Kaito Shota

Kaito Shota - 魁渡 頌胆 (born June 19, 1996) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Sado, Niigata. He made his debut in May 2012 and wrestled for Asakayama stable. His highest rank was makushita 5 and he retired in September 2020.

## **Early Life**

Hagiwara was born to a Thai mother and a Japanese father and he lived in Thailand until the fourth grade. He moved back to Japan during the fourth grade and he began participating in sumo wrestling at a local dojo in Sado, Niigata.

He then attended Sado Shiritsu Kanai Junior High School and was a member of the track and field club while continuing his sumo career on the side. He broke Sado city's shot put record during his time in junior high school. During his third year of junior high school, Hagiwara attended a professional wrestling event and one of the referees recommended him for sumo. The referee then contacted Tachihikari, a professional wrestler and former maegashira who belonged to Tomozuna stable. After that, he was contacted by Asakayama Oyakata (former ozeki Kaio) after Tachihikari recommended Hagiwara for professional sumo.

## **Career**

Hagiwara made his professional debut in May 2012 and was given the shikona "Kaito" (魁渡). He finished with a strong 6-1 record in his first professional tournament and rose up the rankings at a consistent pace. In February 2014, he transferred to Asakayama stable which was recently established by Asakayama Oyakata (former ozeki Kaio). He was promoted to makushita in May 2014, when he was still only 17, and he finished with a strong 6-1 record in his makushita debut. However, in January 2015, Kaito suffered a serious injury and he had to miss the following four tournaments which caused him to drop down to the lowest jonokuchi division.

He returned to sumo in November 2015 and in January 2016, he won the jonidan yusho with a perfect 7-0 record. He was promoted back to makushita in September 2016, however, after this his progression up the rankings stalled. In January 2020, Kaito won all seven matches to claim the makushita yusho. He was promoted to a career-best makushita 5 for the following March 2020 tournament. On the eighth day of the March 2020 tournament, Kaito fought a bout against juryo-ranked Akiseyama, however, he lost this match. He could only manage a 1-6 record in this tournament and retired shortly after in September 2020.

## **Retirement from Sumo**

Kaito retired from sumo in September 2020. According to Asakayama stable's instagram account, Kaito had been suffering from a hernia in his neck for the past two to three years. During his retirement ceremony, or danpatsu-shiki, Kaito indicated his intention to join the entertainment industry. He currently works for the YouTube channel "Piece of Cake" (ピースオブケイク) under the name Showtan.

## **Personal Life**

* Kaito was born to a Thai mother and a Japanese father and lived in Thailand up until the 4th grade. He speaks fluent Thai.
* Kaito's hobbies are darts, fishing, and listening to music.

## **Fighting Style**

Kaito was an oshi-sumo wrestler who prefers pushing and thrusting techniques to fighting on the mawashi. His most common kimarite used was a straightforward oshidashi, or push out.

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 176-138-29/314 (50 basho)
* **Makushita:** 100-95-8/195 (29 basho)
* **Sandanme:** 45-32-14/77 (13 basho)
* **Jonidan:** 20-8-7/28 (5 basho)
* **Jonokuchi:** 11-3/14 (2 basho)

### **Championships**

* 1 **Makushita** Championship (January 2020)
* 1 **Jonidan** Championship (January 2016)

## **Shikona History**

* Hagiwara Shota (2012.05 - 2012.05)
* Kaito Shota (2012.07 - 2020.09)

## **Gallery**

Kaito (right) gets recruited by Asakayama Oyakata (c. 2012)Kaito gets measured upon joining sumo (c. 2012)Kaito during his time in Maezumo (c. 2012)Kaito wins his first Jonidan Yusho (c. 2016)Kaito prepares for his upcoming match (c. 2017)Kaito loses to the future Oho (c. 2019)Kaito throws his opponent to win the Makushita Yusho (c. 2020)Kaito wins his first Makushita Yusho (c. 2020)Kaito's retirement ceremony (c. 2020)
## **Sources**

* Kaito Shota Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Kaito Shota Rikishi Information