Tsurugisho Momotaro

Tsurugisho Momotaro - 剣翔桃太郎 (born July 27, 1991) is a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Katsushika, Tokyo. He made his debut in January 2014 and currently wrestles for Oitekaze stable. He reached the makuuchi division in September 2019 and has 1 special prize. His highest rank as of 2025 is maegashira 7.

Early Life[]

Abiko began practicing sumo during his fourth year of elementary school.^[1] In his fifth year he earned a slot in the top eight national sumo tournament. He was rivals with future-juryo wrestler Chiyoarashi.^[2] He ended up attending the same junior high school as future-makuuchi wrestler Chiyotairyu who was three years his senior.^[3]

After junior high school, he attended Saitama Sakae High School, which is known for its strong sumo program. He won the national team championship for his school in his third year and the 100 kg plus weight category national championship. He later attended Nihon University where he was enrolled in the Department of Physical Education alongside future makuuchi wrestler Hidenoumi.^[1] Although he did not win an individual title he was on the winning team in the Student Yokozuna 2012 championships. After graduation from college he joined Oitekaze stable, which was coached by ex-wrestler Daishoyama, who was also a Nihon University Alumni, and it was already home to Nihon University Alumni, Endo. He made his professional debut in January 2014.^[4]

Career[]

Early Career[]

Abiko had a relatively strong to start to his professional career where he won both the jonokuchi and jonidan yusho in the March and May 2014 tournaments. He was in contention for the sandanme yusho in July 2014, but lost on the last day to veteran wrestler, Hienriki. He was still promoted to the makushita division in September 2014 after only spending one tournament in each of the previous divisions. In his makushita debut, Abiko produced yet another 7-0 record and was promoted to the highly competitive rank of makushita 4 for the November 2014 tournament. In this tournament. Abiko produced his first losing record of 3-4. He would remain in the top 10 ranks of makushita for another seven tournaments before earning a promotion to juryo in January 2016.^[5]

Juryo Career[]

20190720-OHT1I50113-T — Tsurugisho prepares for his upcoming match (c. 2019)

To mark his new promotion, he was given a new shikona. He wanted a two-kanji name to make it easy to remember, and suggested "Ken" from his own first name, combined with the "sho" suffix common at his Oitekaze stable. However, as "kensho" is the name used for the prize money awarded after a bout it was therefore unavailable, and he used the reading "Tsurugi" instead.^[6]

Tsurugisho did not necessarily struggle in his first couple tournaments, however, his records were not too impressive which did not earn him an immediate promotion. In fact, he only produced 8-7 and 7-8 records for eight consecutive tournaments since his juryo debut which made him reach no higher than juryo 5. After one 6-9 record, he continued to only produce 8-7 and 7-8 records for another four tournaments. In March 2018, he produced a disastrous 4-11 record and as a result was demoted to the bottom of juryo. Tsurugisho bounced back by producing his first double-digit record of 11-4 in May 2018. After another year of unimpressive records, Tsurugisho produced a strong 13-2 at the rank of juryo 6 in the July 2019 tournament. As a result he took the juryo yusho and earned promotion to the makuuchi division in September 2019.^[5]

Makuuchi Career[]

He was the eighth member of Oitekaze stable to win promotion to the top division since his stablemaster, ex-maegashira Daishoyama, opened the heya in 1998. He had a strong debut, scoring double-digit wins and staying in contention for the championship with a win over Takarafuji on Day 13. Although he lost his last two matches he was awarded the Fighting Spirit Prize on Day 15. He was promoted to a new highest rank of maegashira 7 for the November 2019 tournament, but could only score 6–9 there. He suffered a left knee injury in January 2020, but competed until the end of the tournament, again scoring 6–9.^[7] He entered in March but withdrew on Day 5, with the medical certificate citing a left knee anterior cruciate ligament injury.^[8] As a result he was demoted back down to juryo for the July 2020 tournament (May tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic). In January 2021 he won his second juryo championship with a 12–3 record. His stablemate Daieisho won the makuuchi championship in the same tournament. This was the first time that the top two divisions had been won by members of the same stable since Takasago stable's Asashoryu and Toki in November 2005. He had to withdraw from Day 13 of the July 2022 tournament after a COVID outbreak at Oitekaze stable.^[9]

At the September 2023 tournament, Tsurugisho put in a good performance, securing his place in the makuuchi division with an eighth victory on day eleven. This tournament, in which he achieved the fastest kachi-koshi score of his career, held particular significance for him, having learned of the death of his grandmother during the competition.^[10]

On Day 4 of the March 2024 tournament, Tsurugisho appeared to re-injure his left knee in his match against Hiradoumi and had to be taken away from the dohyo in a wheelchair.^[11] He withdrew the following day, with his medical certificate stating that he would miss two months due to injuries to his left ACL, MCL and meniscus.^[12]

Personal Life[]

Tsurugisho's grandfather was the one that persuaded Tsurugisho to start practicing sumo. His grandfather told him that if he won an elementary sumo tournament, then he would give him some money. As a result, Tsurugisho took part in a local sumo tournament, and although he lost, this was what got him interested in sumo.^[1]
Tsurugisho's favorite foods are meat, marshmallows, Gohan desu yo! (a seaweed based condiment produced by Momoya),^[13] cream stew,^[14] yakiniku, and sweets.^[15]

Fighting Style[]

Tsurugisho is a yotsu-sumo wrestler, who prefers grabbing the mawashi to pushing or thrusting at his opponents. His favored grip is migi-yotsu, a left arm outside, right hand inside position.^[14] His most common winning kimarite or technique is yorikiri or force out.^[16]