Asanowaka Itsuki

Asanowaka Itsuki - 朝乃若 樹 (born June 22, 1995) is a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Sado, Niigata. He made his debut in March 2018 and currently wrestles for Takasago stable. He reached the juryo division in November 2021. His highest rank as of 2023 is juryo 4.

## **Early Life**

Born in Niigata prefecture, Terasawa was introduced to sumo by his grandfather and began sumo wrestling during his second year at Sado Shiritsu Kanai Elementary School.

For junior high school, he studied abroad at Kanazawa Shiritsu Naruwa Junior High School in Ishikawa prefecture. During his third year of junior high school, Terasawa and his school won the National Junior High School Championship in the group competition and he was the runner-up for the individual competition. He went on to attend Kanazawa Municipal Technical High School and continued to wrestle at the national level. After graduating high school, he considered to directly enter professional sumo, but was not confident with his current skill level and opted to wrestle at the collegiate level.

He enrolled at Toyo University and was a member of the school's sumo club. He did not achieve notable results until his fourth year where he was ranked at the top 16 for the National Student Sumo Championship and the All Japan Sumo Championship.

## **Career**

### **Early Career**

In his third year of college he was given an offer by Wakamatsu Oyakata (former maegashira Asanowaka) who is a coach at Takasago stable. After graduating college, Terasawa joined Takasago stable and made his debut in March 2018. Since he did not qualify for any special dispensation, he made his debut at the bottom of the banzuke. In his second tournament in May 2018, Terasawa suffered a herniated disc and subsequently withdrew from the tournament. He underwent surgery in June and sat out of three consecutive tournaments. As a result, he fell off the banzuke and had to redo maezumo (pre-sumo) in January 2019.

Upon returning, he won the jonokuchi yusho with a perfect 7-0 record and was promoted to jonidan for the following May 2019 tournament. In this tournament, he missed out on the jonidan yusho after losing to up-and-comer Tochikamiyama in his final match to finish with a 6-1 record. Nevertheless, he claimed the sandanme yusho in the following July 2019 tournament and was promoted to makushita in September 2019. Terasawa won the makushita yusho in September 2020 and was promoted to the rank of makushita 4 in November 2020. In this tournament, Terasawa missed out on a juryo promotion after losing to juryo-ranked Takagenji to finish with a 3-4 record. In September 2021, Terasawa posted a 5-2 record at the top of makushita and was promoted to juryo in November 2021.

### **Juryo Career**

Upon reaching the elite sekitori status, Terasawa personally asked Wakamatsu Oyakata (former maegashira Asanowaka) for his shikona as he "Did good sumo with all his heart and had few injuries". He finished his juryo debut with a strong 10-5 record. Asanowaka remained in juryo for a year, reaching as high as juryo 4 in March 2022. Asanowaka caught COVID-19 on August 29, 2022, and had to miss the upcoming September 2022 tournament. As a result, he was demoted back down to makushita for the November 2022 tournament.

## **Personal Life**

* In July 2020, Asanowaka's training mawashi was stolen while it was drying outside his stable. To make matters worse, a talisman containing the ashes of his dead pet rabbit was hidden in the mawashi. The culprit was never found. Asanowaka went on to win the makushita yusho in the following September 2020 tournament.

## **Fighting Style**

Asanowaka is 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 is oshidashi (push out), followed by tsukiotoshi (thrust down). He also regularly employs henka, or sidestepping at the initial charge.

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 132-101-25/232 (32 basho)
* **Juryo:** 41-35-14/75 (6 basho)
* **Makushita:** 64-62/126 (18 basho)
* **Sandanme:** 13-1/14 (2 basho)
* **Jonidan:** 6-1/7 (1 basho)
* **Jonokuchi:** 8-2-11/10 (3 basho)

### **Championships**

* 1 **Makushita** Championship (September 2020)
* 1 **Sandanme** Championship (July 2019)
* 1 **Jonokuchi** Championship (March 2019)

## **Shikona History**

* Terasawa Itsuki (2018.03 - 2021.09)
* Asanowaka Itsuki (2021.11 - )

## **Gallery**

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

Asanowaka Itsuki - 2022 (Retrieved from the JSA)Asanowaka Itsuki - 2021 (Retrieved from the JSA)Asanowaka Itsuki - 2021 (Retrieved from the JSA)Asanowaka's Tegata
### **Career Overview**

Terasawa joins Takasago stable (c. 2018)Terasawa wins the Makushita Yusho (c. 2020)Terasawa ensures promotion to Juryo (c. 2021)Terasawa reveals his new shikona of Asanowaka (c. 2021)Asanowaka after promotion to Juryo (c. 2021)Asanowaka returns to his hometown (c. 2021)Asanowaka presented with his kesho-mawashi (c. 2021)Asanowaka throws Yago (c. 2021)Asanowaka prepares for his upcoming match (c. 2021)Asanowaka defeats Daishoho (c. 2022)Asanowaka defeats Mudoho (c. 2023)
## **Sources**

* Asanowaka Itsuki Japanese WIkipedia Article
* Asanowaka Itsuki Rikishi Information