Tochitsubasa Yuichi

Tochitsubasa Yuichi - 栃翼 祐一 (born October 3, 1980) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Tsuruta, Aomori. He made his debut in March 2003 and wrestled for Kasugano stable. His highest rank was makushita 4 and he retired in May 2012.

## **Early Life**

After graduating from Aomori Prefectural Kizukuri High School, Kagaya enrolled at Hosei University's Faculty of Business Administration. He was also a member of the school's sumo club. After graduating from Hosei University, Kagaya was initially hesitant to join professional sumo due to his small size but was later advised by komusubi Mainoumi, who attended the same high school as Kagaya, to join professional sumo. He subsequently joined Kasugano stable.

## **Career**

He made his professional debut in March 2003 and Kagaya got off to a strong start, winning his first fourteen matches and claiming the jonokuchi and jonidan championships. He was promoted to makushita in July 2004, but he finished with a 2-5 record in this tournament and was demoted back down to sandanme. In November 2004, he won all seven matches, but missed out on the sandanme yusho after losing to Yamamoto in a playoff. Nevertheless, he won the sandanme yusho in January 2007. In January 2008, he was given the shikona "Tochitsubasa" (栃翼). In November 2010, he was aiming for the makushita yusho and won his first six matches, however, he lost his final match to Minami. Nevertheless, he qualified for a six-man playoff for the makushita yusho where he defeated Chiyonokuni in the first round, but lost to Myogiryu in the final round. He reached a career-best makushita 4 in January 2012 where he finished with a 2-5 record.

## **Retirement from Sumo**

Tochitsubasa retried from sumo in May 2012, citing knee injuries as the main reason for retirement. After retiring, he works for a company in Tokyo which deals with baby products.

## **Personal Life**

* In 2004, he underwent surgery for a retinal detachment and has almost no visual acuity in his left eye. His right eye is also extremely nearsighted.
* Tochitsubasa wrestled a total of three matches in juryo but he lost all three of them. His opponents were Tamaasuka, Tsurugidake, and Shironoryu.

## **Fighting Style**

Tochitusbasa was a yotsu-sumo wrestler who prefers grappling to pushing and thrusting techniques. He was fond of employing twisting, tripping, and throwing techniques. His most common kimarite were shitatehineri (twisting underarm throw) and shitatenage (underarm throw).

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 196-149-33/343 (55 basho)
* **Makushita:** 130-124-26/252 (40 basho)
* **Sandanme:** 52-25-7/77 (12 basho)
* **Jonidan:** 7-0/7 (1 basho)
* **Jonokuchi:** 7-0/7 (1 basho)

### **Championships**

* 1 **Sandanme** Championship (January 2007)
* 1 **Jonidan** Championship (July 2003)
* 1 **Jonokuchi** Championship (May 2003)

## **Shikona History**

* Kagaya Yuichi (2003.03 - 2007.11)
* Tochitsubasa Yuichi (2008.01 - 2012.05)

## **Gallery**

Tochitsubasa prepares for his upcoming match (c. 2005)Tochitsubasa defeats Kizenryu by Utchari (c. 2010)Tochitsubasa's retirement ceremony (c. 2012)
## **Sources**

* Tochitsubasa Yuichi Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Tochitsubasa Yuichi Rikishi Information