Sagatsukasa Hiroyuki
磋牙司 洋之
Sagatsukasa in 2009
Personal information
BornHiroyuki Isobe
(1981-12-21) 21 December 1981
Shizuoka, Japan
Height1.66 m (5 ft 5+12 in)
Weight128 kg (282 lb; 20.2 st)
Career
StableIrumagawa
UniversityToyo University
Record467-452-21
DebutMarch, 2004
Highest rankMaegashira 9 (Sept, 2011)
RetiredAugust, 2021
Championships1 (Jūryō)
1 (Makushita)
* Up to date as of August 16, 2021.

Sagatsukasa Hiroyuki (Japanese: 磋牙司 洋之, born 21 December 1981 as Hiroyuki Isobe (磯部 洋之)) is a retired Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Mishima, Shizuoka. A former amateur competitor at Toyo University, he made his professional debut in March 2004, reaching the top makuuchi division for the first time in March 2010. He won a makushita and a jūryō division championship. His highest rank was maegashira 9. He was one of the shortest wrestlers in professional sumo at 1.66 m (5 ft 5+12 in).

Early life and sumo background

Isobe began practicing sumo as a fourth grader in Mishima City, his hometown. His father encouraged him to drink milk to try to increase his height. In his sixth year of primary school he won a national boys sumo tournament, earning the title of wanpaku-yokozuna for this accomplishment. He decided to join Numazu Gakuen High School and, as a representative for Shizuoka prefecture in a national tournament, won both the team and individual competitions. In his second year of high school in 1998 he took the championship to take the high school yokozuna title.[1] In his third year, he won a Kanazawa tournament and was chosen for a tournament expedition to China, which was also attended by many future stars in sumo. He defeated the future top makuuchi division wrestler Futeno, and also finished ahead of the future Asashōryū. He was a bronze medallist in the inaugural Junior World Sumo Championships in 1999.[2] He went on to Toyo University where the future Kimurayama was his teammate.[3]

Career

Joining Irumagawa stable in March 2004, he was below the official height requirement at just 166 cm but was accepted after passing a secondary examination.[1] Initially fighting under his own surname of Isobe, he recovered from an elbow injury sustained in 2006 to reach the second highest jūryō division in November 2007. He was the second wrestler to pass the secondary height exam and reach juryo, following Toyonoshima. After changing his shikona to Sagatsukasa he initially remained near the bottom of jūryō and was demoted to makushita on several occasions. However he fought his way back and reached the top division in March 2010 after a 9–6 score at jūryō 1. He lasted only one tournament in makuuchi and a series of poor performances back in jūryō saw him demoted to makushita once again. Returning to jūryō in May 2011 he won the yūshō or championship with a 13–2 record and was promoted back to the top division. He lasted four tournaments at the top before being relegated to jūryō for the March 2012 tournament. After six tournaments in the second division, the last two of which he achieved consecutive 9–6 records, he was promoted back to the top division for the March 2013 tournament. However, he was injured and missed the last seven days of the tournament and was again relegated. He only lasted one tournament in jūryō and dropped out of the salaried divisions in July 2013 where he remained until retiring, apart from one brief appearance in jūryō in March 2014.

Retirement from sumo

Sagatsukasa retired in August 2021 at the age of 39 after finishing the previous month's basho in sandanme with a 6–1 record, ending a professional sumo career spanning 17 years. He decided not to remain with the Sumo Association, instead returning to his native Shizuoka Prefecture.[1] One year after his retirement, Sagatsukasa's retirement ceremony was held in Numazu.[4]

Fighting style

Sagatsukasa's Sumo Association profile listed his favoured techniques as kuisagari, an unusual move employed by shorter wrestlers that involves pushing the head against the opponent's chest and grabbing the front part of the mawashi, oshi (pushing) and nage (throwing). His most common winning kimarite were oshi dashi (push out), hiki otoshi (pull down) and tsuki otoshi (thrust over). In September 2011 he defeated Tochinowaka with the spectacular ipponzeoi move, which had only been seen twice in the top division since 1974.

Career record

 

Sagatsukasa Hiroyuki[3]
Year January
Hatsu basho, Tokyo
March
Haru basho, Osaka
May
Natsu basho, Tokyo
July
Nagoya basho, Nagoya
September
Aki basho, Tokyo
November
Kyūshū basho, Fukuoka
2004 x (Maezumo) West Jonokuchi #15
52
 
West Jonidan #94
61
 
East Jonidan #17
61
 
East Sandanme #55
61
 
2005 East Sandanme #3
52
 
West Makushita #43
511
 
East Makushita #31
43
 
West Makushita #21
43
 
East Makushita #16
43
 
East Makushita #13
34
 
2006 West Makushita #18
52
 
East Makushita #9
43
 
West Makushita #6
007
 
East Makushita #47
43
 
East Makushita #39
61
 
West Makushita #17
43
 
2007 West Makushita #14
34
 
West Makushita #22
52
 
West Makushita #13
34
 
East Makushita #19
70
Champion

 
East Makushita #3
43
 
East Jūryō #14
69
 
2008 East Makushita #2
43
 
West Jūryō #14
87
 
West Jūryō #12
78
 
West Jūryō #13
96
 
East Jūryō #9
510
 
East Jūryō #14
69
 
2009 West Makushita #2
43
 
West Makushita #1
412
 
East Jūryō #14
78
 
East Makushita #1
43
 
West Jūryō #11
96
 
East Jūryō #4
87
 
2010 West Jūryō #1
96
 
East Maegashira #15
69
 
East Jūryō #1
78
 
West Jūryō #1
312
 
West Jūryō #10
510
 
West Makushita #1
34
 
2011 West Makushita #3
52
 
East Jūryō #12
Tournament Cancelled
000
East Jūryō #12
132
Champion

 
East Maegashira #13
87
 
West Maegashira #9
69
 
West Maegashira #12
69
 
2012 West Maegashira #14
510
 
East Jūryō #2
69
 
West Jūryō #5
87
 
West Jūryō #3
69
 
East Jūryō #7
78
 
West Jūryō #7
96
 
2013 West Jūryō #2
96
 
West Maegashira #14
267
 
East Jūryō #7
411
 
West Makushita #1
35
 
West Makushita #10
52
 
East Makushita #6
43
 
2014 East Makushita #2
43
 
East Jūryō #14
411
 
West Makushita #7
43
 
West Makushita #3
25
 
East Makushita #14
34
 
West Makushita #19
43
 
2015 East Makushita #15
43
 
West Makushita #11
43
 
East Makushita #9
16
 
East Makushita #34
43
 
East Makushita #27
34
 
West Makushita #38
43
 
2016 West Makushita #30
52
 
West Makushita #17
16
 
East Makushita #42
43
 
West Makushita #34
61
 
East Makushita #14
25
 
West Makushita #25
16
 
2017 East Makushita #47
61
 
East Makushita #19
43
 
East Makushita #14
34
 
East Makushita #20
52
 
West Makushita #12
16
 
West Makushita #32
52
 
2018 East Makushita #23
34
 
West Makushita #29
43
 
West Makushita #21
61
 
East Makushita #7
34
 
East Makushita #11
52
 
West Makushita #3
34
 
2019 West Makushita #7
34
 
East Makushita #10
25
 
West Makushita #21
34
 
West Makushita #28
43
 
West Makushita #24
43
 
West Makushita #19
43
 
2020 West Makushita #14
25
 
East Makushita #31
16
 
East Sandanme #5
Tournament Cancelled
000
East Sandanme #5
124
 
East Sandanme #36
43
 
West Sandanme #19
34
 
2021 West Sandanme #35
34
 
East Sandanme #50
34
 
West Sandanme #62
34
 
East Sandanme #77
61
 

Retired
000
x
Record given as wins–losses–absencies    Top division champion Top division runner-up Retired Lower divisions Non-participation

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

Makuuchi ranks: Yokozuna Ōzeki Sekiwake Komusubi Maegashira

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "元幕内・磋牙司が引退届提出 10年春場所で新入幕、最高位は西前頭9枚目". Nikkan Sports. 11 August 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  2. Gilbert, Howard (February 2009). "Amateur Angles #17" (PDF). Sumo Fan Magazine. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  3. 1 2 "Sagatsukasa Hiroyuki Rikishi Information". Sumo Reference. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  4. "元前頭・磋牙司が断髪式「まだまだやりたかった」今後「放課後デイサービス」立ち上げ目指す". Nikkan Sports. 10 August 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
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