Kaiō Hiroyuki

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魁皇 博之
Kaiō Hiroyuki
Personal information
Birth name Hiroyuki Koga
Date of birth July 24, 1972 (1972-07-24) (age 35)
Place of birth Nōgata, Fukuoka, Japan
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight 170 kg (370 lb/27 st)
Career*
Heya Tomozuna
Current rank Ōzeki
Record 907-589-143
Debut March, 1988
Highest rank Ōzeki (September, 2000)
Yusho 5 (Makuuchi)
1 (Makushita)
1 (Sandanme)
Special Prizes Outstanding Performance (10)
Fighting Spirit (5)
Gold stars 6 (Akebono (2), Takanohana (3),
Wakanohana (1))

* Career information is correct as of May 2008.

Kaiō Hiroyuki (born July 24, 1972 as Hiroyuki Koga) is a professional sumo wrestler from Nōgata, Fukuoka, Japan.

He currently holds the second highest rank of ōzeki, or champion. In his career to date he has won five top division tournament championships. This is the modern record for the most top division victories for someone who has not ultimately made the top rank of yokozuna.

Contents

[edit] Early career

As a teenager he had been spotted in a sumo competition in Fukuoka by the wrestler Kaiki, later Tomozuna Oyakata. Introduced to the young Koga by an acquaintance in Nōgota, he recruited him to Tomozuna stable upon graduation from junior high school.[1]Kaio made his professional debut in March 1988, at the same time as former yokozuna Akebono, Takanohana and Wakanohana, the last of whom retired in 2003.

Kaiō reached the second highest jūryō division in January 1992 and the top makuuchi division in May 1993. After temporarily falling back to jūryō he returned to the top division in November 1993. He was first promoted to a sanyaku rank in May 1994. In the earlier part of his top division career Kaiō's sumo often struggled to be of a consistently sufficiently high level to allow him the major promotions that his ability merited. He set records for both the number of tournaments spent in the junior sanyaku ranks of komusubi and sekiwake and for the longest run being consecutively ranked in sanyaku without making ōzeki. He also accumulated a record equalling ten Shukun-sho, or Outstanding Performance Prizes.

[edit] Ozeki career

Kaiō eventually achieved ōzeki promotion after taking his first top division tournament championship in May 2000 and following it up with a strong 11-4 record in the July 2000 tournament. He has maintained the rank ever since. Kaiō is now the oldest active ōzeki since World War II, surpassing Kotogahama's record.[2]He is also the third longest serving ōzeki in history, behind Chiyotaikai and Takanohana I. He has come close to yokozuna promotion on a number of occasions, most recently in 2004 when he won the September tournament but fell just short in November, finishing runner-up with twelve wins. However, he has also been somewhat inconsistent and injury prone and thus has been kadoban (in danger of relegation from ōzeki) a total of eleven times. The most recent occasion was in November 2007 when his stablemaster indicated that if he did badly again, he should retire.[3] In the event, Kaiō preserved his ōzeki rank with a 9-6 record.

Given the fact that he is aging and the current strength of the yokozuna Asashōryū and Hakuhō it is now likely he will be unable to achieve the yokozuna rank. However, he continues to set records. His 8-7 mark in January 2008 was his 64th kachi-koshi (majority of wins against losses) in the top division, breaking the record previously held by Kitanoumi. In March 2008 he achieved his goal of completing twenty years as an active rikishi,[4] and he is now fourth on all time list of top division wins, behind only the great yokozuna Chiyonofuji, Kitanoumi, and Taiho. In May 2008 he also became only the fourth man, after Kitanoumi, Oshio and Chiyonofuji, to reach 900 career wins.

[edit] Top division record

Kaiō Hiroyuki[5]
January
Hatsu basho, Tokyo		 March
Haru basho, Osaka		 May
Natsu basho, Tokyo		 July
Nagoya basho, Nagoya		 September
Aki basho, Tokyo		 November
Kyūshū basho, Fukuoka
1993 x x West Maegashira #15
4–11
 		 (Jūryō) (Jūryō) West Maegashira #15
10–5
 
1994 West Maegashira #6
8–7
 		 West Maegashira #1
9–6
O		 East Komusubi
8–7
 		 East Komusubi
5–10
 		 East Maegashira #2
9–6
 		 East Komusubi
8–7
 
1995 East Sekiwake
8–7
O		 East Sekiwake
8–7
 		 West Sekiwake
9–6
 		 East Sekiwake
9–6
 		 West Sekiwake
11–4
O		 East Sekiwake
9–6
F
1996 East Sekiwake
10–5
O		 East Sekiwake
9–6
 		 West Sekiwake
11–4
O		 East Sekiwake
10–5
O		 East Sekiwake
9–6
 		 West Sekiwake
11–4
F
1997 East Sekiwake
6–9
 		 East Maegashira #1
12–3
O★★		 East Sekiwake
7–5–3
 		 Sat out due to injury West Komusubi #1
3–8–4
 		 West Maegashira #3
8–7
 
1998 East Komusubi
8–7
 		 West Komusubi
8–7
O		 West Sekiwake
7–8
 		 West Komusubi
7–8
 		 East Maegashira #1
7–8
★		 West Maegashira #1
8–7
★★
1999 East Maegashira #1
9–6
 		 West Komusubi #2
10–5
 		 West Sekiwake #1
12–3
F		 East Sekiwake #1
8–7
 		 East Sekiwake
9–6
 		 East Sekiwake
11–4
F
2000 East Sekiwake #1
7–8
 		 West Komusubi
8–7
 		 West Komusubi #1
14–1
OF		 East Sekiwake #1
11–4
O		 East Ōzeki #2
11–4
 		 East Ōzeki #1
11–4
 
2001 East Ōzeki #1
10–5
 		 East Ōzeki #1
13–2
 		 East Ōzeki #1
4–5–6
 		 East Ōzeki #3
13–2
 		 East Ōzeki #1
0–4–11
 		 East Ōzeki #2
10–5
 
2002 East Ōzeki #1
9–6
 		 West Ōzeki #2
12–3
 		 East Ōzeki #1
11–4
 		 East Ōzeki #1
0–4–11
 		 East Ōzeki #2
12–3
 		 East Ōzeki #1
2–2–11
 
2003 Sat out due to injury West Ōzeki #2
10–5
 		 West Ōzeki
11–4
 		 East Ōzeki
12–3
 		 East Ōzeki #1
7–8
 		 East Ōzeki #2
10–5
 
2004 East Ōzeki #2
10–5
 		 West Ōzeki
13–2
 		 West Ōzeki #1
10–5
 		 East Ōzeki
11–4
 		 East Ōzeki
13–2
 		 East Ōzeki #1
12–3
 
2005 East Ōzeki #1
4–6–5
 		 West Ōzeki #1
10–5
 		 East Ōzeki #1
5–1–9
 		 West Ōzeki #2
10–5
 		 East Ōzeki #1
0–4–11
 		 West Ōzeki #2
10–5
 
2006 West Ōzeki #1
3–6–6
 		 West Ōzeki #2
8–7
 		 West Ōzeki #2
9–6
 		 East Ōzeki #2
9–6
 		 East Ōzeki #2
1–6–8
 		 West Ōzeki #3
10–5
 
2007 East Ōzeki #2
8–7
 		 West Ōzeki #2
8–7
 		 East Ōzeki #2
10–5
 		 East Ōzeki #1
8–5–2
 		 East Ōzeki #2
1–5–9
 		 West Ōzeki #2
9–6
 
2008 East Ōzeki #2
8–7
 		 East Ōzeki #2
8–7
 		 West Ōzeki
8–7
 		 x x x
Record given as win-loss-absent    Championship Retired Demoted from makuuchi

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

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

[edit] References

  1. ^ Harumi Hotta (April 2006). Interview of Tomozuna oyakata. Le Monde du Sumo. Retrieved on 2008-05-25.
  2. ^ James Hardy (2007-08-28). Battle of the ages Kotomitsuki, Kaio show oldies can be goldies. Daily Yomiuri Online. Retrieved on 2007-08-28.
  3. ^ Kaio pulls out of autumn sumo tournament. Mainichi Daily News (2007-09-14). Retrieved on 2007-09-14.
  4. ^ Gould, Chris (October 2007). Aki Basho Summary. Sumo Fan Magazine. Retrieved on 2007-11-12.
  5. ^ Rikishi in Juryo and Makunouchi (English). szumo.hu. Retrieved on 2007-06-07.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links