Sumowrestling Wiki
in: Japanese Sumo Wrestlers, Juryo, Sumo Wrestlers from Kagoshima Prefecture,
and 10 more

Wakanoshima Fumiya

Edit

Wakanoshima Fumiya - 若乃島 史也 (born September 28, 1984) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Tatsugo, Kagoshima. He made his debut in March 2000 and last wrestled for Shibatayama stable. He reached the juryo division in July 2014. His highest rank was juryo 7 and he retired in September 2017.

Early Life[]

Fumiya Saita was born the youngest of six siblings (three older brothers and two older sisters) on September 28, 1984, in Tatsugo, a town on Amami Oshima, one of the Ryukyu Islands. Sumo is highly popular in the Ryukyu Islands and he had already begun practicing sumo by the time he was old enough to remember. He also enjoyed playing baseball and soccer casually. He attended Akakina Junior High School in the town of Kasari where he solely focused on sumo. In addition to training with his junior high school’s sumo club, Saita also received one-on-one coaching from his older brother, a Kinki University sumo club alumnus who was 22 years his senior. According to Saita, the training sessions—which lasted from after school until past 8 p.m.—were "extremely intense" and "brutally tough." During his third year of junior high school, he helped his school win the team competition at the National Junior High School Sumo Championship, and as a result, he received offers from many professional sumo stables. Initially, he had nearly secured a sumo recommendation to enroll at Kyushu High School in Fukuoka, and had no intention of joining professional sumo. However, he was moved by Hanaregoma Oyakata's (former ozeki Kaiketsu) persistent efforts—having visited him multiple times—and decided to join Hanaregoma stable in hopes of easing his parents’ financial burden.[1]

Career[]

Early Career[]

Saita made his professional debut in March 2000 and in his first official tournament in May 2000, he finished with a strong 6-1 record with his only loss coming against Hochiyama. He was promoted to the jonidan division for the July 2000 tournament, where he remained for a year before earning promotion to sandanme in July 2001. Prior to the May 2004 tournament, Saita was injured during training, and had to miss his first match in the May 2004 tournament. He decided to participate in the tournament, returning on the third day to wrestle his second match, however, his injury was aggravated even more on the seventh day during his match against Chojimaru. As a result, Saita sat out of the following two tournaments and returned to the dohyo in November 2004, having fallen down to the bottom of the jonidan division. Upon returning, Saita posted three consecutive 6-1 records and was promoted to the makushita division in May 2005.[2]

Wakanoshima2010

Wakanoshima prepares for his upcoming match (c. 2010)

Saita struggled to establish himself in the makushita division and fell back down to sandanme on several occasions. He was given the shikona "Wakanoshima" (若乃島) in March 2008. By September 2010, he had established himself in the makushita division. In January 2012, while ranked at makushita 7, Wakanoshima finished with a 5-2 record and was promoted to the top of makushita for the March 2012 tournament. During the March 2012 tournament, Wakanoshima was unable to capitalize on a juryo promotion, after losing his first four matches. In January 2013, he transferred to Shibatayama stable, after his stablemaster Hanaregoma (former ozeki Kaiketsu) reached the mandatory retirement age of 65. When Hanaregoma retired, Wakanoshima had also considered retiring, however, he was scolded by Hanaregoma who encouraged him to keep going.[3] He returned to the top of makushita in May 2014 where he posted a 5-2 record which included wins over juryo-ranked wrestlers, Takanoyama and Daikiho. He was subsequently promoted to juryo for the following July 2014 tournament.[2]

Juryo Career[]

Wakanoshima’s promotion to juryo was the fourth slowest in history, taking him 85 tournaments and over 14 years to reach the elite sekitori ranks.[4] In his first juryo tournament, Wakanoshima was reportedly nervous[5] and finished with a poor 4-11 record which sent him back down to makushita for the September 2014 tournament. He returned to juryo in May 2015 where he posted an 8-7 record. He followed with a 9-6 record and was promoted to a career-best juryo 7 for the September 2015 tournament. However, he followed with two losing records and was demoted back down to makushita in January 2016. After three tournaments in makushita, he earned a promotion back to juryo in September 2016 where he posted a 6-9 record and was subsequently demoted back down to makushita in November 2016. He returned immediately to juryo in January 2017. On the twelfth day of the January 2017 tournament, Wakanoshima injured his right knee and withdrew from the tournament.[6] Having only acquired four wins at the time, he was demoted back down to makushita in March 2017. This proved to be his last tournament as a sekitori.[2]

Retirement from Sumo[]

In September 2017, while ranked in lower makushita, Wakanoshima won his final match against Tetsuyuzan on the thirteenth day.[2] Shortly after the match, Wakanoshima's retirement from professional sumo was announced by the Japan Sumo Association. He cited that his right knee injury was the main reason for his retirement.[7] His danpatsu-shiki, or retirement ceremony, was held at the Ryogoku Kokugikan on September 30, 2017, with around 250 guests in attendance.[8]

After retiring, he began working at a shabu-shabu restaurant in Setagaya, Tokyo, starting as a trainee, and was reportedly planning to eventually open his own restaurant in Tokyo.[8] He has also worked at sumo-expirience.com as a talent.[9]

Personal Life[]

  • Wakanoshima's hobby is training and his favorite foods are liver and mapo tofu.[10]
  • Wakanoshima was born in Tatsugo, Kagoshima, but initially listed Kasari, Kagoshima, as his birthplace upon entering professional sumo. After Kasari was incorporated into Amami City, he updated it to Amami, Kagoshima, before eventually correcting it to his actual birthplace of Tatsugo.[2]

Fighting Style[]

Wakanoshima's Fighting Style

Wakanoshima defeats Tokushinho by yorikiri (force out)

According to his Japan Sumo Association profile, Wakanoshima was a tsuki/oshi specialist, who preferred pushing and thrusting at his opponents rather than fighting on the mawashi or belt.[11] However, according to his stable, he preferred wrestling on the mawashi using the hidari-yotsu (right hand outside, left hand inside) grip.[10] His most common winning kimarite or technique was yorikiri or a straightforward force out, followed by oshidashi, or push out.[12]

Record[]

Division Results[]

  • Total: 398-366-20/763 (105 basho)
  • Juryo: 42-61-2/102 (7 basho)
  • Makushita: 205-201/406 (58 basho)
  • Sandanme: 95-76-11/171 (26 basho)
  • Jonidan: 50-27-7/77 (12 basho)
  • Jonokuchi: 6-1/7 (1 basho)

Achievements[]

  • Record: 4th slowest rise to juryo (85)

Shikona History[]

  • Saita Fumiya (2000.03 - 2008.01)
  • Wakanoshima Fumiya (2008.03 - 2017.09)

Gallery[]

JSA Profile Pictures and Tegata[]

Career Overview[]

External Links[]

References[]

Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.