Daihisho Seiji

Daihisho Seiji - 大飛翔 誠志 (born August 30, 1973) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Ibaraki, Osaka. He made his debut in September 1992 and last wrestled for Asahiyama stable. He reached the makuuchi division in September 1996. His highest rank was maegashira 10 and he retired in March 2001.

## **Early Life**

Seiji Ogura was born in the city of Ibaraki in Osaka Prefecture on August 30th, 1973. He attended Kindai University High School and was classmates with baseball pitcher Masaaki Daito and comedian Kazutoyo Koyabu. After high school he became a salaryman but was encouraged to join sumo by his employer due to his size, so he joined Asahiyama stable in September 1992.

## **Career**

### **Early Career**

Due to his immense height he was expected to excel and he did meet the expectations early in his career. Ogura won the jonokuchi yusho with a perfect 7-0 record in his debut and he followed with three consecutive 6-1 records which earned him a promotion to makushita by his fifth professional tournament. Even in makushita, he continued to produce strong results. In November 1994 he changed his shikona to "Daihisho" (大飛翔) and two tournaments later he was promoted to juryo in March 1995.

### **Juryo Career**

It had taken Daihisho only 15 tournaments, or two and a half years, to become a sekitori. In his juryo debut he produced a decent 8-7 record. In November 1995 he produced a strong 11-4 record but missed out on the juryo yusho after losing to Wakanoyama in a playoff. Nevertheless, he was promoted to makuuchi four tournaments later in September 1996.

### **Makuuchi Career**

Daihisho produced a solid 8-7 record in his makuuchi debut and followed with a stronger 9-6 record. As a result he was promoted to a career-best rank of maegashira 10 in January 1997, however, he could only manage six wins in the tournament. He was demoted back down to juryo after four tournaments in makuuchi.

### **Later Career**

After demotion from makuuchi, Daihisho continued to struggle due to back pain and his rank gradually fell. After a disastrous 3-12 record in March 1998 he was demoted back down to makushita. Due to diabetes, his weight decreased considerably compared to his heyday.

## **Retirement from Sumo**

Daihisho announced his retirement after the March 2001 tournament at the young age of 27. After retirement he became a chiropractor, but in 2005 he joined Pancrase to become a MMA fighter.

### **MMA Career**

He fought under his real name "Seiji Ogura". He made his mixed martial arts debut on July 10, 2005 at the Pancrase 150 event in the Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium where he lost to Hikaru Sato by rear naked choke.

In his second professional fight, he defeated Jong Wan Kim during the first round by TKO (punches) at the MARS 2: Seoul Grand Prix 2006 event.

In his last MMA match, Seiji Ogura faced off against ex-sumo wrestler Sentoryu at the Pancrase 165 event (August 27th, 2006) where he lost by a rear naked choke in the first round. His overall MMA record was 1 win and 3 losses.

## **Personal Life**

* Daihisho was one of the tallest rikishi of his time: standing at 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in).
* Daihisho's stablemaster, Asahiyama oyakata (ex-komusubi Wakafutase) suddenly passed away due to a heart attack on the tenth day of the May 1997 tournament. However, Daihisho recently suffered a serious injury during a match against Tochinonada and could not attend his stablemaster's funeral.

## **Fighting Style**

According to his Japan Sumo Association profile, his favored techniques are yori (forcing) and migi-yotsu, a left hand outside, right hand inside position. His most common winning kimarite is a straightforward yorikiri or force out.

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 265-222-22/484 (52 basho)
* **Makuuchi:** 29-31/60 (4 basho)
* **Juryo:** 105-102-18/206 (15 basho)
* **Makushita:** 106-86-4/190 (28 basho)
* **Sandanme:** 12-2/14 (2 basho)
* **Jonidan:** 6-1/7 (1 basho)
* **Jonokuchi:** 7-0/7 (1 basho)

### **Championships**

* 1 **Jonokuchi** Championship (November 1992)

## **Shikona History**

* Ogura Seiji (1992.09 - 1994.09)
* Daihisho Seiji (1994.11 - 1999.07)
* Ogura Seiji (1999.09 - 2001.01)
* Daihisho Seiji (2001.03 - 2001.03)

## **Gallery**

### **JSA Profile Pictures**

Daihisho Seiji - 1997 (Retrieved from the JSA)
### **Career Overview**

Daihisho battles Tosanoumi in Juryo (c. 1995)Daihisho after promotion to Makuuchi (c. 1996)Daihisho battles Tochiazuma (c. 1996)Daihisho (c. 1997)Daihisho's retirement ceremony (c. 2001)Daihisho transitions to an MMA career after retirement from sumoDaihisho loses to fellow former rikishi, Sentoryu (c. 2006)
## **Sources**

* Daihisho Seiji Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Daihisho Seiji Rikishi Information