He had been an amateur sumo champion at Nihon University but worked as a high school physical education teacher after graduation. He did not join the professional sport until March 1992, when he was nearly 28, an extraordinarily late age. (The Sumo Association have since changed its rules and all former amateurs must now make their professional debuts before the age of 25).[1] He made his debut in the third highest makushita division, fighting out of Tatsunami stable. At just 174 cm (5 ft 8+1⁄2 in) and 100 kg (220 lb), he was not much bigger than Mainoumi, the lightest wrestler at the time. He began wrestling under his own surname of Narimatsu, but upon reaching sekitori status he adopted the formal shikona of Tomonohana, meaning "flower of wisdom."[2]
Tomonohana had winning records or kachi-koshi in his first twelve tournaments, reaching the second highest jūryō division in November 1992 and the top makuuchi division in July 1993. A popular wrestler, he was nicknamed "Sensei" because of his teaching background. He used a wide variety of techniques to counteract his light weight, and won the prestigious Ginō-shō, or technique prize, in two consecutive tournaments in September and November 1993. In January 1994 he reached the sanyaku ranks at komusubi, but turned in the first losing record of his career, 4–11, and never made the rank again. He was demoted back to jūryō in March 1996 and subsequent injuries prevented him from returning to the top division. Nevertheless, he carried on fighting until November 2001 when he announced his retirement at the age of 37.
Fighting styleedit
Tomonohana preferred a migi-yotsu or right hand inside, left hand outside grip on his opponent's mawashi, and his speciality was shitatenage, or underarm throw, which was his most common winning kimarite. He used 34 different kimarite during his career, some of them extremely rare. In January 1993 he defeated Hananokuni with izori, or backwards body drop,[3] a technique that had not been seen at sekitori level since 1964.
Retirement from sumoedit
Upon his retirement he temporarily used his old fighting name as an elder, under the jun-toshiyori system. In February 2003 he switched to the elder name of Asakayama owned by former ōzekiKaiō, after it was vacated by ex-maegashira Ōwakamatsu who left the Sumo Association. He transferred from Tatsunami stable to coach at Tomozuna stable in April 2005. In March 2006 he obtained the Tamagaki stock upon the mandatory retirement of its previous owner, the former Wakanami.
Prior to the March 2024 tournament Tomonohana was named the acting master of Miyagino stable in the place of the former Hakuhō, following the latter's discipline over the behavior of former sumo competitor Hokuseihō.[4] On March 27, he announced, as expected, that his position as acting master was to end immediately.[5]
^Kaori, Shoji (14 January 2000). "Wrestling with a national tradition". The Japan Times. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
^"A SIZABLE IMPACT: Small in Stature, Ura Looks to Ride Rare Technique to New Heights". Daily Yomiuri. 25 February 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
^"宮城野部屋の師匠代行に同じ伊勢ケ浜一門の玉垣親方を任命へ 元横綱白鵬の親方が師匠立場外れる" (in Japanese). Nikkan Sports. 26 February 2024. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
^"玉垣親方が宮城野部屋の師匠代行終了「とりあえず自分の役目は終わった」「思いを吐き出してもらった」" (in Japanese). Sports Nippon. 27 March 2024. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
^"Tomonohana Shinya Rikishi Information". Sumo Reference. Retrieved 27 August 2012.
External linksedit
Tomonohana Shinya's official biography (English) at the Grand Sumo Homepage
April 11, 2024
tomonohana, shinya, born, june, 1964, shinya, narimatsu, former, sumo, wrestler, from, yatsushiro, kumamoto, prefecture, japan, highest, rank, komusubi, sumo, coach, 智乃花, 伸哉personal, informationbornshinya, narimatsu, 1964, june, 1964, kumamoto, japanheight1, w. Tomonohana Shinya born 23 June 1964 as Shinya Narimatsu is a former sumo wrestler from Yatsushiro Kumamoto Prefecture Japan His highest rank was komusubi He is now a sumo coach Tomonohana Shinya智乃花 伸哉Personal informationBornShinya Narimatsu 1964 06 23 23 June 1964 age 59 Kumamoto JapanHeight1 75 m 5 ft 9 in Weight113 kg 249 lb CareerStableTatsunamiRecord379 381 85DebutMarch 1992Highest rankKomusubi January 1994 RetiredNovember 2001Elder nameTamagakiChampionships1 Makushita Special PrizesTechnique 2 Up to date as of July 2008 Contents 1 Career 2 Fighting style 3 Retirement from sumo 4 Career record 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksCareer editHe had been an amateur sumo champion at Nihon University but worked as a high school physical education teacher after graduation He did not join the professional sport until March 1992 when he was nearly 28 an extraordinarily late age The Sumo Association have since changed its rules and all former amateurs must now make their professional debuts before the age of 25 1 He made his debut in the third highest makushita division fighting out of Tatsunami stable At just 174 cm 5 ft 8 1 2 in and 100 kg 220 lb he was not much bigger than Mainoumi the lightest wrestler at the time He began wrestling under his own surname of Narimatsu but upon reaching sekitori status he adopted the formal shikona of Tomonohana meaning flower of wisdom 2 Tomonohana had winning records or kachi koshi in his first twelve tournaments reaching the second highest juryō division in November 1992 and the top makuuchi division in July 1993 A popular wrestler he was nicknamed Sensei because of his teaching background He used a wide variety of techniques to counteract his light weight and won the prestigious Ginō shō or technique prize in two consecutive tournaments in September and November 1993 In January 1994 he reached the sanyaku ranks at komusubi but turned in the first losing record of his career 4 11 and never made the rank again He was demoted back to juryō in March 1996 and subsequent injuries prevented him from returning to the top division Nevertheless he carried on fighting until November 2001 when he announced his retirement at the age of 37 Fighting style editTomonohana preferred a migi yotsu or right hand inside left hand outside grip on his opponent s mawashi and his speciality was shitatenage or underarm throw which was his most common winning kimarite He used 34 different kimarite during his career some of them extremely rare In January 1993 he defeated Hananokuni with izori or backwards body drop 3 a technique that had not been seen at sekitori level since 1964 Retirement from sumo editUpon his retirement he temporarily used his old fighting name as an elder under the jun toshiyori system In February 2003 he switched to the elder name of Asakayama owned by former ōzeki Kaiō after it was vacated by ex maegashira Ōwakamatsu who left the Sumo Association He transferred from Tatsunami stable to coach at Tomozuna stable in April 2005 In March 2006 he obtained the Tamagaki stock upon the mandatory retirement of its previous owner the former Wakanami Prior to the March 2024 tournament Tomonohana was named the acting master of Miyagino stable in the place of the former Hakuhō following the latter s discipline over the behavior of former sumo competitor Hokuseihō 4 On March 27 he announced as expected that his position as acting master was to end immediately 5 Career record editTomonohana Shinya 6 Year JanuaryHatsu basho Tokyo MarchHaru basho Osaka MayNatsu basho Tokyo JulyNagoya basho Nagoya SeptemberAki basho Tokyo NovemberKyushu basho Fukuoka1992 x Makushita tsukedashi 60 6 1 East Makushita 32 6 1 East Makushita 13 5 2 East Makushita 8 6 1 PPPChampion West Juryō 13 10 5 1993 East Juryō 7 9 6 East Juryō 2 9 6 East Juryō 1 8 7 East Maegashira 16 9 6 East Maegashira 10 9 6 T West Maegashira 2 8 7 T1994 East Komusubi 1 4 11 East Maegashira 5 6 9 West Maegashira 8 8 7 West Maegashira 2 6 9 East Maegashira 4 4 11 West Maegashira 11 9 6 1995 West Maegashira 5 6 9 East Maegashira 7 5 10 West Maegashira 13 7 8 East Maegashira 16 Sat out due to injury0 0 15 West Maegashira 15 9 6 East Maegashira 11 7 8 1996 West Maegashira 14 7 8 East Juryō 1 1 1 13 West Juryō 12 Sat out due to injury0 0 15 West Juryō 12 9 6 East Juryō 7 8 7 East Juryō 5 6 9 1997 East Juryō 8 8 7 West Juryō 5 6 9 East Juryō 8 8 5 2 East Juryō 6 8 7 East Juryō 3 5 7 3 East Juryō 7 Sat out due to injury0 0 151998 East Juryō 7 6 9 East Juryō 11 9 6 West Juryō 6 6 9 East Juryō 12 9 6 East Juryō 9 9 6 East Juryō 4 8 7 1999 West Juryō 2 5 10 West Juryō 6 8 7 East Juryō 5 6 9 West Juryō 8 10 5 PP West Juryō 3 6 9 East Juryō 6 7 8 2000 East Juryō 9 9 6 East Juryō 5 6 9 East Juryō 8 7 8 East Juryō 9 6 9 East Juryō 11 6 9 West Juryō 13 8 7 2001 East Juryō 9 7 8 East Juryō 10 6 9 West Juryō 12 Sat out due to injury0 0 15 West Juryō 12 8 7 East Juryō 11 5 10 West Makushita 3 Retired0 0 0Record given as wins losses absencies Top division champion Top division runner up Retired Lower divisions Non participation Sanshō key F Fighting spirit O Outstanding performance T Technique Also shown Kinboshi P Playoff s Divisions Makuuchi Juryō Makushita Sandanme Jonidan Jonokuchi Makuuchi ranks Yokozuna Ōzeki Sekiwake Komusubi MaegashiraSee also editGlossary of sumo terms List of past sumo wrestlers List of sumo elders List of komusubiReferences edit Schilling Mark 1994 Sumo A Fan s Guide Japan Times p 25 ISBN 4 7890 0725 1 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a work ignored help Kaori Shoji 14 January 2000 Wrestling with a national tradition The Japan Times Retrieved 13 February 2017 A SIZABLE IMPACT Small in Stature Ura Looks to Ride Rare Technique to New Heights Daily Yomiuri 25 February 2015 Retrieved 13 February 2017 宮城野部屋の師匠代行に同じ伊勢ケ浜一門の玉垣親方を任命へ 元横綱白鵬の親方が師匠立場外れる in Japanese Nikkan Sports 26 February 2024 Retrieved 26 February 2024 玉垣親方が宮城野部屋の師匠代行終了 とりあえず自分の役目は終わった 思いを吐き出してもらった in Japanese Sports Nippon 27 March 2024 Retrieved 28 March 2024 Tomonohana Shinya Rikishi Information Sumo Reference Retrieved 27 August 2012 External links editTomonohana Shinya s official biography English at the Grand Sumo Homepage Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tomonohana Shinya amp oldid 1215973082, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
