohama. He was promoted to sandanme in January 1983 and makushita in January 1985. In May 1986, he won the makushita yusho with a perfect 7-0 record and was promoted to the top ranks of makushita. After four consecutive 4-3 records, he was promoted to juryo in September 1987.

Juryo Career[]

20211121-41211264-nksports-000-8-view — Toyonoumi (c. 1991)

He was able to establish himself as a sekitori immediately and he posted an 11-4 record in his second juryo tournament. He followed with three more consecutive 8-7 records. In September 1988 he won the juryo yusho with a strong 11-4 record and was promoted to makuuchi in November 1988.

Makuuchi Career[]

In November 1988 having won the juryo yusho or tournament championship he made his debut in the top makuuchi division alongside Saganobori. These two were the final new makuuchi wrestlers of the Showa era. He fell back to juryo in July 1989 but immediately returned. In July 1990 he switched to the shikona of Toyonoumi, which he was to use for the rest of his career. In January 1992 he took a second juryo division championship – in the same tournament that his stablemate Takahanada (the son of his stablemaster) won the makuuchi division title. In February 1993 he found himself back under the Futagoyama banner when his original stable and Fujishima merged following the retirement of Futagoyama Oyakata (former yokozuna Wakanohana Kanji I). Despite fighting in the top division for a total of thirty tournaments, Toyonoumi never won a special prize or managed to defeat a yokozuna. He never reached a san'yaku position, his highest rank being maegashira 1 which he achieved in September 1992.

Later Career[]

His last appearance in the top division was in March 1994 but he carried on fighting for another five years after that, finally announcing his retirement in March 1999 facing certain demotion to the unsalaried makushita division. He had been an active wrestler for 19 years and had never missed a bout in his entire career, fighting 1316 consecutive matches – the eighth highest in sumo history (as of 2021).

Retirement from Sumo[]

Toyonoumi's danpatsu-shiki or official retirement ceremony was held on October 3, 1999 at the Ryogoku Kokugikan, with around 3000 guests. He remained in the sumo world as a coach at his stable under the elder name of Yamahibiki Oyakata, but he was only renting the elder stock and he left the Japan Sumo Association in June 2002.

After leaving the sumo world he became a cook and on February 14th, 2008, he opened up a yakitori restaurant in Shinjuku, Tokyo, called "Nichome no Bandera" (二丁目のバンデラ). However, the restaurant closed after a few months and he became an office worker.

Death[]

The Sumo Association announced that he had died of an unspecified illness on 20 November 2021, aged 56.

Fighting Style[]

Toyonoumi was one of the heaviest wrestlers ever, reaching a peak weight of around 225 kg (496 lb) in 1998, and was sometimes criticised for being ungainly and slow-moving. He favored yotsu-sumo or grappling techniques. He used a hidari-yotsu position on his opponent's mawashi or belt, with a right hand outside, left hand inside grip. His two most common winning kimarite were yorikiri (force out) and oshidashi (push out). Among other techniques he used regularly were kotenage (armlock throw) and kimedashi (arm barring force out).