# Kasugano stable

Kasugano stable (春日野部屋, Kasugano-beya) is a stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Dewanoumi ichimon or group of stables. As of January 2023 it had 17 wrestlers. It has been led by former sekiwake Tochinowaka Kiyotaka since 2003. It was one of the most successful stables in 2013, with six sekitori wrestlers, including now retired Georgian Tochinoshin and Japanese born (but Korean national) Tochinowaka Michihiro, who used the current head coach's old ring name.
It was founded in the mid 18th century by a wrestler named Kasugano Gunpachi. It became inactive for a long time but was led in the Meiji period by a referee named Kimura Soshiro (this is no longer allowed as oyakata must now be former wrestlers). He adopted as his son the 27th yokozuna Tochigiyama, who led the stable for over thirty years. He in turn adopted as his son the 44th yokozuna Tochinishiki, who became the head in 1959 whilst still an active wrestler and later served as the chairman of the Japan Sumo Association. Tochinoumi took over upon Tochinishiki's death in 1990 and led the stable until his retirement in 2003. Since Tochinishiki's death, the stable's wrestlers have made it a tradition to visit his grave every New Year. The stable absorbed Mihogaseki stable in 2013 when its stablemaster (former ōzeki Masuiyama Daishirō II) reached the mandatory retirement age.
Kasugano-oyakata was warned by the Sumo Association in 2011 after he beat three of his charges with a golf club for breaking a curfew. In a separate case, a junior wrestler was convicted in 2014 of an assault on another wrestler and given a three year jail sentence, suspended for four years. In March 2017 the victim sued Kasugano-oyakata and the now retired assailant, saying he was still suffering from the effects of the broken jaw he received and that Kasugano failed to exercise appropriate oversight.
The stable is known for having bred a series of great wrestlers. Kasugano stable has always had at least one makuuchi wrestler between 1967 and November 2023, when Aoiyama was relegated to the second-highest jūryō division. When Aoiyama retired following the September 2024 tournament it was announced that makushita wrestler Tochitaikai [ja] would return to jūryō, continuing Kasugano stable's streak of having at least one sekitori wrestler (ranked at jūryō or higher) at every sumo tournament since the summer of 1935.

## Ring name conventions

Many wrestlers at this stable take ring names or shikona that begin with the character 栃 (read: tochi), in deference to the long line of owners who have used this character in their shikona. It originally referred to Tochigi Prefecture, where Tochigiyama came from, but subsequent owners were not from there and the prefix no longer has a geographical meaning.

## Owners

* 2003–present: 11th Kasugano Kiyotaka (riji, former sekiwake Tochinowaka)
* 1990-2003: 10th Kasugano Terumasa (the 49th yokozuna Tochinoumi)
* 1959-1990: 9th Kasugano Kiyotaka (the 44th yokozuna Tochinishiki)
* 1925-1959: 8th Kasugano Takeya (the 27th yokozuna Tochigiyama)

## Notable active wrestlers

* Tochimaru [ja] (best rank jūryō)
* Tochimusashi [ja] (best rank jūryō)
* Tochitaikai [ja] (best rank jūryō)

## Coaches

* Takenawa Taiichi (iin, former sekiwake Tochinonada)
* Kiyomigata Yuichiro (iin, former sekiwake Tochiōzan)
* Iwatomo Kōsuke (toshiyori, former sekiwake Aoiyama)
* Fujigane Masaharu (iin, former komusubi Daizen)
* Hatachiyama Hitoshi (iin, former komusubi Tochinohana)
* Mihogaseki Atsushi (iin, former maegashira Tochisakae)

## Notable former members

* Tochinishiki (the 44th yokozuna)
* Tochinoumi (the 49th yokozuna)
* Tochihikari (former ōzeki)
* Tochinoshin (former ōzeki)
* Kaneshiro (former sekiwake)
* Masudayama (former sekiwake)
* Tochiakagi (former sekiwake)
* Tochiazuma (former sekiwake)
* Tochiōzan (former sekiwake)
* Tochitsukasa (former sekiwake)
* Aoiyama (former sekiwake)
* Tochinowaka Michihiro (former maegashira)
* Kasuganishiki (former maegashira)
* Kimurayama (former maegashira)

## Assistants

* Torafusuyama (sewanin, former makushita, real name Tomoyuki Tamaru)
* Tochigenō (sewanin, former makushita, real name Yasuyuki Shigeto)
* Tochinofuji (wakaimonogashira, former maegashira, real name Tatsuyuki Kusano)

## Referees

* 43rd Shikimori Inosuke (tate-gyōji, real name Yoshimitsu Morita)
* Kimura Akijiro (makuuchi gyōji, real name Shigehiro Nakazawa)
* Kimura Zennosuke (juryo gyoji, real name Makoto Kimura)

## Ushers

* Jirō (san'yaku yobidashi, real name Kazuo Nishide) - to be promoted to tate-yobidashi in January 2024

## Hairdressers

* Tokotakumi (fifth class tokoyama)

## Location and access

Tokyo, Sumida Ward, Ryōgoku 1-7-11 7 minute walk from Ryōgoku Station on the Sōbu Line