Shonannoumi Momotaro

Shonannoumi Momotaro - 湘南乃海 桃太郎 (born April 8, 1998) is a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Oiso, Kanagawa. He made his debut in March 2014 and currently wrestles for Takadagawa stable. He reached the makuuchi division in July 2023 and has 1 special prize. His highest rank as of 2023 is maegashira 14.

## **Early Life**

Tanimatsu played baseball in elementary school because his father was a baseball coach. However, he often missed tournaments due to injuries and he eventually lost connection to the sport. His father then recommended he try out sumo, and after watching a documentary about legendary yokozuna Chiyonofuji, Tanimatsu grew inspired to practice sumo wrestling. He would train with his father at a nearby park after classes in junior high school. Upon graduating junior high school, Tanimatsu visited Takadagawa stable and was subsequently recruited for professional sumo.

## **Career**

### **Early Career**

He made his professional debut in March 2014 alongside future ozeki Shodai. He was given the shikona, or ring name, of "Shonannoumi" which can be read as "The Sea of Shonan", which is the region in Kanagawa prefecture where Oiso is located. Shonannoumi would steadily rise through the lower 3 divisions and he was promoted to the makushita division in November 2016.

In the July 2020 tournament, he was put up against former maegashira Ura in makushita, who was making his comeback to the top division after an injury had sidelined him for 4 consecutive tournaments. At the moment of their bout, Ura was at a 18-bout win streak, but surprisingly, Shonannoumi won the bout, being Ura's first and only loss in the tournament.

On 19 January 2021, Shonannoumi suffered a concussion in a makushita bout against Takasago wrestler Asagyokusei. Both wrestlers bumped into each other at the tachi-ai, forcing the match to be stopped as Shonannoumi was unable to get up and had symptoms of a concussion. After deliberating whether or not to allow him to continue, the shimpan decided on a rematch, respecting the will of Shonannoumi to continue. Shonannoumi won the bout but the Japan Sumo Association faced an online backlash because Shonannoumi was obviously dizzed. The Sumo Association established in the same month a new rule preventing wrestlers from competing if they have a concussion or any other physical abnormality, regardless of the wrestler's intentions.

In the September and November 2022 tournaments, Shonannoumi was placed up against former ozeki Asanoyama (who was returning from a six tournament suspension) in both tournaments, however, he lost both the matches. Nevertheless, he had finish with consistent 5-2 results in both tournaments and was promoted to juryo for the following January 2023 tournament.

### **Juryo Career**

In 2022, Shonannoumi was finally promoted sekitori after nine years in professional sumo. During the party celebrating his promotion, former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, a patron of his stable, declared 'I knew this man would become someone. A fine sekitori has emerged from Kanagawa Prefecture'. He initially chose a dark pink shimekomi for his first tournament because it's the colour of the Saikijin Clinic in Hiroshima who offered him the mawashi, and because he considers that color is his lucky charm. In his first tournament in juryo, Shonannoumi finished with a strong 12–3 record. During the May 2023 tournament, Shonannoumi started the competition at its highest rank and finished with a score of 11–4. Looking back on his first tournaments as a sekitori, he commented that the public's expectations pushed him to do better and better in order to live up to the acclaim.

### **Makuuchi Career**

After only three tournaments in juryo, Shonannoumi was officially promoted to the top makuuchi division in July 2023 with the rank of west maegashira 14. He became the eleventh wrestler from his prefecture to reach this rank since Kotokuzan in 2022, who, although born in the Philippines, was listed as coming from Yokohama (Kanagawa Prefecture), where his father originated from. He told reporters upon his promotion that he wanted to win ten matches and win a special prize at the upcoming tournament, adding that he wanted to make sure that in the weeks leading up to the July tournament he would be ready with confidence on Day 1.

On Day 12, he scored an upset victory over one of the tournament leaders, maegashira Nishikigi, and thereby achieved a kachi-koshi record. Having scored a ninth victory, Shonannoumi was in line for one of the sansho prize but that award was conditional on a tenth victory. On the fifteenth day of the tournament, he defeated Myogiryu and won the award.

## **Personal Life**

* Shonannoumi's favorite pastime is listening to music. He is a particular fan of the band Shonan no Kaze, which hails from his home town.

## **Fighting Style**

Shonannoumi's favored techniques are listed at the Sumo Association as hidari-yotsu (a left hand inside, right hand outside grip on the opponent's mawashi), yori (forcing) and oshi (pushing). His most common winning kimarite are hatakikomi (slap-down), oshidashi (push out) and yorikiri (force out).

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 254-193/447 (58 basho)
* **Makuuchi:** 24-21/45 (3 basho)
* **Juryo:** 32-13/45 (3 basho)
* **Makushita:** 132-113/245 (35 basho)
* **Sandanme:** 34-29/63 (9 basho)
* **Jonidan:** 28-14/42 (6 basho)
* **Jonokuchi:** 4-3/7 (1 basho)

### **Achievements**

* **Special Prizes:** Fighting Spirit Prize (1)

## **Gallery**

### **JSA Profile Pictures and Tegata**

Shonannoumi Momotaro - 2023 (Retrieved from the JSA)Shonannoumi Momotaro - 2023 (Retrieved from the JSA)Shonannoumi Momotaro - 2022 (Retrieved from the JSA)Shonannoumi's tegata
### **Career Overview**

Shonannoumi gets recruited into Takadagawa stable (c. 2014)Shonannoumi ensures promotion to Juryo (c. 2022)Shonannoumi after promotion to Juryo (c. 2022)Shonannoumi's Juryo promotion party (c. 2022)Shonannoumi during the Juryo dohyo-iri (c. 2023)Shonannoumi defeats Roga (c. 2023)Shonannoumi prepares for his upcoming match (c. 2023)Shonannoumi after promotion to Makuuchi (c. 2023)Shonannoumi throws and defeats Nishikigi (c. 2023)Shonannoumi (bottom left) with his first sansho prize (c. 2023)
## **Sources**

* Shonannoumi Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Shonannoumi Momotaro Rikishi Information