Genki Shinnosuke

Genki Shinnosuke - 元亀 進之介 (born October 22, 1993) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Tosashimizu, Kochi. He made his debut in March 2016 and wrestled for Onomatsu stable. His highest rank was makushita 8 and he retired in September 2021.

## **Early Life**

Shinnosuke Takemasa was born in Tosashimizu, Kochi, to a family of civil servants. Due to the influence of his older brother, he began practicing sumo at the age of 3 at a local dojo. However, when he was in elementary school, he could not handle the tough training and decided to step away from the sport.

He resumed sumo wrestling at Tosashimizu Shiritsu Shimizu Junior High School and participated at the All-Japan Junior High School Sumo Tournament during his second year. After junior high school, he joined Saitama Sakae High School's powerhouse sumo program where he was teammates with the future Daieisho. In his second year, he won the group championship at the Kokutai Sumo Tournament and he won the All Japan Junior Championship during his third year. After graduating from high school, he enrolled at Meiji University where he placed 8th at the National Student Sumo Championship in his third year. After graduating from university, Takemasa had a job offer from a company, but he was unsatisfied with how his collegiate sumo career ended so he decided to try out professional sumo instead. He decided to join Onomatsu stable because of the stable's connections with Saitama Sakae.

## **Career**

He made his professional debut in March 2016 alongside Asanoyama, Yutakayama, and Churanoumi. He won the sandanme yusho in January 2017 with a perfect 7-0 record after defeating juryo-experienced Dairaido in his final match. He was promoted to makushita for the following March 2017 tournament and rose as high as makushita 8 in July 2017. However, in the July 2017 tournament, he finished with his first losing record and this proved to be his highest rank achieved.

In May 2018, he suffered a retinal detachment just before the tournament and had to withdraw from the tournament. He missed the subsequent July 2018 tournament and was demoted back down to sandanme. He returned to makushita in January 2019 and was given the shikona "Genki" (元亀) in July 2019.

## **Retirement from Sumo**

Genki retired from sumo in September 2021, citing that he could not train properly due to injuries he sustained during his career. After retiring he returned to Meiji University where he works as a coach for the sumo club while working in logistics as well.

## **Fighting Style**

Genki was an oshi-sumo wrestler who prefers pushing and thrusting techniques to fighting on the mawashi. His most common kimarite used was a straightforward oshidashi, or push out.

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 115-82-27/196 (33 basho)
* **Makushita:** 72-69-27/140 (24 basho)
* **Sandanme:** 32-10/42 (6 basho)
* **Jonidan:** 6-1/7 (1 basho)
* **Jonokuchi:** 5-2/7 (1 basho)

### **Championships**

* 1 **Sandanme** Championship (January 2017)

## **Shikona History**

* Takemasa Shinnosuke (2016.03 - 2019.05)
* Genki Shinnosuke (2019.07 - 2021.09)

## **Gallery**

Genki gets recruited into Onomatsu stable (c. 2016)Genki wins his first Sandanme Yusho (c. 2017)Genki throws and defeats the future Oho (c. 2018)Genki battles future Yokozuna Terunofuji (c. 2019)Genki prepares for his upcoming match (c. 2021)Genki's retirement ceremony (c. 2021)
## **Sources**

* Genki Shinnosuke Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Genki Shinnosuke Rikishi Information