Mitakeumi Hisashi

Mitakeumi Hisashi (Japanese: 御嶽海 久司, born December 25, 1992 as Hisashi Omichi (大道 久司, Ōmichi Hisashi)) is a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Agematsu, Nagano. He is in the Dewanoumi stable. He is a pusher thruster-type wrestler. A former amateur champion at Toyo University, he made his professional debut in March 2015, reaching the top makuuchi division in November of the same year. He has six special prizes for Fighting Spirit, Technique and Outstanding Performance, as well two gold stars for defeating a yokozuna. His highest rank has been sekiwake. He won his first top division championship (yūshō) in July 2018 and his second in September 2019.

In this Japanese shikona name, the surname is Mitakeumi.
Mitakeumi Hisashi
御嶽海 久司
Mitakeumi in 2015
Personal information
BornHisashi Ōmichi
(1992-12-25) December 25, 1992
Agematsu, Nagano, Japan
Height1.79 m (5 ft 10 1⁄2 in)
Weight172 kg (379 lb; 27.1 st)
Career
StableDewanoumi
UniversityToyo University
Current ranksee below
DebutMarch 2015
Highest rankSekiwake (Jul 2017)
Championships2 Makuuchi
1 Jūryō
Special PrizesFighting Spirit (1)
Technique (2)
Outstanding Performance (6)
Gold Stars2
Harumafuji
Kakuryū
* Up to date as of 24 January 2021.

Early life and sumo background

Mitakeumi was born as Hisashi Ōmichi on 25 December 1992 to a Japanese father and a Filipino mother.[1] He began in sumo at Agematsu Elementary school as a first grader at a sumo tournament in Ōkuwa where he lost to an opponent smaller than himself. This loss lit a fire in his soul, which led to him formally beginning in sumo by joining the Kiso Sumo Club for boys.[2] By the end of elementary school he rose to second place in the All Japan Elementary School Sumo Championship Tournament.[3] While attending Kiso Fukushima Middle School he was in the Top 8 amongst his peers nationally. At Kiso Aomine High School he was third in the National Polity Club.[4] He then went on to Law School at Toyo University.[5]

At Toyo University he became a powerful pusher thruster and earned 15 titles in sumo. In his fourth year at university in November he became a university yokozuna,[6] then went on to become an amateur yokozuna in December. Attaining the rank of amateur yokozuna earned him the right to start as a professional at the rank of makushita 10.[7] He had initially not intended to enter the professional ranks, but instead to work for the Wakayama Prefectural government.[8] However he was convinced by the former Oginohana, the 11th generation stable master at Dewanoumi stable to help revive the fortunes of his stable,[9] and so joined the stable on February 12, 2015.[10] He became the first new student of the stablemaster, who had just taken over from his predecessor (former sekiwake Washūyama).

Career

Early career

He entered the dohyō for the first time in the March 2015 tournament and was given the name Mitakeumi. His name is taken from a mountain near his hometown of Agematsu named Mount Ontake (御嶽山. 御 can be read as “On” or “Mi”).[11] The “Umi” part of his name comes from his stable, Dewanoumi.[11] Although Mitakeumi suffered his first loss as a professional sumo wrestler to Daishōhō in his second bout of the tournament, this helped relieve tension, and he was able to finish with a strong 6-1 winning record.[12] This propelled him to the rank of east makushita #3 in the next tournament where he got another 6–1 record and advanced to the second highest (jūryō) division of sumo in the July tournament.[13] He became only the 11th wrestler promoted to jūryō after only two tournaments.[14]

In his first jūryō tournament Mitakeumi earned the championship with an 11–4 record at the July 2015 tournament. It had been 66 years since the May 1949 tournament that a wrestler from Nagano had won the jūryō tournament. On day 10 of the tournament he suffered a loss as well as a sharp blow to the mouth from Jōkōryū requiring 15 stitches to his upper lip, however he was able to return the following day and earn a victory.

Makuuchi career
Mitakeumi in September 2015

Mitakeumi fought for the first time in the makuuchi division while in jūryō on Day 14 of the September 2015 tournament. He finished with a 12–3 record at the rank of jūryō #5 at this tournament and was promoted to the makuuchi division for the November tournament in Kyushu. He became the first wrestler to enter the top (makuuchi) division from Nagano prefecture since Ōwashi retired from sumo in January 1978 (this period of 37 years was the current longest amongst all the prefectures).[15] It had also been 47 years since a wrestler from Nagano reached the rank of jūryō (Ōwashi in 1968).[16][17]

He earned an 8–7 winning record on his top division debut. He had the flu during the January 2016 tournament, which contributed to his first losing record in the top division, however he followed this tournament with two strong performances of 10–5 and 11-4, taking his first special prize, the fighting spirit prize, in May 2016.[18] He made his san'yaku debut at komusubi in the November 2016 tournament. The new rank though proved to be a challenge as he had to face everyone above him in the first week losing 7 of the first 8 days. In the end he only managed to get 6 wins and went 6–9 in the end. 2016 proved overall to be a good year for Mitakeumi having three tournaments with double digit wins, winning his first prize, and making it to komusubi, and he was the 53rd winner of the annual "best makuuchi newcomer" award sponsored by ChuSpo.[19]

Mitakeumi began the Hatsu tournament in January 2017 with a win over ōzeki Gōeidō, and on Day 2 he earned his first kinboshi (a yokozuna upset by a wrestler from the maegashira ranks) when he defeated Harumafuji.[20] He also defeated yokozuna Kakuryū on Day 4.[21] He finished with 11 wins and was awarded a Technique prize for his performance in this tournament.[22] He returned to the sanyaku ranks in the March 2017 tournament at komusubi, and came through with a winning record of 9–6. In May he defeated Kakuryū on Day 1 and Harumafuji on Day 11 (which was Harumafuji's first loss in the tournament). He finished with an 8–7 record and received the Outstanding Performance Award for the first time. He was promoted to sekiwake for the July 2017 tournament, the first wrestler from Dewanoumi stable to achieve this since Dewanohana in 1982.[23] In this tournament he defeated yokozuna Kisenosato on opening day, and tournament leader Hakuhō on Day 11, who was on a 25-match winning streak and hoping to equal the all-time career wins record of 1047.[24] Mitakeumi's only previous win over Hakuhō had been by default when the yokozuna pulled out of the March 2017 tournament through injury.[24] He ended the tournament with a 9–6 record and received a second consecutive Outstanding Performance award. In an interview immediately after the tournament he commented "I didn't think I would be able to win this award twice in a row so I am pleased. It was good that I was able to wrestle my brand of sumo at this tournament, win on the last day and also get a victory against Hakuho".[25] Mitakeumi maintained his sekiwake rank in the September and November tournaments, and was the only top division wrestler to secure a majority of wins against losses in every tournament of 2017. In January 2018 he started well with seven straight wins but he recorded only one more win (over Kakuryū) in the tournament. A 7–8 result in March saw him demoted to komusubi but he rebounded with 9 wins in May to return to sekiwake.

The 2018 Nagoya tournament in July saw many injury withdrawals (kyūjō): Kisenosato did not start the tournament, and by day 6 he had been joined on the injured list by Hakuhō, Kakuryū and the newly promoted ōzeki Tochinoshin. Mitakeumi won his first eleven matches and appeared to have extended his run against the ōzeki Takayasu on day 12 but the referee's decision was overturned by the judges. After a win over the ōzeki Gōeidō the following afternoon he clinched the title on day 14 with a yorikiri victory over Tochiōzan. Interviewed immediately after the match he had difficult responding to questions as he struggled to control his emotions and repeatedly broke down in tears.[26] He became the first wrestler from the Dewanoumi stable to win a top-division title in since Mienoumi in 1980.[27] Despite losing to Yutakayama in his final match he was awarded the Emperor's Cup as champion as well as the special prizes for technique and outstanding performance. Addressing the crowd after the presentation of the trophies he said "It’s simply awesome. I’ve never spoken in front of such a big crowd. I probably won’t remember what I said here. I wanted to end on a good note with a win, but I think I still need to get stronger. I wasn’t able to push my opponent out, so I think I’ll have to go back and practice."[28] He received plenty of local support as the Nagoya tournament is held close to his hometown of Agematsu.[11]

Despite speculation that Mitakeumi could be promoted to ōzeki with another good performance in September, he lost five bouts in a row from Days 8 to 12, and ended with only a 9–6 record. He lost his sekiwake rank after a make-koshi 7–8 record in November, but began the January 2019 tournament with five straight wins before injuring his knee in a Day 6 defeat to Myōgiryū. Forced to sit out Days 7 to 10 due to the injury, he returned on Day 11 and defeated Hakuhō, handing the yokozuna his first loss of the tournament.[29] He finished the tournament with eight wins and was awarded the Outstanding Performance Award for defeating both two yokozuna as well as the tournament winner Tamawashi. He became the first wrestler since special prizes were established in 1947 to win one despite missing some bouts through injury.[30] Despite a 7-8 performance in March he retained his komusubi status and secured a return to sekiwake with nine wins in May. Another nine wins in July meant that he entered the next tournament in san'yaku for the 16th consecutive time.

The 2019 September tournament saw the upper ranks depleted as the ōzeki Takayasu sat out the tournament while the two active yokozuna, Hakuhō and Kakuryū withdrew by the end of the first week. After losing to Asanoyama in his first match Mitakeumi won his next six bouts before losing tamely to Takakeishō on day 8. He remained in contention throughout the second week despite a loss to Ryūden on day 11 and a victory over Gōeidō on day 14 (in which he employed a henka) saw him enter the final day in a three-way tie for the lead alongside Okinoumi and Takakeishō. After Takakeishō defeated Okinoumi, Mitakeumi secured his place in a play-off for the title with a yorikiri win over Endō. In the play-off Mitakeumi evaded Takakeishō's attempt at a pull-down, secured a double inside grip and quickly forced his rival over the bales to win his second top division championship and the Outstanding Performance Award as well.[31]

Mitakeumi needed a strong performance and record in the November 2019 basho to secure a promotion to ōzeki. On Day 3, he badly injured his right eye in his win over Meisei.[32] Mitakeumi never recovered after that, finishing with a losing record of 6–9 and eliminating all chances for a promotion.[33] Instead, he was demoted from sekiwake all the way down to West Maegashira #2 for the January 2020 basho.[34] This was his first time in the maegashira ranks since January 2017.[35] In the March 2020 basho he posted 10 wins, securing his promotion to Sekiwake for the July 2020 Basho, where he posted 11 wins and is now on another ozeki run.

Fighting style

Mitakeumi prefers pushing and thrusting moves as opposed to fighting on the opponent's mawashi or belt. His most common winning techniques are oshidashi, the push out, yorikiri, the force out and hatakikomi the slap down.[36] Mitakeumi emphasizes speed in his tachi-ai, and attempts to be the first wrestler in each match to take two steps toward his opponent rather than one. He trains by unconventional methods, such as jumping rope and running uphill, to gain additional speed.[37]

Career record
Mitakeumi Hisashi[38]
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
2015 x Makushita tsukedashi #10
6–1
 		 East Makushita #3
6–1
 		 West Jūryō #12
11–4
Champion
 		 West Jūryō #5
12–3
 		 West Maegashira #11
8–7
 
2016 West Maegashira #10
5–8–2
 		 West Maegashira #13
10–5
 		 West Maegashira #8
11–4
F		 East Maegashira #1
5–10
 		 West Maegashira #5
10–5
 		 East Komusubi #1
6–9
 
2017 West Maegashira #1
11–4
T★★		 East Komusubi #1
9–6
 		 East Komusubi #1
8–7
O		 West Sekiwake #1
9–6
O		 East Sekiwake #1
8–7
 		 East Sekiwake #1
9–6
 
2018 East Sekiwake #1
8–7
 		 East Sekiwake #1
7–8
 		 East Komusubi #1
9–6
 		 West Sekiwake #1
13–2
OT		 East Sekiwake #1
9–6
 		 East Sekiwake #1
7–8
 
2019 West Komusubi #1
8–4–3
O		 East Komusubi #1
7–8
 		 West Komusubi #1
9–6
 		 East Sekiwake #1
9–6
 		 East Sekiwake #1
12–3–P
O		 East Sekiwake #1
6–9
 
2020 West Maegashira #2
7–8
 		 West Maegashira #3
10–5
 		 West Sekiwake #1
Tournament Cancelled
0–0–0		 West Sekiwake #1
11–4
O		 West Sekiwake #1
8–7
 		 East Sekiwake #1
7–8
 
2021 West Komusubi #1
9–6
 		 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)
Divisions: Makuuchi — Jūryō — Makushita — Sandanme — Jonidan — Jonokuchi

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

See also

References
  1. Gunning, John (2017-08-31). "More multiracial wrestlers making mark in raised ring". The Japan Times Online. ISSN 0447-5763. Retrieved 2018-09-10.
  2. 長野県上松町出身・大道久司選手 産経新聞 2015年2月13日（2015年5月28日閲覧）
  3. ベースボール・マガジン社刊 『相撲』 2015年4月号（春場所総決算号） 118頁
  4. 第65回（平成22年）国民体育大会本大会入賞者 公益財団法人長野県体育協会
  5. 相撲部　大道久司選手が出羽海部屋入門を発表 Archived 2015-05-28 at the Wayback Machine 東洋大学
  6. 大道、中村破り学生横綱　全国学生相撲第１日 日本経済新聞 2014年11月8日（2015年5月28日閲覧）
  7. 大道が学生横綱に続きアマ横綱で幕下１０枚目資格　涙こらえきれず 産経新聞 2014年12月19日（2015年5月28日閲覧）
  8. 【新風力士】御嶽海　御嶽山噴火の地元を「勇気づけたい」 スポニチアネックス 2015年3月9日（2015年5月28日閲覧）
  9. 学生横綱・アマ横綱の2冠を達成した大道久司選手が大相撲デビュー Archived 2015-05-28 at the Wayback Machine 東洋大学報WEB2014
  10. アマ横綱大道がプロ初稽古 日刊スポーツ 2015年2月12日（2015年5月28日閲覧）
  11. "SUMO/ Mitakeumi sends fans home happy only three years after turning pro". Asahi Shimbun. 22 July 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  12. ベースボール・マガジン社刊 『相撲』 2015年4月号（春場所総決算号） 19頁
  13. 相撲、新十両に御嶽海と高立 デイリースポーツonline] 2015年5月27日（2015年5月27日閲覧）
  14. 御嶽海、最速所要２場所新十両！逸＆遠藤らと並んだ Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine スポーツ報知 2015年5月28日（2015年5月28日閲覧）
  15. 御嶽海、十両昇進確実　県内出身関取、37年ぶり復活へ Archived 2015-05-28 at the Wayback Machine 信濃毎日新聞 2015年5月25日（2015年5月28日閲覧）
  16. 長野から47年ぶり関取、御嶽海ら喜び語る　大相撲 朝日新聞 2015年5月27日（2015年5月28日閲覧）
  17. 長野県から関取が誕生したことで、関取不在の期間が最も長い都道府県は1990から関取不在の福井県になった。
  18. "Hakuho bags perfect mark". Japan Times. 22 May 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  19. "御嶽海に幕内最優秀新人賞 「これからもっと頑張る」" (in Japanese). Chunichi. 28 December 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  20. "Giant-killer Mitakeumi takes down Harumafuji". Japan Times. 9 January 2017. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
  21. "Sumo: Kisenosato remains in 5-way share of lead at New Year tourney". Kyodo News. 11 January 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  22. "Kisenosato boosts case for promotion to yokozuna". Japan Times Online. January 22, 2017.
  23. "2017 July Grand Sumo Tournament Banzuke Topics". Japan Sumo Association. July 2017. Archived from the original on 19 July 2017.
  24. "Hakuho fails in first chance to equal mark". Japan Times. 19 July 2017. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
  25. "Hakuho wins 39th career title at Nagoya tournament". Japan Today. 23 July 2017.
  26. "SUMO/ Mitakeumi wins 1st tourney title at Nagoya with an easy victory". Asahi Shimbun.
  27. "Sumo: Mitakeumi clinches Nagoya championship on Day 14". 21 July 2018 – via Mainichi Daily News.
  28. "New champion Mitakeumi all smiles on final day of basho". 22 July 2018 – via Japan Times Online.
  29. "Sumo: Mitakeumi comes back from injury to upset sole leader Hakuho". The Mainichi. 23 January 2019. Archived from the original on 25 January 2019.
  30. "Tamawashi secures first title by beating Endo on final day". The Japan Times. 27 January 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  31. "Sumo: Mitakeumi wins 2nd title after sekiwake playoff with Takakeisho". Kyodo News.
  32. "Sumo: Hakuho, elite wrestlers rebound on Day 3 of Kyushu meet". Kyodo News. 12 November 2019. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  33. Morita, Hiro (29 November 2019). "2019 Sumo finale -- November tournament sum up". NHK World-Japan. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  34. "Sumo: Asanoyama, Daieisho bumped up in rankings for New Year's meet". The Mainichi. 24 December 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  35. "Sumo: Asanoyama, Kakuryu look to slow Hakuho's roll at New Year meet". The Mainichi. 10 January 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  36. "Mitakeumi profile". 日本相撲協会公式サイト. Archived from the original on 2016-03-08.
  37. NHK World, GRAND SUMO Highlights Preview, 8 September 2017
  38. "Sumo reference".
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