Wakatakakage Atsushi

Wakatakakage Atsushi - 若隆景渥 (born December 6, 1994) is a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Fukushima City, Fukushima. He made his debut in March 2017 and currently wrestles for Arashio stable. He reached the makuuchi division in November 2019 and has 7 special prizes and 1 top division championship. His highest rank as of 2025 is sekiwake.

Early Life[]

Atsushi Onami began sumo wrestling during his first grade at Yoshiida Elementary School.^[1] He also participated in judo and track and field during his elementary school days.^[2] He did not leave an impressive track record in junior high school and even though he participated in national competitions, he could not get past the first round.^[3] He had to evacuate Fukushima due to the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami and he lodged at the Arashio stable for where his older brother, Wakatakamoto, was already a wrestler. He stayed in the stable for around a month.^[4]

WakatakakageWakabayama — Wakatakakage (1 year old) with his grandfather Wakabayama

In his third year of high school, he won the All Japan Sumo Championship under 100 kg weight category and he won the whole World Junior Sumo Championship.^[3] At the time of gradation, he was ranked second nationally in his lightweight class. Unlike his older brothers, Onami decided to enter collegiate-level sumo, instead of professional sumo right out of high school graduation.^[5]

He enrolled at the Toyo University's Department of Law. In his fourth year, he became co-captain of his school's sumo team. Originally, Onami was unsure on whether he wanted to join professional sumo or become a businessman.^[6] He realized that qualifying for the newly created sandanme tsukedashi would be his best option for joining professional sumo. After a series of good performances in collegiate-level tournaments, he was able to obtain sandanme tsukedashi status.^[1]

Career[]

Early Career[]

Onami joined Arashio stable since it was already home to his two elder siblings. He made his debut in March 2017 under the shikona Wakatakakage and produced a 5-2 record in his first tournament. In the following tournament he won all seven matches and took the sandanme yusho. As a result he was promoted to makushita in July 2017 and he posted a perfect 6-1 record in his makushita debut. In January 2018, he won all seven matches and claimed the makushita yusho. As a result, he was promoted to the top of makushita, where he produced a 4-3 record.^[7]

Juryo Career[]

He made his juryo debut in May 2018, the second to do from Arashio stable after Sokokurai in 2010 and the first from Fukushima Prefecture since Sotairyu in 2009. He rose slowly up the juryo division, winning promotion to the top makuuchi division after a 9–6 record at juryo 3 in September 2019. Despite a poor 2–6 start to that tournament he won his final seven matches (including wins over top division veterans such as Toyonoshima and Kaisei) to secure his promotion. He was the third sandanme tsukedashi entrant to reach the top division after Yutakayama and Asanoyama.^[7]

Makuuchi Career[]

Wakatakakage won his first four bouts in his top division debut in November 2019, but dislocated a joint in his right foot after landing awkwardly during his fourth day win over Terutsuyoshi and had to withdraw from the rest of the tournament.^[8] Back in juryo he put together two consecutive winning records of 9–6 and 10–5 upon his return from injury to earn promotion back the top division for the (subsequently cancelled) May 2020 tournament at his highest rank to date of maegashira 14. In July 2020 he completed his first full tournament in makuuchi, posting a respectable 10 wins. In September he was on the leaderboard for much of the tournament, although he picked up his fourth loss to Mitakeumi on Day 14 and finished in a share of third place on 11–4.^[7]

SXJ2IBEIVNI2TL3QCY3KBOAYKM — Wakatakakage presented with the Emperor's Cup after winning the March 2022 tournament.

On 31 December 2020 – 10 days before the start of the January 2021 basho - it was announced by the Sumo Association that Wakatakakage tested positive for COVID-19.^[9] As a result, the entire Arashio stable, along with the Miyagino, Tomozuna and Kokonoe stables, sat out the tournament.^[10] He returned in March and produced a 10–5 record, defeating two ozeki and receiving the Technique Prize. He earned his second Technique Prize in May 2021 with a 9–6 record and was promoted to the san'yaku ranks for the first time as komusubi. He was the first from Arashio stable to reach the komusubi rank since its founding in 2002.^[11]

After consecutive winning records at the top maegashira rank in November 2021 and January 2022, Wakatakakage was promoted to a career-best rank of sekiwake for the March 2022 tournament. He followed up this sekiwake debut by winning his first makuuchi tournament after producing a 12-3 record and defeating co-leader Takayasu in a playoff, along with receiving his third Technique prize. This marked the first time in 86 years that a newly promoted sekiwake won the championship (after Futabayama in 1936), as well as the first time in 50 years that a wrestler from Fukushima Prefecture won the championship (after Tochiazuma in January 1972).^[12] Wakatakakage failed to defeat ozeki Shodai in the final regulation match (thus missing out on the Outstanding Performance Prize that he would have received with a 13–2 record), but was guaranteed at least a playoff as Takayasu had lost his own match to Abi earlier in the day.^[7]

Wakatakakage followed up his tournament win with a 9–6 record in the May 2022 tournament. Maintaining his sekiwake rank in July, Wakatakakage recovered from losing his first three matches in September to produce an 11–4 record. He received his fourth Technique Prize on the final day. He achieved an 8–7 record in the November tournament to close out the year.^[7]

Injury and Relegation[]

In the January 2023 tournament Wakatakakage earned a 9–6 record. He withdrew towards the end of the March 2023 basho after injuring his right ACL and meniscus in his win over Kotonowaka on Day 13.^[13] The following month stablemaster Arashio (former maegashira Sokokurai) announced that Wakatakakage would be sidelined for up to one year after undergoing reconstructive knee surgery.^[14] After his operation, Wakatakakage resumed training at the end of August 2023, notably facing sandanme stablemates.^[15] When withdrawing from the September tournament, his medical certificate with the Sumo Association indicated he would need "approximately one month of treatment and outpatient rehabilitation."^[16]

WakatakakageMakushita2 — Wakatakakage falls down to makushita due to an right knee injury (c. 2023)

In preparation for the November 2023 tournament, Wakatakakage was demoted to the makushita division, where he was ranked sixth. No longer a sekitori, observers noted that he now wore the black mawashi of the lower-ranked wrestlers during his trainings.^[17] Noting his training sessions without knee braces, Sports Hochi speculated about a possible return to competition for the Kyushu tournament that same month,^[17] something that Wakatakakage's master, Arashio, had already hinted at at the beginning of October.^[18] Wakatakakage's return at the November tournament was confirmed when his name was listed among the makushita matches for the first day.^[19] He began his comeback with a defeat but bounced back to finish the tournament with a score of 5–2. During the first tournament of 2024, Wakatakakage won all his matches, winning his second makushita championship, the first in six years. This victory marks the second time a former makuuchi championship winner has won a makushita championship after a period of demotion, the first being Yokozuna Terunofuji in 2019.^[20] After his championship victory, it was announced that Wakatakakage would be re-promoted to the juryo division for the March tournament. He won the May 2024 juryo championship with 14 wins, likely resulting in his return to the top division in July.^[7]

Return to San'yaku[]

When the banzuke for the January 2025 tournament was published, it was confirmed that Wakatakakage was returning to the san'yaku ranks, where his brother Wakamotoharu also competed. Wakamotoharu, having completed on two successful tournaments in September and November 2024, could, according to the press, count on his brother's promotion in order to aim for the rank of ozeki.^[21] Wakatakakage quickly dispatched Terunofuji on the opening day of the January tournament to mark his first career victory against a yokozuna.^[22]

During the 2025 May tournament, Wakatakakage stood out as one of the leaders of the competition, recording seven victories and one defeat during the first half of the tournament, sharing the lead group after undefeated ozeki Onosato with Aonishiki and Hakuoho. Although he fell behind in the race for the title, Wakatakakage matched his personal best with a total of twelve victories, renewing hopes of promotion to ozeki. For his performance, he also won his sixth Technique prize.^[7]

Personal Life[]

Wakatakakage is married with children. During his second makushita championship victory, he thanked his family for their support during his rehabilitation.^[23]
Wakatakakage's hobby is filleting fish, his favorite food is sushi, and his favorite manga is One Piece.^[24]

Family[]

The three Onami brothers are the grandchildren of former komusubi Wakabayama.^[25] They were given their shikona or sumo names by Arashio stable's head coach Oyutaka, after the three sons of Mori Motonari in the well-known Japanese parable "Lesson of the three arrows" – Takamoto, Motoharu, and Takakage.^[26] The eldest brother, Wakatakamoto, has a highest rank of makushita 7 and has been in sumo the longest, debuting in November 2009. Wakatakakage and Wakamotoharu are the 19th pair of brothers in sumo to both reach sekitori level. Wakamotoharu is the second eldest and entered in November 2011, but did not make his juryo debut until after Wakatakakage, in March 2019. On the March 2022 banzuke Wakatakakage reached his highest rank to date, sekiwake. Wakatakakage, the youngest brother, has had by far the quickest rise up the rankings of the three.^[27]

Fighting Style[]

According to his Japan Sumo Association profile Wakatakakage prefers a migi-yotsu (right hand inside, left hand outside) grip on his opponent's mawashi.^[24] His most common winning kimarite are oshidashi (push out), yorikiri (force out) and okuridashi (push out from behind). He is below the average weight for a sekitori at 135 kilograms (298 lb) and makes use of his speed and agility.^[28]