Kaonishiki Takeshi

Kaonishiki Takeshi - 華王錦 武志 (born September 14, 1978) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Misato, Akita. He made his debut in May 2001 and wrestled for Azumazeki stable. He reached the juryo division in July 2011. His highest rank was juryo 6 and he retired in March 2021.

## **Early Life**

Murata joined the sumo club at Sennan Junior High School and in 1993 he was named as one of the top eight best sumo wrestlers in junior high school and he competed in multiple national tournaments. During his time at Omagari Agricultural High School, he also participated in many national tournaments. After graduation, he enrolled at Toyo University and won the group championship in his fourth year. After graduating from college, he entered Azumazeki stable in May 2001.

## **Career**

### **Early Career**

In his first professional tournament, Murata won all seven matches to win the jonokuchi yusho. He produced two consecutive 6-1 records and was promoted to sandanme in November 2001, however, due to injuries he was not promoted to makushita in November 2002. Injuries continued to hinder his performance and after a winless 0-7 record in the January 2003 tournament he fell back down to sandanme. In September 2003 he changed his shikona from his family name to "Kaonishiki" (華王錦).

He slowly rose up the rankings and by January 2008 he was ranked at makushita 6. In July 2009, he won six matches and qualified for an eight-man playoff, however he lost in the second round to Nakanishi. Nonetheless, he was promoted to the high rank of makushita 3. In May 2011 he was promoted back to makushita 3 and in this tournament he defeated three juryo-ranked wrestlers and finished with a strong 5-2 record. As a result, he secured promotion to the salaried juryo division.

### **Juryo Career**

At the age of 32 years and 9 months, he was the third oldest rikishi in the post-war era to earn sekitori status. He was also the first sekitori from Akita Prefecture in eight years since Takekaze. Due to the many available slots because of the 2011 match-fixing scandal, he was boosted all the way up to juryo 6 for the July 2011 tournament. He struggled in his first juryo tournament and finished with a 6-9 record. As a result, he fell back down to juryo 9 for the following tournament. In this tournament he injured his right knee meniscus on the fifth day and withdrew the following day. He returned on the eighth day, but aggravated the injury and had to withdraw again in the tenth day. As a result he was demoted back down to makushita.

### **Later Career**

Kaonishiki wrestled in the makushita division for around four years after his demotion. He fell back down to sandanme in January 2016, but immediately returned to makushita. He bounced back and forth between the divisions for around two years, before becoming a sandanme regular in 2018. He fell back down to jonidan in November 2020 but immediately returned to sandanme after posting a 6-1 record.

## **Retirement from Sumo**

On March 12, 2021, the Sumo Association announced that Azumazeki stable will close on April 1, 2021, due to no permanent successor to Ushiomaru being found, with the personnel moving to Hakkaku stable. As a result he announced his retirement after the March 2021 tournament. He pulled out of the tournament on the second day, citing lower back pain, but he returned on the 13th day and defeated Hokutoo by the rare sakatottari (arm bar throw counter).

His danpatsu-shiki, or retirement ceremony, was held on May 30, 2021, with his recruiter, the former Takamiyama, taking the final cut on his hair. After his retirement ceremony, he indicated his intention to become an amateur sumo coach. From July 2022, he has been working at Tagonoura stable as an unofficial coach after he was invited by Tagonoura Oyakata (former maegashira Takanotusuru)

## **Fighting Style**

Kaonishiki was a tsuki/oshi specialist, who prefers pushing and thrusting at his opponents rather than fighting on the mawashi or belt. His most common winning kimarite or technique was oshidashi or a straightforward push out.

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 403-383-49/782 (118 basho)
* **Juryo:** 8-16-6/22 (2 basho)
* **Makushita:** 257-252-9/508 (74 basho)
* **Sandanme:** 119-113-34/231 (38 basho)
* **Jonidan:** 12-2/14 (2 basho)
* **Jonokuchi:** 7-0/7 (1 basho)

### **Championships**

* 1 **Jonokuchi** Championship (July 2001)

## **Shikona History**

* Murata Takeshi (2001.05 - 2003.07)
* Kaonishiki Takeshi (2003.09 - 2021.03)

## **Gallery**

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

Kaonishiki Takeshi - 2011 (Retrieved from the JSA)Kaonishiki Takeshi - 2011 (Retrieved from the JSA)Kaonishiki's tegata
### **Career Overview**

Kaonishiki in Maezumo (c. 2001)Kaonishiki defeats Sadanofuji (c. 2011)Kaonishiki defeats Yoshiazuma (c. 2011)Kaonishiki emotional after ensuring promotion to Juryo (c. 2011)Kaonishiki promoted after the match fixing scandal (c. 2011)Kaonishiki interviewed after promotion to Juryo (c. 2011)Kaonishiki visits the mayor of his hometown (c. 2011)Kaonishiki presented with his kesho mawashi (c. 2011)Kaonishiki prepares for his upcoming match (c. 2011)Kaonishiki battles Takanoyama (c. 2011)Kaonishiki during the Juryo dohyo-iri (c. 2011)Kaonishiki battles Bushuyama (c. 2011)Kaonishiki after falling to the unsalaried ranks (c. 2020)Kaonishiki wins his final match by sakatottari (c. 2021)Kaonishiki's retirement ceremony (c. 2021)
## **Sources**

* Kaonishiki Takeshi Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Kaonishiki Takeshi Rikishi Information