| 貴闘力 忠茂 Takatōriki Tadashige |
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|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Born | Tadashige Kamakiri September 28, 1967 Kobe, Japan |
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in) |
| Weight | 147 kg (320 lb) |
| Career | |
| Heya | Fujishima, Futagoyama |
| Record | 754-703-0 |
| Debut | March, 1983 |
| Highest rank | East Sekiwake (September, 1991) |
| Retired | September, 2002 |
| Yūshō | 1 (Makuuchi) 1 (Makushita) |
| Sanshō | Outstanding Performance (3) Fighting Spirit (10) Technique (1) |
| Kinboshi | 9 (Onokuni (1),Asahifuji (1), Akebono (7)) |
| * Career information is correct as of October 2007. | |
Takatōriki Tadashige (born September 28, 1967 as Tadashige Kamakiri) is a former sumo wrestler from Kobe, Japan. He made his professional debut in 1983, reaching the top division in 1990. His highest rank was sekiwake. Known for his great fighting spirit, he won 14 tournament prizes, including a record ten Kanto-sho, and earned nine gold stars for defeating yokozuna ranked wrestlers. He wrestled for the highly successful Futagoyama stable. He was twice runner-up in top division tournaments and in March 2000, from the maegashira ranks, he unexpectedly won the yusho or championship. He retired in 2002 and became the head coach of Ōtake stable, having the married the daughter of the previous owner of the heya, the great yokozuna Taiho. However, he was dismissed from the Sumo Association in 2010 for his role in an illegal gambling scandal.
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As a young boy Takatoriki idolised Takanohana Kenshi and even stayed with the former ozeki and his family in Tokyo for a while.[1] He joined Takanohana's Fujishima stable in March 1983 after leaving junior high school, where he had also done judo.[1] Initially fighting under his own surname of Kamakari, he rose up the ranks rather slowly, finally becoming a sekitori in May 1989 after six years in the unsalaried divisions.
Takatoriki reached the top makuuchi division in September 1990, along with future yokozuna Akebono and Wakanohana. He won eleven bouts and the Fighting spirit prize in his top division debut, and in his next tournament he defeated his first yokozuna, Onokuni. He had a very successful year in 1991, becoming the only man in the top division to achieve a winning record in every tournament that year. On the third day of the May 1991 tournament, he defeated yokozuna Chiyonofuji, who announced his retirement that night. In July 1991 he was promoted to sekiwake, the highest rank he was to achieve. He won fourteen sansho, or special prizes in his career, the fourth best ever. He earned seven kinboshi from Akebono, a record against one yokozuna (Takamiyama also earned seven from Wajima). He was runner-up in the tournaments of March 1994 (losing in a three-way playoff that also involved Akebono and stablemate Takanonami) and September 1996.
Towards the end of his career, in March 2000 at the age of 32, he won his only top division yusho, or tournament title.[2] This win was considered a great upset as two poor performances had sent him down to maegashira 14 in the rankings, and Takatoriki faced demotion from makuuchi altogether. He won his first twelve matches, and though he was then defeated by yokozuna Akebono and Musashimaru, he clinched the championship by beating Miyabiyama to finish on 13-2. After his final bout, confirming his tournament win, Takatoriki was visibly shaken. He was awarded his tenth Fighting Spirit Prize (two ahead of his nearest rival, stablemate Akinoshima) and third Outstanding Performance Award, and was promoted to a sanyaku rank for the final time for the May 2000 tournament. In total he spent 15 tournaments at sekiwake and 11 at komusubi.
Takatoriki fell into the jūryō division in 2001 and announced his retirement in September 2002.[3] He did not miss a single bout during his 19 year career, finishing with 754 wins and 703 losses. His 1456 consecutive career matches place him third on the all-time list, after Aobajo and Fujizakura.
Takatoriki's fighting style was fierce, and he often relied on initial powerful face slaps (harite) to stun his opponents. He was a tsuki-oshi wrestler, preferring pushing and thrusting to fighting on the mawashi or belt. His most common winning technique was oshi-dashi or push out. However, due to his background in judo he was also adept at throws, some extremely rarely seen in the top division. He employed nichonage, the body drop down, on three occasions in makuuchi, and once pulled off the spectacular amichi, or fisherman's net casting throw.[4]
Having married the third daughter of Taiho[5] (and changed his legal name from Kamakari to Naya), Takatoriki took over the running of the former yokozuna's stable in February 2003. It was renamed Ōtake stable. It was the home of the Russian top division wrestler Roho until he was banned from sumo in September 2008 for testing positive for marijuana. Takatoriki and his wife have four children.
Along with five other oyakata (Magaki, Onomatsu, Otowayama, Tokiwayama and Futagoyama), he was forced to leave the Nishonoseki ichimon or group of stables in January 2010 after declaring his support for his former stablemate Takanohana's unsanctioned bid to be elected to the board of directors of the Sumo Association.
In June 2010 he admitted that he had been gambling illegally on baseball, after an investigation by the Sumo Association and Tokyo police prompted by articles in the tabloid weekly Shukan Shincho.[6] It subsequently emerged that he had been borrowing large amounts of money from ozeki Kotomitsuki to pay gambling debts.[7] He was reportedly gambling on a much larger scale than others implicated in the scandal, betting tens of millions of yen, and knew that a bookmaker used in the gambling had links to a crime syndicate.[8] He was expelled from the Sumo Association at a special meeting on July 4, and apologised for his actions at a press conference. [9] He received no severance pay.[10] Otake stable was spared closure and has now been taken over by another coach at the heya, the former Dairyu, who switched from the Futagoyama name. It has also been reported that Taiho has instructed his daughter to divorce Otake.[11]
He announced in September 2010 that he was opening up a yakiniku restaurant in Kōtō, Tokyo.
In March 2011 prosecutors announced that Otake, as well as Kotomitsuki and 25 others involved in the scandal, would be spared indictment over gambling due to lack of implicating evidence.[12]
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | x | x | x | x | East Maegashira #13 11–4 F |
West Maegashira #2 5–10 ★ |
| 1991 | East Maegashira #8 9–6 |
West Maegashira #1 9–6 O★ |
West Komusubi 9–6 F |
West Sekiwake 9–6 F |
East Sekiwake 8–7 |
East Sekiwake 8–7 |
| 1992 | West Sekiwake 7–8 |
East Maegashira #2 6–9 |
East Maegashira #5 6–9 |
East Maegashira #8 9–6 |
East Maegashira #2 10–5 |
West Komusubi 5–10 |
| 1993 | West Maegashira #5 5–10 |
East Maegashira #12 9–6 |
West Maegashira #6 11–4 T |
East Komusubi 8–7 |
East Komusubi 7–8 |
East Maegashira #1 5–10 |
| 1994 | East Maegashira #7 6–9 |
East Maegashira #12 12–3–PP F |
West Maegashira #1 9–6 F★ |
West Komusubi 10–5 F |
West Sekiwake 8–7 |
West Sekiwake 6–9 |
| 1995 | West Maegashira #1 7–8 ★ |
East Maegashira #2 8–7 |
East Komusubi 5–10 |
West Maegashira #3 9–6 ★ |
East Maegashira #1 8–7 |
West Komusubi 7–8 |
| 1996 | East Maegashira #1 12–3 F★ |
West Sekiwake 8–7 |
West Sekiwake 7–8 |
West Komusubi 10–5 F |
West Sekiwake 11–4 F |
East Sekiwake 6–9 |
| 1997 | West Maegashira #1 11–4 |
West Sekiwake 7–8 |
West Komusubi 6–9 |
West Maegashira #1 11–4 O★ |
West Sekiwake 9–6 |
West Sekiwake 6–9 |
| 1998 | East Maegashira #1 5–10 |
West Maegashira #4 7–8 ★ |
East Maegashira #5 9–6 |
West Maegashira #1 10–5 ★ |
West Sekiwake 8–7 |
West Sekiwake 5–10 |
| 1999 | East Maegashira #2 8–7 |
East Maegashira #1 8–7 |
West Komusubi 5–10 |
East Maegashira #3 4–11 |
East Maegashira #7 9–6 |
East Maegashira #2 2–13 |
| 2000 | East Maegashira #10 6–9 |
East Maegashira #14 13–2 FO |
West Komusubi 2–13 |
West Maegashira #8 9–6 |
East Maegashira #4 6–9 |
East Maegashira #5 4–11 |
| 2001 | East Maegashira #12 8–7 |
West Maegashira #9 5–10 |
West Maegashira #14 5–10 |
(Juryo) | East Maegashira #14 6–9 |
(Juryo) |
| 2002 | (Juryo) | West Maegashira #14 6–9 |
(Juryo) | (Juryo) | West Jūryō #11 Retired 3–10–0 |
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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