Kotokanyu Motomasa

Kotokanyu Motomasa - 琴冠佑 源正 (born February 2, 1966) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Niikappu, Hokkaido. He made his debut in March 1981 and wrestled for Sadogatake stable. He reached the juryo division in January 1996. His highest rank was juryo 7 and he retired in September 2006.

## **Early Life**

Motomasa Nishio was born in Niikappu, Hokkaido, and his parents worked on a ranch. During his time at Niikappu Junior High School, Nishio belonged to the soccer club and had no experience with sumo wrestling. However, after graduating junior high school he joined Sadogatake stable.

## **Career**

### **Early Career**

He made his professional debut in March 1981 and initially wrestled under the shikona "Kotononada" (琴ノ洋). He was promoted to sandanme in March 1983 and makushita in September 1985. In the summer of 1990, Kotononada was riding his bike before he got into an accident with a motorcycle and broke his right thigh. As a result he had to sit out of three consecutive tournaments which resulted in a fall back down to jonidan. He returned to action in January 1991 and returned to makushita by September of the same year. He changed his shikona to"Kotokanyu" (琴冠佑) in March 1994. In November 1995, Kotokanyu was ranked at makushita 1 and he posted a 6-1 record which guaranteed him a promotion to juryo in January 1996.

### **Juryo Career**

The 89 tournaments it took Kotokanyu was the slowest progression to juryo at the time (it has since been passed by Dewanosato who took 114 tournaments). In his sekitori debut, he posted an 8-7 record, but followed with a disastrous 2-13 record which sent him back down to makushita. He returned to juryo for a total of 10 tournaments between 2000-2002. His highest rank was juryo 7 which he achieved in May 2001.

## **Retirement from Sumo**

### **Controversial Ikioi Altercation**

In September 2006, Kotokanyu lost a match to Ikioi by yoritaoshi (frontal crush down). He apparently objected to being slapped around the face (a legitimate tactic known as harite) by someone over twenty years his junior. After the match he punched Ikioi in the face at the dressing room. As a result, Sadogatake oyakata immediately recommended that Kotokanyu submit his retirement papers, which he agreed to. His danpatsu-shiki, or retirement ceremony, was held at Marriott Tokyo Ginza Hotel in Chuo, Tokyo. No one from Sadogatake stable attended his retirement ceremony.

### **After Retirement**

He currently works as a cook for an Izakaya restaurant in Sapporo, Hokkaido, called "Izakaya Kinboshi" (居酒屋きんぼし). The restaurant is popular for its chankonabe which Kotokanyu makes himself.

## **Personal Life**

* Kotokanyu got married in February 2001.
* Kotokanyu's hobby is fireworks.

## **Fighting Style**

Kotokanyu 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). However, his most common kimarite was oshidashi, or push out.

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 591-525-50/1115 (154 basho)
* **Juryo:** 67-98-15/165 (12 basho)
* **Makushita:** 375-324-14/698 (102 basho)
* **Sandanme:** 93-61-21/154 (25 basho)
* **Jonidan:** 51-40/91 (13 basho)
* **Jonokuchi:** 5-2/7 (1 basho)

### **Achievements**

* **Record:** **2nd** slowest progress to the juryo division (89 tournaments)

## **Shikona History**

* Kotononada Motomasa (1981.03 - 1994.01)
* Kotokanyu Motomasa (1994.03 - 2006.09)

## **Gallery**

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

Kotokanyu Motomasa - 2001 (Retrieved from the JSA)Kotokanyu's tegata
### **Career Overview**

Kotokanyu after promotion to Juryo (c. 1995)Kotokanyu leads Great Britain during the 1998 Nagano Olympics (c. 1998)Kotokanyu (c. 2000)Kotokanyu after a grueling training session (c. 2002)Kotokanyu converses with Sentoryu (c. 2003)Kotokanyu's retirement ceremony (c. 2006)Kotokanyu after retirement as a cook for Izakaya Kinboshi
## **Sources**

* Kotokanyu Motomasa Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Kotokanyu Motomasa Rikishi Information