Wakakeisho Hiroki

Wakakeisho Hiroki - 若圭翔 裕樹 (born January 28, 1984) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Shimabara, Nagasaki. He made his debut in May 2006 and wrestled for Oitekaze stable. His highest rank was makushita 1 and he retired in March 2016.

## **Early Life**

Shimoda started sumo wrestling during his fourth year of elementary school. He then attended Shimabara Shiritsu Daini Junior High School and Isahaya Agricultural Senior High School where he continued to practice sumo.

After that, he enrolled at Nihon University where he won the East Japan Sumo Championship during his first year and he placed third at the National Student Sumo Championship during his second year. In his third year, he won the Sumo World Championships Open-weight division. In his fourth year, he served as captain of his Nihon University's sumo club and won the Kokutai National Sumo Tournament as well as the National Student Sumo Championship. Shimoda was expected to be granted the elite makushita 10 tsukedashi status which is only reserved for wrestlers who win two out of the four major amateur tournaments. However, he lost at the semi-finals of the All Japan Sumo Championship to finish third. Nevertheless, he accumulated a total of 16 titles during his time at Nihon University. At the 2005 World Games, just when sumo became an officially-recognized sport by the Olympic committee, Shimoda won a gold medal in the over -115 kg weight category and the silver in the open weight category.

After graduating university, Shimoda was expected to join professional sumo, however, he decided to stay at Nihon University because the director of the sumo club recommended he remain at the school as a staff member. However, after seeing his college teammate Sakaizawa and his high school teammate Kitazono turn professional he was inspired to go professional as well. After consulting with the director of Nihon University's sumo program, he decided to join Oitekaze stable. On April 17, 2006, his makushita tsukedashi status was approved, allowing him to make his debut at the rank of makushita 15.

## **Career**

Shimoda made his professional debut in May 2006 where he won the makushita yusho with a perfect 7-0 record. He was the first wrestler to win the makushita yusho while debuting at the rank of makushita 15 and many assumed that he was going to be promoted to juryo in only one tournament. However, he was denied promotion as the banzuke committee claimed that the rank of "makushita 15 east or west" is not equivalent to "makushita 15 tsukedashi". He was promoted to makushita 1 for the following July 2006 tournament, where he finished with a 2-5 record. He never managed to come close to a juryo promotion again in his career.

In January 2009, he was given the shikona "Takateru" (宇映) after he dropped down to makushita 51, his lowest ranking ever at the time. After the shikona change, he posted six consecutive winning-records and rose as high makushita 7 in May 2010, but he finished with a 3-4 record. In May 2012, he was given the new shikona "Wakakeisho" (若圭翔), however, after the shikona change he posted two losing records and was demoted to sandanme for the first time in November 2012. He spent the majority of his later career bouncing between makushita and sandanme.

## **Retirement from Sumo**

Wakakeisho retired from sumo in March 2016 after falling down to the second lowest jonidan division for the first time in his career. After retiring, he returned to work for Nihon University. He is also active on the amateur sumo circuit where he served as the referee during the 2016 All Japan Sumo Championship.

## **Fighting Style**

Wakakeisho was proficient in both yotsu-sumo (grappling) and oshi-sumo (pushing and thrusting) techniques. His most often used winning kimarite was yorikiri (force out), followed by oshidashi (push out).

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 196-193-24/388 (59 basho)
* **Makushita:** 163-163-3/325 (47 basho)
* **Sandanme:** 33-30-14/63 (11 basho)
* **Jonidan:** 0-0-7/0 (1 basho)

## **Shikona History**

* Shimoda Keisho (2006.05 - 2008.11)
* Takateru Keisho (2009.01 - 2012.03)
* Wakakeisho Hiroyasu (2012.05 - 2012.05)
* Wakakeisho Hiroki (2012.07 - 2016.05)

## **Gallery**

Shimoda gets recruited into Oitekaze stable (c. 2006)Shimoda gets measured upon joining sumo (c. 2006)Shimoda prepares for his upcoming match (c. 2006)Shimoda defeats Furuichi in his first match (c. 2006)Shimoda after winning the Makushita Yusho (c. 2006)Shimoda and Chiyonokuni (c. 2006)Wakakeisho prepares for his upcoming match (c. 2009)Wakakeisho suffers a bad fall (c. 2011)Wakakeisho gets wheeled away after suffering an injury (c. 2011)
## **Sources**

* Wakakeisho Hiroki Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Wakakeisho Hiroki Rikishi Information