Takamifuji Hideki

Takamifuji Hideki - 高見藤 英希 (born May 15, 1980) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Wake, Okayama. He made his debut in March 2004 and wrestled for Azumazeki stable. He reached the juryo division in March 2007. His highest rank was juryo 13 and he retired in July 2007.

## **Early Life**

Hideki Yokoyama was born in the city of Kurashiki in Okayama Prefecture before moving to the town of Wake. He was a devoted practitioner of Judo in junior high school before transitioning to sumo after participating in a local tournament.

He caught the attention of Minoru Tadokoro who was the director of the sumo club at Okayama Rika Daigaku Fuzoku Junior High School and joined the school's sumo club. After he enrolled at Buntoku Gakuen Gymnasium in Kumamoto Prefecture and in his third year, he won the high school sumo championship. After high school, he enrolled at Toyo University and was a member of the school's sumo club. In 2002, he acquired the college yokozuna title due to his amateur accomplishments. This qualified him for makushita tsukedashi. After graduating from college, instead of joining professional sumo, he got a job in public services. Nonetheless, he joined Azumazeki stable in March 2004.

## **Career**

### **Early Career**

Yokoyama debuted at the rank of makushita 15 due to his makushita tsukedashi status. He was given the shikona "Takamifuji" (高見藤). He posted two winning records from his debut and was promoted to the rank of makushita 2 in July 2004. He wrestled mainly in the top levels of makushita and consistently wrestled against juryo-ranked wrestlers. In January 2007, Takamifuji produced a 5-2 record at the rank of makushita 2 which earned him a promotion to the juryo division for the March 2007 tournament.

### **Juryo Career**

Takamifuji was the first sekitori from Okayama prefecture since Otaka in 1987. He could only manage six wins in his debut and was demoted back down to makushita. He immediately returned to juryo after posting a winning record in May 2007. However, he was recommended to retire prior to his return to juryo.

## **Retirement from Sumo**

Takamifuji had a gambling addiction to pachinko and had borrowed millions of yen from his support groups to support his gambling addiction. Realizing that he was heavily in debt, Takamifuji relied on his juryo salary to eventually pay off his debts. However, when his stablemaster Azumazeki oyakata found out they got into a heated argument due to Azumazeki oyakata's heavy dislike of gambling. After the argument, Takamifuji left the stable and Azumazeki oyakata offered to pay the debt, but Takamifuji made it clear that his intention was to retire. His retirement papers were submitted on June 18th, 2007.

## **Fighting Style**

Takamifuji was an oshi-sumo specialist, preferring pushing and thrusting techniques. The Sumo Association lists tsuppari, a series of rapid thrusts to the chest, as his favorite. His most common winning kimarite was hatakikomi, or slap down.

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 81-66-1/146 (20 basho)
* **Juryo:** 6-9/15 (1 basho)
* **Makushita:** 75-57-1/131 (19 basho)

## **Gallery**

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

Takamifuji Hideki - 2007 (Retrieved from the JSA)Takamifuji's tegata
### **Career Overview**

Takamifuji (top right) during his college sumo days (c. 2001)Takamifuji gets recruited into Azumazeki stable (c. 2004)Takamifuji during his unsalaried days (c. 2006)Takamifuji after promotion to Juryo (c. 2007)Takamifuji gets presented with his kesho-mawashi (c. 2007)Takamifuji defeats Hokutoiwa (c. 2007)Azumazeki oyakata announces Takamifuji's retirement (c. 2007)
## **Sources**

* Takamifuji Hideki Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Takamifuji Hideki Rikishi Information