| 垣添 徹 Kakizoe Tōru |
|
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Born | Kakizoe Tōru August 12, 1978 Ōita |
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) |
| Weight | 139 kg (310 lb; 21.9 st) |
| Career | |
| Heya | Fujishima |
| Current rank | see below |
| Debut | September 2001 |
| Highest rank | Komusubi (March 2004) |
| Yūshō | 1 (Jūryō) |
| Sanshō | Technique (1) |
| * Career information is correct as of Nov 2011. | |
Kakizoe Tōru (垣添 徹 Kakizoe Tōru) (born August 12, 1978 in Usa City, Ōita Prefecture, Japan), is a sumo wrestler. A former amateur champion, he turned professional in 2001 and reached the top division in 2003. His highest rank has been komusubi, which he has held for just one tournament. He has one special prize, for Technique.
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Kakizoe was an amateur sumo champion at Nihon Taiiku University, winning the Kokutai (Japan Games) and the All Japan University Championship in 2000, his final year, which earned him the Amateur Yokozuna title. He joined Musashigawa stable, which at time was one of the strongest in sumo with yokozuna Musashimaru and other successful former collegiate competitors such as Dejima and Miyabiyama amongst its wrestlers. Because of his amateur success Kakizoe was given makushita tsukedashi status, meaning he was able to debut at the makushita 15 ranking. He fought his first professional bout in September 2001, fighting under his real name. Unusually, he has never adopted a traditional shikona and continues under this name even now. He rose to the jūryō division in March 2003, and the top makuuchi division in September 2003.
Kakizoe's rank peaked at komusubi after the January 2004 tournament when, ranked maegashira 5, he achieved a result of 11-4 and the technique prize. He failed to retain his sanyaku rank for more than a single tournament, but mostly remained amongst the top half of maegashira for the next few years. However, he suffered a big setback in May 2007, losing eleven bouts in a row before pulling out of the tournament citing a fracture to his right knee. He could manage only six wins on his return in July and slid to the lowest rung on the top division ladder for the September tournament. He produced a comfortable 9-6 score there to maintain his top division status, but remained near the bottom of makuuchi for the next two years.
In January 2010 he rose to maegashira 4 and fought his first bout against a yokozuna since his injury. Due to the absence of Chiyotaikai and Kotomitsuki, on the final day he took part in the sanyaku soroibumi ceremony. He finished the tournament with a respectable 6-9 record, but was unable to produce a kachi-koshi or winning score in the next four tournaments either.
Kakizoe's 3-12 performance in September 2010 saw him demoted to jūryō for the first time, and he lost sekitori status after scoring only 4-11 at Juryo 9 in January 2011. Despite only scoring a make-koshi 3-4 in the May 2011 "technical examination" tournament, he was nonetheless promoted back to juryo because of the large number of slots available after the forced retirements of many wrestlers following a match-fixing scandal. However, his return to juryo was short-lived as he turned in a disastrous 1-14 score, his ninth consecutive make-koshi.
Kakizoe is good friends with fellow former top division wrestler Kokkai.
Kakizoe is an oshi-sumo specialist, preferring pushing and thrusting techniques. His most common winning move is oshi-dashi (push-out), which accounts for around 43 percent of his career victories.[1] He is vulnerable to defeat if his opponents grab hold of his mawashi.
Kakizoe is married, with two children.
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | x | x | x | x | Makushita #15 Sat out due to injury 0–0–7 |
East Makushita #55 6–1 |
| 2002 | West Makushita #26 4–3 |
East Makushita #23 6–1 |
West Makushita #8 1–1–5 |
West Makushita #28 4–3 |
West Makushita #20 4–3 |
East Makushita #14 6–1 |
| 2003 | East Makushita #3 5–2 |
East Jūryō #11 9–6 |
East Jūryō #6 10–5 |
East Jūryō #2 11–4 Champion |
East Maegashira #11 8–7 |
West Maegashira #8 8–7 |
| 2004 | East Maegashira #5 11–4 T |
East Komusubi 6–9 |
West Maegashira #2 6–9 |
West Maegashira #5 7–8 |
West Maegashira #6 10–5 |
East Maegashira #2 6–9 |
| 2005 | West Maegashira #4 8–7 |
West Maegashira #2 6–9 |
West Maegashira #5 9–6 |
East Maegashira #1 7–8 |
East Maegashira #2 7–8 |
West Maegashira #2 4–11 |
| 2006 | West Maegashira #7 8–7 |
East Maegashira #6 9–6 |
West Maegashira #1 6–9 |
West Maegashira #3 4–11 |
West Maegashira #8 9–6 |
West Maegashira #4 6–9 |
| 2007 | East Maegashira #9 8–7 |
West Maegashira #6 8–7 |
East Maegashira #3 0–12–3 |
East Maegashira #16 6–9 |
West Maegashira #16 9–6 |
East Maegashira #14 9–6 |
| 2008 | East Maegashira #11 6–9 |
West Maegashira #14 8–7 |
East Maegashira #13 6–9 |
West Maegashira #15 7–8 |
West Maegashira #16 10–5 |
East Maegashira #8 5–10 |
| 2009 | West Maegashira #12 8–7 |
East Maegashira #12 7–8 |
West Maegashira #14 8–7 |
West Maegashira #8 6–9 |
East Maegashira #11 9–6 |
West Maegashira #5 8–7 |
| 2010 | East Maegashira #4 6–9 |
West Maegashira #7 7–8 |
East Maegashira #8 7–8 |
West Maegashira #9 3–12 |
West Maegashira #15 3–12 |
East Jūryō #7 7–8 |
| 2011 | West Jūryō #9 4–11 |
West Makushita #1 Tournament Cancelled 0–0–0 |
West Makushita #1 3–4 |
West Jūryō #11 1–14 |
East Makushita #9 4–3 |
West Makushita #6 1–6 |
| 2012 | West Makushita #16 – |
x | x | x | x | x |
| 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) |
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