Enhō Akira
Enhō Akira (Japanese: 炎鵬 晃, born 18 October 1994 as Yūya Nakamura (中村 友哉)) is a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Ishikawa Prefecture. He made his debut in March 2017 and wrestles for Miyagino stable. His highest rank has been maegashira 4. He is shorter and weighs significantly less than the vast majority of sumo wrestlers in the upper ranks, but has learned to use his small stature and size for maximum advantage, becoming known for toppling larger opponents. He has achieved one special prize for Technique.
| Enhō Akira | |
|---|---|
 Enhō in 2018 | |
| Personal information | |
| Born | Nakamura Yūya 18 October 1994 Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture |
| Height | 1.69 m (5 ft 6 1⁄2 in) |
| Weight | 92 kg (203 lb) |
| Career | |
| Stable | Miyagino |
| University | Kanazawa Gakuin University |
| Current rank | see below |
| Debut | March 2017 |
| Highest rank | Maegashira 4 (March 2020) |
| Championships | 1 Sandanme 1 Jonidan 1 Jonokuchi |
| Special Prizes | 1 (Technique) |
| * Up to date as of January 11, 2021. | |
Early life and sumo background
Yūya Nakamura's father supported the family by working at a newspaper. Nakamura first started practicing sumo at the age of five,[1] due to the influence of his older brother. In primary school he also was goal keeper for a school water polo team. At the area middle school, he was in the sumo club with the future Kagayaki. In his 3rd year, the team that he and future Kagayaki were members of took the team championship in the middle school prefectural tournament. Nakamura went on to Kanazawa Gakuin, a high school in his city. In his third year there he took the gold medal in the 2012 World Junior Sumo Championships in the lightweight division.[1] He continued to Kanazawa Gakuin University and majored in sports medicine. In his first year, he was the champion of the West Japan New Student Athlete Sumo Tournament, and in his second and third years he won the World Amateur Sumo Championship two years in a row. In all, he acquired ten titles. Seriously interested in joining pro sumo, Nakamura was interviewed at a number of stables before graduating, and upon finishing university, he joined Miyagino stable.[2]
Career
Nakamura became an attendant and apprentice to yokozuna Hakuhō. Hakuhō chose the shikona Enhō for him, with "en" meaning fiery and "hō" meaning the Chinese mythological bird Peng, which is also the hō in the yokozuna's own name. He participated in maezumō in the March 2017 tournament alongside future Wakatakakage. In the ceremony to debut new recruits on day 5, he wore the ceremonial apron, or kesho-mawashi, that his mentor Hakuhō was to start using from that day. However, Hakuhō ended up taking injury leave from the tournament on that same day.[3]
Enhō's first pro tournament was the following May, starting at the bottom in the jonokuchi division. He was undefeated at 7–0 and took the championship. After this tournament he changed his second name in his full shikona title from his real name Yūya, to the name Akira. The name Akira honored his mentor at his dojo, named Akira, who died in a motorcycle accident nine years previously. In the following July tournament, he again had a perfect 7–0 record, and after a playoff took the championship. In the playoff, he beat former makuuchi wrestler Masunoyama who was in his first full tournament back in sumo, after a series of injury leaves. The win against Masunoyama was shitatenage which would become Enho's signature move. For the following September tournament, Enhō was promoted to the sandanme division and once again took a perfect 7–0, this time winning a playoff versus Matsuda.[4]
For the November tournament he was promoted to the makushita division. In this tournament Enhō was approaching an all time record for consecutive wins from entry into sumo. However, in his first bout he lost to former komusubi Jōkōryū who himself holds the record for most consecutive wins upon entering sumo. Enhō ended the tournament with a 5–2 record. In the following January tournament, he was ranked at makushita 6 and achieved a 4–3 winning tournament. In most cases, at his rank with this record he would not have been promoted to the next division, the salaried ranks of jūryō. However, several jūryō wrestlers had records bad enough to be demoted from the division, and Enhō was promoted to fill one of the many open slots there. Not including makushita tsukedashi wrestlers, who are allowed to debut at a higher rank, this promotion meant Enhō tied the record for the fastest ever wrestler promoted to sekitori at six tournaments from his professional debut.[5]
For this March 2018 tournament, Enhō was ranked at the bottom rung, at jūryō 14. As is often the case for a first timer in the salaried ranks, the wall was too high and he only managed a losing tournament record of 4–11 and was demoted back to makushita.[4] After two strong performances of 5–2 in the upper ranks of makushita, Enhō was re-promoted to jūryō for the September tournament. In this tournament and the next two, he recorded three straight 9-6 records. In the following March tournament, he made the news after he came back from a near loss to Tokushōryū on day 9. Enhō's haunches came within 10 centimetres of the dohyō, before he bounced back, grabbing his opponent's legs with both hands and toppling him. This move called ashitori would also become one of his regular techniques. He ended this tournament with an 8–7.[6]
This record was enough for Enhō to be promoted to the makuuchi top division for the May 2019 tournament, the first tournament of the Reiwa era. He was the only wrestler on the banzuke listed as being under 100 kilograms (220 lb).[1] He won his first top division bout on the opening day, and earned his first kenshōkin or cash prize provided by a sponsor of the match. As it was Mother's Day, Enhō gave the prize money to his mother.[7] He again garnered attention when on day 4, he took down Daishōhō, who was almost twice his size, with his now well-known shitatenage. However, after reaching the cusp of a winning tournament on his top division debut on day 9 with a 7–2 record, he then lost six bouts in a row and ended up with a losing tournament. His losing streak was exacerbated by a thigh injury he suffered on Day 13.[8] However, Enhō's record was enough to leave him ranked in makuuchi for the following July tournament. In this tournament, he again had a similar situation of having seven wins this time on day 10. He lost three bouts in a row after this, but finally managed his first top division winning tournament with a win versus veteran Myōgiryū on day 14. He would end the tournament with a 9–6 record and was also awarded the technique prize.[9] After another 9–6 record in September, he reached maegashira 6 in the November 2019 tournament.
In the January 2020 tournament, fighting at a career-high rank of maegashira 5, he defeated ōzeki Gōeidō on Day 9.[10] Since accurate records began in 1975, he is believed to be only the third wrestler under 100 kilos to defeat an ōzeki, after Chiyonofuji (against Asahikuni in May 1978) and Mainoumi (against Takanohana in July 1994 and Takanonami in July 1995).[11] He finished with an 8–7 record, failing to win the match on the final day that would have given him the Technique Prize. [12]
The rest of 2020 proved to be challenging for Enhō, however, as he posted four consecutive make-koshi, closing out the year with a 3-12 score in the Kyūshū basho, resulting in his demotion to jūryō for the January 2021 tournament. He spoke of his disappointment at how 2020 had gone, saying he had been troubled by neck and wrist injuries and had not been able to do his own sumo.[13] He said he was hoping to return to makuuchi in a single tournament, but after his stablemate Hakuhō tested positive for COVID-19, the whole of the Miyagino stable was forced to miss the January basho.[14]
Fighting style
Enhō is about 50 kilograms (110 lb) lighter and 15 cm (6 in) shorter than the average for the top makuuchi division.[1] Due to his small size he relies on speed and technique to outwit his opponents. He is known for coming in very low at the tachi-ai or initial charge and attempting to grab his opponent's mawashi with an inside left hand grip (hidari-yotsu).[1] His favourite winning kimarite is shitatenage or underarm throw. In addition, more than a third of wins his come from either leg grabs or pulling underarm throw (shitatedashinage), when the average for a typical wrestler is just two percent.[15] However his lack of weight means he can also easily be thrown, shoved or picked up and placed out of the ring, making his matches unpredictable and popular with audiences.
Career record
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | x | (Maezumo) | East Jonokuchi #9 7–0 Champion |
East Jonidan #10 7–0–P Champion |
West Sandanme #18 7–0–P Champion |
West Makushita #14 5–2 |
| 2018 | East Makushita #6 4–3 |
West Jūryō #14 4–11 |
East Makushita #6 5–2 |
West Makushita #2 5–2 |
West Jūryō #13 9–6 |
West Jūryō #10 9–6 |
| 2019 | East Jūryō #8 9–6 |
West Jūryō #2 8–7 |
West Maegashira #14 7–8 |
West Maegashira #14 9–6 T |
West Maegashira #11 9–6 |
West Maegashira #6 8–7 |
| 2020 | West Maegashira #5 8–7 |
East Maegashira #4 6–9 |
East Maegashira #6 Tournament Cancelled 0–0–0 |
East Maegashira #6 5–10 |
East Maegashira #9 6–9 |
West Maegashira #11 3–12 |
| 2021 | East Jūryō #3 Sat out due to injury 0–0–15 |
x | x | x | x | x |
| Record given as win-loss-absent Top Division Champion Top Division Runner-up Retired Lower Divisions Sanshō key: F=Fighting spirit; O=Outstanding performance; T=Technique Also shown: ★=Kinboshi(s); P=Playoff(s) | ||||||
References
- Gunning, John (1 May 2019). "Pint-size Enho could shake up banzuke in Reiwa Era". Japan Times. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
- Sumo Magazine『相撲』2018 March issue p.22-23
- "In Enhō's new recruits debut ceremony he says the yokozuna's kesho-mawashi is "heavy" Nikkan Sports 2017 March 17
- "Enho Akira Information". Sumo Reference. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
- "炎鵬が新十両「まさかこんなに早く上がれるとは」" (in Japanese). Nikkan Sports. 31 January 2018. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
- "Enho with 3 straight wins, bounces back after haunches come within 10cm of dohyo" 2019 March 18 Nikkan Sports
- Miki, Shuji (4 June 2019). "Sumo: Bout-winning wrestlers find rich reward in cash-stuffed envelopes". Yomiuri Shimbun. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
- "The May sumo tournament: New era, new tournament". NHK. 30 May 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
- "Sumo: Kakuryu outguns Hakuho in yokozuna duel to claim 6th title". The Mainichi. 21 July 2019. Archived from the original on 25 July 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
- "Sumo: Takakeisho falls, Enho beats Goeido on Day 9 of New Year meet". The Mainichi. 20 January 2020. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
- "千代の富士は旭国を／100キロ未満大関撃破３力士" (in Japanese). 21 January 2020. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
- "Sumo: Tokushoryu defies odds to claim maiden title at New Year meet". Kyodo News. 26 January 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
- "炎鵬「起死回生」誓う 「一場所で幕内復帰」と決意". Yahoo Japan (in Japanese). 4 January 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
- "More sumo wrestlers test positive for COVID-19 as two more stables pull out of New Year Basho". Japan Times. 9 January 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
- Gunning, John (5 September 2019). "Emperor's Cup up for grabs at Autumn Basho". Japan Times. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
External links
- Enhō Akira's official biography (English) at the Grand Sumo Homepage