Mutsuarashi Yukio

Mutsuarashi Yukio - 陸奥嵐 幸雄 (born January 12, 1943 - July 30, 2002) was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Tohoku, Aomori. He made his debut in September 1961 and last wrestled for Miyagino stable. He reached the makuuchi division in March 1967 and has five special prizes as well as two kinboshi. His highest rank was sekiwake and he retired in March 1976.

## **Early Life**

Minami was born the fourth son of a farmer in the town of Katchi (currently Tohoku) in Aomori prefecture. After graduating from junior high school, he moved to Tokyo and got a job at a gas station. In the fall of 1960 he was seriously injured in a traffic accident and subsequently moved back to his hometown. He later moved back to Tokyo and became a truck driver. One of his customers was Miyagino stable and he regularly stopped by to make deliveries. One day as he was unloading luggage from his truck into the stable, a makushita wrestler Senba approached him and recommended that he tried sumo. Minami immediately agreed and made his professional debut in September 1961.

## **Career**

### **Early Career**

He initially wrestled under his surname before changing his shikona to "Mutsuarashi" (陸奥嵐) in 1963. Although he had no experience in sumo he was three years older than most opponents and was able to overpower them. He was promoted to sandanme in May 1962 and makushita in July 1963. In September 1965 he won the makushita yusho with a perfect 7-0 record at the rank of makushita 11 and was promoted to juryo for the following November 1965 tournament.

### **Juryo Career**

In his first tournament as a sekitori, Mutsuarashi finished with an 8-7 record. In November 1966 he produced a 10-5 record and was promoted to the rank of juryo 4 where he won the juryo yusho with an 11-4 record. Moreover, he was promoted to makuuchi in the following March 1967 tournament.

### **Makuuchi Career**

In his first top division tournament, Mutsuarashi produced an outstanding 13-2 record and was runner-up to Kitanofuji's 14-1 yusho. He was awarded his first of four Fighting Spirit prizes as well. Four tournaments later he was promoted to komusubi, however, he never managed to produce a winning record while in the san'yaku ranks. His two career kinboshi came in 1968 where he defeated Taiho and Kashiwado. In July 1968 he finished with a 12-3 record and was runner-up to Kotozakura's 13-2 record. In addition, he was awarded both the Technique and Fighting Spirit prize. In January 1971, he posted a 12-3 record at the rank of maegashira 4 and was promoted to sekiwake in the following March 1971 tournament, however, this was the only time he was ranked as sekiwake. He fell down to juryo in November 1974 and ultimately announced his retirement after the March 1976 tournament.

## **Retirement from Sumo**

After retiring, he remained in the Sumo Association as an elder under the name Ajigawa. He briefly worked as a coach for Miyagino stable before transferring to the affiliated Tomozuna stable in January 1977. He founded Ajigawa stable in 1979, although he was forced to retire early from the Japan Sumo Association in 1993 due to poor health and was succeeded by ex-yokozuna Asahifuji.

### **Death**

He died on July 30, 2002, at the age of 59 due to a stroke.

## **Controversy**

### **Gang Altercation**

In 1976, Mutsuarashi and Shiratayama got into an altercation with a leader of gang which lead to members of the gang firing into the ceiling. As a result, Shiratayama and Mutsuarashi were subsequently punished by the Japan Sumo Association with a 10% reduction to their salary for three months.

## **Fighting Style**

Mutsuarashi was a yotsu-sumo wrestler who prefers grappling to pushing and thrusting techniques. He favored a hidari-yotsu (right hand outside, left hand inside) position when gripping his opponent's mawashi (belt). His most common kimarite was tsuridashi, or lift out. He also regularly employed kawazugake, or hooking backward counter throw.

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 557-551-5/1106 (88 basho)
* **Makuuchi:** 375-417-3/791 (53 basho)
* **Juryo:** 79-69-2/147 (10 basho)
* **Makushita:** 51-33/84 (12 basho)
* **Sandanme:** 37-26/63 (9 basho)
* **Jonidan:** 10-4/14 (2 basho)
* **Jonokuchi:** 5-2/7 (1 basho)

### **Championships**

* 1 **Juryo** Championship (January 1967)
* 1 **Makushita** Championship (September 1965)

### **Achievements**

* **Special Prizes:** Fighting Spirit Prize (4), Technique Prize (1)
* **Kinboshi:** 2: (1) Taiho, (1) Kashiwado

## **Shikona History**

* Minami Yukio (1961.09 - 1962.11)
* Mutsuarashi Yukio (1963.01 - 1976.03)

## **Gallery**

Mutsuarashi after promotion to Makuuchi (c. 1967)Mutsuarashi with his first of many sansho prizes (c. 1967)Mutsuarashi after promotion to Komusubi (c. 1967)Mutsuarashi poses with his kesho-mawashi (c. 1976)Mutsuarashi after retirement as Ajigawa Oyakata (c. 1982)Mutsuarashi's tegata
## **Sources**

* Mutsuarashi Yukio Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Mutsuarashi Yukio Rikishi Information