Higonoumi Naoya

Higonoumi Naoya
肥後ノ海 直哉
Personal information
Born Naoto Sakamoto
(1969-09-23) September 23, 1969
Kumamoto, Japan
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight 143 kg (315 lb)
Career
Stable Mihogaseki
Record 407-476-83
Debut January, 1992
Highest rank Maegashira 1 (May, 1995)
Retired November, 2002
Championships 1 (Makushita)
Gold Stars 2
Akebono
Takanohana II
* Up to date as of Aug 2010.

Higonoumi Naoya (born 23 September 1969 as Naoto Sakamoto) is a former sumo wrestler from Kumamoto, Japan. After his retirement he opened up Kise stable.

Career

A former amateur champion at Nihon University, he turned professional in 1992, joining Mihogaseki stable and making his debut in the makushita division as a makushita tsukedashi entrant. Initially fighting under the shikona of Sakamotoyama, he lost only two bouts in his first three tournaments, reaching the jūryō division in July 1992 and the top makuuchi division in February 1993. He was ranked in the top division for 53 consecutive tournaments, every one as a maegashira. This remains a record for a wrestler that never reached the san'yaku ranks, although Kyokushūzan later had more consecutive tournaments as a maegashira after his single tournament as a komusubi. He earned two kinboshi for defeating yokozuna - Akebono in May 1995 and Takanohana in March 1999. He fell back to the jūryō division at the end of 2001 and retired a year later in November 2002 at the age of 33.

Retirement from sumo

He remained in sumo as a coach under the elder name of Kise, and opened up his own training stable, Kise-beya, in December 2003. He produced the top division wrestlers Ichihara (now Kiyoseumi) in 2008 and Gagamaru in 2010. In May 2010 Kise was demoted two ranks by the Sumo Association after he was found to have made arrangements for the distribution of tickets to the previous July's Nagoya tournament that ended up in the hands of around 50 high-profile yakuza affiliated to the Yamaguchi-gumi crime syndicate.[1] As a result, Kise stable closed down and Kise and all his wrestlers moved to Kitanoumi stable, where worked as an assistant coach.[2] He has admitted that until around 2007 he had ties with a yakuza member.[3] He was allowed to re–open Kise stable in April 2012, and in September of that year his wrestler Jōkōryū earned promotion to makuuchi in a record nine tournaments from jonokuchi.

Fighting style

Higonoumi's most common winning kimarite or techniques were basic and straightforward ones: yorikiri, a force out, and oshidashi, push out. He also regularly used hatakikomi (slap down), okuridashi (push out from behind), tsukiotoshi (thrust over) and uwatedashinage (pulling overarm throw).[4]

Career record

Higonoumi Naoya[5]
Year in sumo January
Hatsu basho, Tokyo		 March
Haru basho, Osaka		 May
Natsu basho, Tokyo		 July
Nagoya basho, Nagoya		 September
Aki basho, Tokyo		 November
Kyūshū basho, Fukuoka
1992 Makushita tsukedashi #60
6–1
 		 East Makushita #31
6–1
 		 East Makushita #13
7–0
Champion
 		 West Jūryō #10
8–7
 		 West Jūryō #8
9–6
 		 West Jūryō #5
8–7
 
1993 West Jūryō #3
9–6
 		 East Maegashira #16
9–6
 		 West Maegashira #9
7–8
 		 West Maegashira #11
8–7
 		 East Maegashira #5
6–9
 		 East Maegashira #7
5–10
 
1994 East Maegashira #13
8–7
 		 West Maegashira #8
9–6
 		 East Maegashira #2
4–11
 		 West Maegashira #9
8–7
 		 West Maegashira #4
6–9
 		 West Maegashira #6
4–11
 
1995 West Maegashira #13
8–7
 		 West Maegashira #10
10–5
 		 West Maegashira #1
6–7–2
★		 East Maegashira #3
Sat out due to injury
0–0–15		 East Maegashira #3
4–11
 		 West Maegashira #8
6–9
 
1996 East Maegashira #14
9–6
 		 East Maegashira #3
4–11
 		 East Maegashira #9
6–9
 		 East Maegashira #14
9–6
 		 West Maegashira #8
7–8
 		 West Maegashira #10
9–6
 
1997 West Maegashira #4
5–10
 		 West Maegashira #8
7–8
 		 West Maegashira #9
8–7
 		 West Maegashira #3
2–13
 		 West Maegashira #12
8–7
 		 West Maegashira #5
6–9
 
1998 West Maegashira #8
5–10
 		 East Maegashira #14
9–6
 		 East Maegashira #9
8–7
 		 West Maegashira #6
6–9
 		 West Maegashira #10
9–6
 		 East Maegashira #2
4–11
 
1999 West Maegashira #7
8–7
 		 East Maegashira #4
6–9
★		 East Maegashira #7
8–7
 		 West Maegashira #3
2–13
 		 West Maegashira #11
8–7
 		 West Maegashira #7
8–7
 
2000 East Maegashira #3
2–5–8
 		 West Maegashira #11
Sat out due to injury
0–0–15		 West Maegashira #11
9–6
 		 East Maegashira #5
4–11
 		 West Maegashira #12
10–5
 		 West Maegashira #2
5–10
 
2001 East Maegashira #7
7–8
 		 West Maegashira #8
6–9
 		 East Maegashira #11
11–4
 		 West Maegashira #2
3–12
 		 East Maegashira #9
5–10
 		 West Maegashira #13
4–8–2
 
2002 West Jūryō #4
Sat out due to injury
0–0–15		 West Jūryō #4
9–6
 		 East Jūryō #1
4–4–7
 		 West Jūryō #6
Sat out due to injury
0–0–15		 West Jūryō #6
4–11
 		 West Jūryō #13
Retired
2–10–3
Record given as win-loss-absent    Top Division Champion Retired Lower Divisions

Sanshō key: F=Fighting spirit; O=Outstanding performance; T=Technique     Also shown: ★=Kinboshi(s); P=Playoff(s)
Divisions: Makuuchi — Jūryō — Makushita — Sandanme — Jonidan — Jonokuchi

Makuuchi ranks: Yokozuna — Ōzeki — Sekiwake — Komusubi — Maegashira

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Sumo association punishes coaches over distribution of tournament seats to yakuza". Mainichi Daily News. 27 May 2010. Archived from the original on 2010-05-30. Retrieved 8 June 2010.
  2. ↑ "Kise wrestlers to join Kitanoumi stable". Japan Times. 30 May 2010. Retrieved 8 June 2010.
  3. ↑ "Sumo coach Kise reveals having ties with member of crime syndicate". Canadian Press/AP. Retrieved 15 June 2010.
  4. ↑ "Wins of Higonoumi". Sumo Reference. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  5. ↑ "Higonoumi Naoya Rikishi Information". Sumo Reference. Retrieved 2012-09-18.

External links



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