Kotodaigo Akimasa

Kotodaigo Akimasa - 琴太豪 晃匡 (born January 14, 1993) is a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Hita, Oita. He made his debut in May 2011 and currently wrestles for Sadogatake stable. His highest rank as of 2023 is makushita 1.

## **Career**

After graduating from Hita Foresty & Technical High School, Kawazu joined Sadogatake stable and made his professional debut in May 2011 under the shikona "Kotokawazu" (琴河津). In January 2012, he won the sandanme yusho after defeating 200 kg giant Kenho in a playoff. He was promoted to makushita for the following March 2012 tournament after less than a year in sumo.

He initially struggled to establish himself in makushita and did not become a makushita regular until March 2014. By then, he had changed his shikona to "Kotodaigo" (琴太豪). He rose as high as makushita 8 in July 2015, but prior to this tournament, he suffered a retinal detachment during training and had to miss the tournament. In the following September 2015 tournament, Kotodaigo ruptured his left elbow ligament on the fifth day and had to sit out of the following two tournaments. This resulted in a drop back down to jonidan, but he bounced back by winning the jonidan yusho in March 2016 with a perfect 7-0 record. He followed with another 7-0 record in May 2016 and claimed his second sandanme yusho.

By 2017, Kotodaigo had establish himself in the upper makushita ranks, but he struggled to capitalize on a juryo promotion. In March 2020, while ranked at makushita 2, Kotodaigo defeated juryo-ranked Asagyokusei in his final match to finish with a 4-3 record. After the match he received a congratulations from fellow Oita Prefecture native Nakamura Oyakata (former sekiwake Yoshikaze) and even some media outlets such as *Nikkansports* claimed that juryo promotion for Kotodaigo was certain. However, Kotodaigo was instead promoted to makushita 1 and Chiyonoo, who finished with a 5-2 at makushita 4, was chosen over him. Kotodaigo finished with a 3-4 record in the July 2020 tournament, while ranked at the top of makushita, and failed to secure a juryo promotion.

In the November 2020 tournament, Kotodaigo injured his right knee's anterior cruciate ligament and had to withdraw from the tournament which regulated him back down to sandanme. Nevertheless, he bounced back by winning all seven matches in the May 2021 tournament, but missed out on the sandanme yusho after losing to Ishizaki in the playoff. In January 2022, Kotodaigo injured his left knee's anterior cruciate ligament and had to miss two tournaments.

## **Fighting Style**

Kotodaigo is a yotsu-sumo wrestler who prefers grappling to pushing and thrusting techniques. He won majority of his bouts with a straightforward yorikiri, or force out.

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 271-199-48/469 (75 basho)
* **Makushita:** 178-159-34/336 (53 basho)
* **Sandanme:** 70-35-14/105 (17 basho)
* **Jonidan:** 19-2/21 (3 basho)
* **Jonokuchi:** 4-3/7 (1 basho)

### **Championships**

* 2 **Sandanme** Championships
	+ 1st (January 2012)
	+ 2nd (May 2016)
* 1 **Jonidan** Championship (March 2016)

## **Shikona History**

* Kotokawazu Daiki (2011.05 - 2012.09)
* Kotodaigo Akimasa (2012.11 - 2022.01)
* Kotodaigo Koyu (2022.03 - )

## **Gallery**

Kotodaigo prepares for his upcoming match (c. 2017)Kotodaigo loses to Jokoryu in Juryo (c. 2019)Kotodaigo ends Oshoryu's undefeated streak (c. 2020)Kotodaigo defeats Asagyokusei in Juryo (c. 2020)Kotodaigo defeats Atamifuji (c. 2021)Kotodaigo badly injures his knee (c. 2022)
## **Sources**

* Kotodaigo Akimasa Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Kotodaigo Akimasa Rikishi Information