Toyokuni Susumu

Toyokuni Susumu - 豊國 範 (born November 30, 1937) is a former Korean-born Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Nakatsu, Oita. He made his debut in May 1960 and wrestled for Tokitsukaze stable. He reached the makuuchi division in November 1961 and has 2 special prize as well as 7 kinboshi. His highest rank was komusubi and he retired in January 1968.

## **Early Life**

Otsuka was born in Heian-hoku Prefecture (currently North Pyongan Province, North Korea) in Korea under Japanese rule. Other sources list his birthplace as Shiga Prefecture. He later moved to Nakatsu, Oita, where he attended Nakatsu Minami High School where he was a member of the sumo club. He continued his amateur sumo career at Chuo University where he eventually became the captain of the school's sumo club.

## **Career**

### **Early Career**

After graduating college, he joined Tokitsukaze stable, led by the all-time great Futabayama. Due to his amateur accomplishments, he was granted makushita tsukedashi status which allowed him to make his debut at the bottom of the makushita division. He made his professional debut in May 1960 where he won the makushita yusho with a perfect 7-0 record. He was promoted to juryo in January 1961 after only four tournaments in the unsalaried ranks.

### **Juryo Career**

In his first tournament as a sekitori, he finished with a strong 10-5 record. In September 1961 he won the juryo yusho with a strong 12-3 record at the rank of juryo 3 and was promoted to makuuchi for the following November 1961 tournament.

### **Makuuchi Career**

Upon promotion to makuuchi, he changed his shikona from his surname to "Toyokuni" (豊國). In his third tournament in March 1962, Toyokuni finished with a 9-6 record at the rank of maegashira 2 and he was awarded the Fighting Spirit prize. In addition, he was promoted to komusubi for the May 1962 tournament, however, in his san'yaku debut he could only manage four wins and was demoted. This proved to be his only tournament ranked at the san'yaku level. Nevertheless, he had rather eventful career, obtaining seven kinboshi and the prestigious Technique prize in the January 1967 tournament.

## **Retirement from Sumo**

He fell down to juryo in January 1968 and after losing his first seven matches, he withdrew from the tournament and ultimately announced his retirement. He did not obtain any elder stock and left the sumo world completely.

After leaving the sumo world, he became a businessman and ran a chanko restaurant called "Chanko Toyokuni" (ちゃんこ豊国), a teahouse and a pub in Oita city. In addition, he is also the representative for "Toyokuni Co., Ltd." (有限会社豊国) which manages these businesses collectively.

Chanko Toyokuni closed in 2013.

## **Fighting Style**

Toyokuni was proficient in both yotsu-sumo (grappling) and oshi-sumo (pushing and thrusting) techniques. His favored grip on his opponent's mawashi was hidari-yotsu, a right hand outside, left hand inside position. His most often used winning kimarite was yorikiri (force out), followed by oshidashi (push out).

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 318-336-20/651 (47 basho)
* **Makuuchi:** 249-293-13/540 (37 basho)
* **Juryo:** 46-37-7/82 (6 basho)
* **Makushita:** 23-6/29 (4 basho)

### **Championships**

* 1 **Juryo** Championship (September 1961)
* 1 **Makushita** Championship (May 1960)

### **Achievements**

* **Special Prizes:** Fighting Spirit Prize (1), Technique Prize (1)
* **Kinboshi:** 7: (3) Taiho, (2) Sadanoyama, (1) Kashiwado, (1) Tochinoumi

## **Shikona History**

* Otsuka Susumu (1960.05 - 1961.09)
* Toyokuni Susumu (1961.11 - 1968.01)

## **Gallery**

Toyonokuni (left) gets his chonmage done (c. 1961)Toyokuni poses with his kesho-mawashi (c. 1967)
## **Sources**

* Toyokuni Susumu Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Toyokuni Susumu Rikishi Information