Wakahayato Koji

Wakahayato Koji - 若隼人 幸治 (born January 3, 1971) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Nakatane, Kagoshima. He made his debut in March 1986 and wrestled for Miyagino stable. He reached the juryo division in September 1994. His highest rank was juryo 3 and he retired in May 2002.

## **Early Life**

Inago began sumo wrestling from an early age and won many regional championships in Kagoshima during elementary school. In junior high school, he was a member of his school's judo club, but he continued to practice sumo on the side. In his third year at junior high school, he was heavily recruited by Miyagino stable and he joined the stable after graduating junior high school.

## **Career**

### **Early Career**

Inago made his debut in March 1986 and he was given the shikona "Wakahayato" (若隼人). He was promoted to sandanme in September 1988 and makushita in March 1991. Wakahayato was not able to establish himself in makushita until September 1992 and in July 1994, he produced a 5-2 record at the rank of makushita 2 and was promoted to juryo in the following September 1994 tournament.

### **Juryo Career**

Wakahayato was ranked as a sekitori for a total of 27 tournaments, but he never managed to reach makuuchi. His best performance came in January 1996 where he posted a 10-5 record and nearly took the juryo yusho, but he lost the playoff to Rikio. He was promoted to a career-best rank of juryo 3 in the following March tournament. In this tournament he defeated former ozeki Kirishima in his first top division match and he also finished with a solid 8-7 record. However, his rank barely budged as he went from juryo 3 west to juryo 3 east. He also fell to makushita many times and was re-promoted to juryo on four different occasions. His last juryo appearance was in September 1999.

## **Retirement from Sumo**

Wakahayato struggled with injuries in his later career and he fell down to sandanme in November 2001. He ultimately announced his retirement after the May 2002 tournament.

After retirement, he opened up an izakaya restaurant in Chiyoda, Tokyo, called "Shoku Yoi YA - Hayato" (食酔Ya-はやと). He also serves as a member of stablemate yokozuna Hakuho's fan club.

## **Personal Life**

* Wakahayato's hobbies are watching baseball games and pachinko.
* After retirement, he married former professional wrestler Miori Kamiya, better known by her ring name Cooga.
* His younger brother, Yoshitaka Inago, also became a professional sumo wrestler and he joined Miyagino stable in March 1993. His highest rank was jonidan 63 and he retired after two years due to asthma. After retirement, he participated in amateur sumo.

## **Fighting Style**

Wakahayato was a yotsu-sumo wrestler who prefers grappling to pushing and thrusting techniques. He favored a migi-yotsu (left hand outside, right hand inside) position when gripping his opponent's mawashi (belt). His most common kimarite was yorikiri, or force out.

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 447-441-7/887 (98 basho)
* **Juryo:** 190-215/405 (27 basho)
* **Makushita:** 127-118/244 (35 basho)
* **Sandanme:** 68-58-7/126 (19 basho)
* **Jonidan:** 50-41/91 (13 basho)
* **Jonokuchi:** 12-9/21 (3 basho)

## **Shikona History**

* Inago Koji (1986.03 - 1986.07)
* Wakahayato Koji (1986.09 - 2002.05)

## **Gallery**

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

Wakahayato Koji - 1999 (Retrieved from the JSA)Wakahayato's tegata
### **Career Overview**

Wakahayato during his early sumo career (c. 1986)Wakahayato after promotion to Juryo (c. 1994)Wakahayato defeats former Ozeki Kirishima (c. 1996)Wakahayato defeats his opponent in juryo (c. 1998)
## **Sources**

* Wakahayato Koji Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Wakahayato Koji Rikishi Information