Saigo Kazuyoshi

Saigo Kazuyoshi - 彩豪 一義 (born September 7, 1975 - April 6, 2019) was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Omiya, Saitama. He made his debut in March 1991 and wrestled for Nakamura stable. He reached the juryo division in November 1995. His highest rank was juryo 5 and he retired in January 2005.

## **Early Life**

Kazuyoshi Sumiya was born in Omiya (currently Nishi ward in Saitama city), Saitama. He practiced sumo form a young age and also played basketball and volleyball. After graduating junior high school, he joined Nakamura stable and made his professional debut in March 1991.

## **Career**

### **Early Career**

Sumiya posted a strong 6-1 record in his first tournament. He was promoted to sandanme in May 1992 and makushita in September 1993. He was praised by his stablemaster because he was a diligent trainer and would always volunteer to additional strength training. Because of this, he was expected to become a sekitori from very early on in his career. In September 1995, he was ranked at makushita 6 and he produced a 6-1 record and was promoted to juryo in the following November 1995 tournament.

### **Juryo Career**

At the time of promotion, he had just turned 20 and he changed his shikona to "Saigo" (彩豪), but he could only manage 6 wins in his juryo debut. He was demoted back down to makushita but returned to sekitori status immediately. Upon his return, Saigo posted a strong 11-4 record, but he missed out on the yusho after losing to Kyokushuzan in the playoff. Nevertheless, he was promoted to his highest rank of juryo 5 in the following May tournament. However, Saigo was plagued with injuries and he eventually fell down to makushita in May 1997. He managed to return back to juryo for three tournaments, but was regulated back to makushita by January 1998.

### **Later Career**

Saigo suffered hernias on his right elbow and back and never managed to return to juryo. In September 1999, Saigo produced a 6-1 record and was placed in a six-man playoff where he defeated Furuichi and future yokozuna Asashoryu in the final round to take the makushita yusho. However, Saigo continued to struggle in the upper tiers of makushita. He eventually fell back down to sandanme in May 2003 and reverted back to "Sumiya", his surname.

## **Retirement from Sumo**

He announced his retirement after the January 2005 tournament after a heart defect was detected. After retiring, he worked for his parent's construction company, before establishing his own in 2010. His company is called "Sumi Home Planning" (墨ホーム企画) and it focuses on general construction and remodeling, restaurant planning and management, and event planning.

He also works in public relations for the Saitama jungyo and operates a YouTube channel to promote his work. Prior to his death, Saigo had just started his 100 dohyo project, to provide dohyo to primary schools and sumo clubs all over the country, the first was installed this February in Saitama city. The members of his company want to continue with that work.

### **Death**

In the morning of April 6, 2019, Saigo collapsed in his office in Taito, Tokyo, and was taken to the nearest hospital where he died. His cause of death was listed as a heart attack from arrhythmia. His funeral was held on April 15th, and his widow was the chief mourner.

## **Personal Life**

* Saigo's hobbies are magic tricks, cycling, and darts.
* In 2014, it was revealed that he suffered from hip osteoarthritis and had trouble walking. In February 2018, he underwent surgery for an artificial hip joint and documented his recovery on YouTube. In August 2018, he posted a video showing that he no longer required a cane to walk.

## **Fighting Style**

Saigo was a tsuki/oshi specialist, who prefers pushing and thrusting at his opponents rather than fighting on the mawashi or belt. His most common winning kimarite or technique was oshidashi or a straightforward push out.

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 345-317-7/662 (84 basho)
* **Juryo:** 75-90/165 (11 basho)
* **Makushita:** 205-187-7/392 (57 basho)
* **Sandanme:** 39-24/63 (9 basho)
* **Jonidan:** 20-15/35 (5 basho)
* **Jonokuchi:** 6-1/7 (1 basho)

### **Championships**

* 1 **Makushita** Championship (September 1999)

## **Shikona History**

* Sumiya Kazuyoshi (1991.03 - 1995.09)
* Saigo Kazuyoshi (1995.11 - 2003.03)
* Sumiya Kazuyoshi (2003.05 - 2005.01)

## **Gallery**

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

Saigo Kazuyoshi - 1997 (Retrieved from the JSA)Saigo's tegata
### **Career Overview**

Sumiya becomes Saigo upon Juryo promotion (c. 1995)Saigo celebrates promotion to Juryo (c. 1995)Saigo (c. 1996)Saigo (c. 1997)Saigo's charity to help construct 100 dohyos (c. 2019)Saigo's funeral service (c. 2019)
## **Sources**

* Saigo Kazuyoshi Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Saigo Kazuyoshi Rikishi Information