Kenko Satoshi

Kenko Satoshi - 剣晃 敏志 (born June 27, 1967 - March 10, 1998) was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Moriguchi, Osaka. He made his debut in November 1984 and last wrestled for Takadagawa stable. He reached the makuuchi division in July 1992 and has 2 special prizes as well as 2 kinboshi. His highest rank was komusubi and he died while as an active wrestler in March 1998.

## **Early Life**

Hoshimura Satoshi was born the second son of two brothers and his father was engaged in the textile industry. He lost his father at the age of two and was raised by his mother. He attended Niwakubo Junior High School and was a member of the school's judo club. He went on to attend Ashima High School, but dropped out in one year and worked as a part-time salesman. After this he was hospitalized for appendicitis surgery, and there he saw an invite for Takadagawa stable and decided to join the stable.

## **Career**

### **Early Career**

He made his debut in November 1984 and was given the shikona "Kenko" (剣晃). In his first tournament he produced a strong 6-1 record, but missed out on the jonokuchi yusho after losing the playoff. He was promoted to sandanme in September 1986 and makushita in May 1988. In January 1991 he produced a 5-2 record at the rank of makushita 3 and was promoted to juryo in March 1991.

### **Juryo Career**

Kenko only managed five wins in his sekitori debut and was demoted back down to makushita. He immediately returned to juryo after one tournament in makushita. In his return he posted three consecutive winning records and was promoted to makuuchi in July 1992.

### **Makuuchi Career**

His first tournament in the top makuuchi division was in July 1992. Scoring only three wins there he fell back to juryo, but reappeared in makuuchi in March 1993. He reached his highest rank of komusubi in May 1995. He fell back to maegashira 4 in July but turned in a strong 11-4 record, defeating yokozuna Akebono and returning to komusubi in September 1995. He also defeated yokozuna Takanohana in May 1996, the only wrestler to do so in that tournament.

## **Illness and Death**

Kenko suffered from multiple health issues throughout his career. In May 1995, he made his san'yaku debut, but had a high fever throughout the tournament. He finished with a 5-10 record in that tournament and did not pull out. He continued to wrestle in the mid maegashira ranks while suffering from gout.

In November 1996, he suffered a fever and anemia from an unknown cause. He was forced to participate in the tournament while he continued his infusion therapy. In March 1997 he had a sudden decrease in weight and he fell down to 120 kg. In May of the same year he mustered out an 8-7 record, but this was his last appearance on the dohyo.

Kenko was urgently admitted to a hospital in Osaka after the May 1997 tournament. In July of the same year, he withdrew for the first time in his career and the reason for his withdrawal was "fever of unknown origin". He continued to sit out all the way to March 1998 where he fell down to the rank of makushita 55. At this time, his disease was revealed to be pancytopenia caused by an extremely rare form of leukemia (only four previous cases had ever been reported in Japan).

In February 1998, Kenko was discharged from the hospital temporarily to spend time with his family. In March 1998, his condition worsened and on March 7th he fell into unconsciousness. He died on 10 March, from a pulmonary embolism.

## **Fighting Style**

Kenko favoured techniques involving grabbing the opponent's mawashi, or yotsu-sumo. His favorite grip was hidari-yotsu, with his right hand outside and left hand inside his opponent's arms. His most common winning kimarite was yorikiri, a straightforward force out, followed by uwatenage (overarm throw) and yoritaoshi (force out and down).

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 411-410-59/821 (81 basho)
* **Makuuchi:** 181-224-15/405 (28 basho)
* **Juryo:** 79-71-30/150 (12 basho)
* **Makushita:** 63-49-14/112 (18 basho)
* **Sandanme:** 43-34/77 (11 basho)
* **Jonidan:** 39-31/70 (10 basho)
* **Jonokuchi:** 6-1/7 (1 basho)

### **Achievements**

* **Special Prizes:** Fighting Spirit Prize (1), Outstanding Performance Prize (1)
* **Kinboshi:** 2: (1) Takanohana, (1) Akebono

## **Shikona History**

* Hoshimura Satoshi (1984.11 - 1984.11)
* Kenko Satoshi (1985.01 - 1998.03)

## **Record**

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

Kenko Satoshi - 1996 (Retrieved from the JSA)Kenko's tegata
### **Career Overview**

Kenko's early career in the unsalaried ranks (c. 1991)Kenko in Juryo (c. 1991)Kenko serves as Yokozuna Akebono's sword bearer (c. 1994)Kenko after promotion to Komusubi (c. 1995)Kenko with his sansho prize (c. 1995)Kenko's tomb (c. 2014)
## **Sources**

* Kenko Satoshi Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Kenko Satoshi Rikishi Information