| 若の里 忍 Wakanosato Shinobu |
|
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Born | Kogawa Shinobu July 10, 1976 Aomori |
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in) |
| Weight | 156 kg (340 lb; 24.6 st) |
| Career | |
| Heya | Naruto |
| Current rank | see below |
| Debut | March, 1992 |
| Highest rank | Sekiwake (January 2001) |
| Yūshō | 4 (Jūryō) 1 (Makushita) 1 (Jonokuchi) |
| Sanshō | Outstanding Performance (4) Fighting Spirit (4) Technique (2) |
| Kinboshi | 2 (Wakanohana (1), Asashoryu (1)) |
| * Career information is correct as of Nov 2011. | |
Wakanosato Shinobu (born July 10, 1976 as Shinobu Kogawa) is a professional sumo wrestler from Hirosaki, Aomori, Japan. He has been ranked mostly in the top division since 1998, and his highest rank has been sekiwake. He holds the record for the most consecutive tournaments ranked in the junior sanyaku ranks of sekiwake and komusubi (19 from 2002 until 2005). He has won ten special prizes and has twice been runner-up in a tournament.
Contents |
He first tried sumo in the third grade when he entered a competition for fourth graders and up and came in third. By middle school he was training every day at a sumo dojo. He met Takahanada (later the 64th yokozuna Takanohana) when a regional tour came to Hirozaki City, getting into the ring with him.[1] He entered professional sumo in March 1992 after completing middle school, although he had been admitted to Hirosaki Jitsygyo High School. He had received offers from four or five different heya upon his graduation, but the small and relatively new Naruto stable appealed to him. Like many sumo wrestlers, he initially competed under his family name, Kogawa, but upon reaching the second highest jūryō division in November 1997 he was given the fighting name of Wakanosato, reminiscent of his stablemaster, former yokozuna Takanosato.
He entered the top makuuchi division for the first time in May 1998, but broke his ankle in a match with Musoyama in November 1998 and had to miss the following tournament. He suffered a more serious injury in November 1999, rupturing anterior cruciate ligaments. He sat out two successive tournaments after having surgery and was demoted to the jūryō division . He won consecutive jūryō championships upon his comeback, in May and July 2000, and was promoted back to makuuchi in September. He quickly made the titled sanyaku ranks, making komusubi in November 2000 and recovering from 2-6 down to finish 9-6. As a result he was promoted to sekiwake for the first time in January 2001.
In his early top division career, Wakanosato was considered a promising candidate for ōzeki. From January 2002 until January 2005 he spent 19 consecutive tournaments ranked at either komusubi or sekiwake, an all time record. However, he was never able to break through the "great barrier" (the literal meaning of ōzeki), just failing to attain the necessary 33 wins over three tournaments. He was runner-up in the January 2003 tournament, and again in September 2003, where his 11-4 score was probably his best chance to make ozeki. However, he could only manage seven wins in the following tournament. He was never able to consistently beat the top ranked wrestlers, being unable to beat Takanohana in nine attempts and winning only five times out of 32 meetings against ozeki Chiyotaikai.[2] Nevertheless he has been awarded ten sansho or special prizes for good performances in tournaments during his career.
In more recent years Wakanosato has again suffered from injury problems, being forced to withdraw from his final (to date) sanyaku-ranked tournament in September 2005 and missing all of the next. He was also forced to sit out all of the September 2006 tournament and fell to the second division once again. However, he made something of a comeback in May 2007, turning in a strong 10-5 record at maegashira 7. He won his 600th career bout in September 2007, and turned in another good performance in May 2008, again finishing on 10-5.
He withdrew from the March 2009 tournament after breaking a metatarsal bone in his right foot during his 11th day bout with Kotoshogiku. He had surgery on 8 April which put him out of action for at least two months, meaning he had to sit out the following tournament in May. He came back very strongly in July, winning his fourth jūryō championship with a 14-1 record. He reached Maegashira 1 in March 2010, his highest rank in over four years. After that he comfortably maintained a position in the mid-to-upper maegashira ranks until he was injured in the November 2011 tournament, which will mean yet another fall to juryo.
Wakanosato specialises in yotsu-sumo, or techniques that involve grabbing hold of the opponent's mawashi. He is known as being particularly difficult to beat once he has got a migi-yotsu, or right hand inside, left hand outside grip. About 40 percent of his wins are by yori kiri, or force out, but he is also good at pushing and thrusting, winning many bouts by oshi-dashi or push out. His two most commonly used throws are sukuinage (scoop throw) and uwatenage (overarm throw).[3]
Wakanosato initially had an excellent head-to-head record against Hakuho, defeating him the first six times they met. However, the last of these victories came in 2005 and since then he has lost eleven in a row against him. Nevertheless, only Harumafuji, with nine, and Kotooshu and Kisenosato, with seven, have more wins over the yokozuna amongst active wrestlers.
Wakanosato was married in April 2004. His stablemaster reported that his bride weighed just 39kg.[4]
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | East Makushita #22 6–1 |
East Makushita #8 6–1–PPP Champion |
West Makushita #1 3–4 |
East Makushita #5 4–3 |
East Makushita #3 5–2 |
East Jūryō #12 10–5–P Champion |
| 1998 | West Jūryō #5 11–4 |
East Jūryō #1 9–6 |
West Maegashira #15 10–5 F |
East Maegashira #11 9–6 |
West Maegashira #4 6–9 |
East Maegashira #6 7–7–1* |
| 1999 | West Maegashira #6 Sat out due to injury 0–0–15 |
West Maegashira #6 5–10 |
West Maegashira #10 11–4 T |
East Maegashira #2 4–11 |
West Maegashira #6 6–9 |
West Maegashira #9 5–7–3 |
| 2000 | West Maegashira #14 Sat out due to injury 0–0–15 |
West Maegashira #14 Sat out due to injury 0–0–15 |
East Jūryō #11 12–3 Champion |
East Jūryō #1 13–2 Champion |
West Maegashira #10 11–4 F |
West Komusubi 9–6 O★ |
| 2001 | East Sekiwake 10–5 O★ |
East Sekiwake 6–9 |
East Maegashira #1 8–7 |
West Komusubi 9–6 O★ |
East Komusubi 7–8 |
East Maegashira #1 10–5 F |
| 2002 | East Komusubi 8–7 |
East Komusubi 9–6 |
East Komusubi 8–7 |
West Sekiwake 11–4 |
East Sekiwake 8–7 |
East Sekiwake 7–8 |
| 2003 | West Komusubi 11–4 F |
East Sekiwake #2 9–6 |
East Sekiwake 9–6 |
East Sekiwake 10–5 |
East Sekiwake 11–4 O★ |
East Sekiwake 7–8 |
| 2004 | West Komusubi 9–6 |
East Sekiwake 8–7 |
East Sekiwake 9–6 |
East Sekiwake 8–7 |
East Sekiwake 10–5 |
East Sekiwake 11–4 T |
| 2005 | East Sekiwake 6–9 |
West Maegashira #1 8–7 |
West Komusubi 6–9 |
West Maegashira #2 11–4 |
West Sekiwake 4–3–8 |
East Maegashira #3 Sat out due to injury 0–0–15 |
| 2006 | East Maegashira #16 10–5 |
East Maegashira #11 11–4 |
West Maegashira #2 6–9 ★ |
East Maegashira #6 3–2–10 |
East Maegashira #14 Sat out due to injury 0–0–15 |
East Jūryō #11 10–5 |
| 2007 | West Jūryō #4 9–6 |
East Maegashira #16 11–4 |
West Maegashira #7 10–5 |
West Maegashira #2 5–10 |
West Maegashira #4 5–10 |
East Maegashira #8 8–7 |
| 2008 | East Maegashira #4 7–8 |
East Maegashira #5 5–10 |
West Maegashira #10 10–5 |
East Maegashira #4 5–10 |
West Maegashira #9 9–6 |
West Maegashira #2 6–9 |
| 2009 | East Maegashira #4 7–8 |
East Maegashira #5 6–6–3 |
West Maegashira #7 Sat out due to injury 0–0–15 |
West Jūryō #6 14–1 Champion |
West Maegashira #13 10–5 |
East Maegashira #6 7–8 |
| 2010 | West Maegashira #7 9–6 |
West Maegashira #1 6–9 |
West Maegashira #3 6–9 |
East Maegashira #7 9–6 |
West Maegashira #1 5–10 |
West Maegashira #5 5–10 |
| 2011 | West Maegashira #9 8–7 |
West Maegashira #5 Tournament Cancelled 0–0–0 |
West Maegashira #5 7–8 |
West Maegashira #5 9–6 |
East Maegashira #2 4–11 |
East Maegashira #9 2–4–9 |
| 2012 | West Jūryō #2 – |
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) |
||||||