Kotokuni Akimasa

Kotokuni Akimasa - 琴国 晃将 (born July 10, 1978) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Maniwa, Okayama. He made his debut in March 1994 and wrestled for Sadogatake stable. He reached the juryo division in January 2009. His highest rank was juryo 4 and he retired in January 2014.

## **Early Life**

Sakuta was born and raised in the town of Katsuyama (current-day Maniwa) in Okayama Prefecture. In 1993 he was scouted by the 53rd yokozuna Kotozakura to join professional sumo. He joined Sadogatake stable in March 1994 upon graduation from Katsuyama Junior High School and was given the shikona "Kotosakuta" (琴作田).

## **Career**

### **Early Career**

Kotosakuta gradually rose through the ranks of the lower divisions. He was promoted to sandanme in July 1996 and makushita in March 2000. He changed his shikona to "Kotokuni" (琴国) two tournaments prior to his makushita debut. He steadily climbed the ranks of makushita and rose as high as makushita 16 by the end of 2001. However, he fell back down to sandanme in May 2002. He returned immediately and was promoted to makushita 6 by January 2004. In January 2005 he was ranked at makushita 3, but he could only manage one win in this tournament.

In November 2008, Kotokuni defeated Fukuoka (future Okinoumi) to finish with a 7-0 record which secured him a promotion to juryo since he was ranked at the top quarter of makushita. In addition, he defeated Sensho in a playoff to win the makushita yusho.

### **Juryo Career**

It took Kotokuni 89 tournaments (roughly 15 years) to become a sekitori and it was the second slowest progression in sumo history. He made his debut in the January 2009 tournament where he produced a strong 9-6 record. He followed this with another 9-6 record which promoted him to a career-best juryo 4 for the May 2009 tournament. In this tournament he finished with a poor 3-12 record and followed with a disastrous 1-14 record which regulated him back to makushita in September 2009.

### **Later Career**

After losing sekitori status, Kotokuni competed mainly in the mid-levels of makushita. By the end of 2012, Kotokuni made it back to the top-levels of makushita and was quite close to regaining his sekitori status. In March 2013, Kotokuni was ranked at makushita 3 and defeated juryo wrestler Sensho which placed his record at 3-3. Sadly, he lost to Kimurayama on the last day to finish with a 3-4. In July 2013, Kotokuni was ranked at makushita 5, but lost to Takanoyama on the last day to finish with a 3-4.

## **Retirement from Sumo**

Kotokuni underwent surgery in late August 2013 at a hospital in Tokyo and subsequently pulled out of the September 2013 tournament. As a result, his rank significantly dropped and he announced his retirement after the January 2014 tournament after a fall back to sandanme was guaranteed. His danpatsu-shiki, or retirement ceremony, and wedding reception was held on April 27th, 2013, at the Hotel East 21 Tokyo.

He currently resides in Takarazuka, Hyogo.

## **Fighting Style**

Kotokuni's favored techniques are hidari-yotsu (a right hand outside, left hand inside grip on the opponent's mawashi), yori (forcing) and oshi (pushing). His most common winning kimarite are straightforward: yorikiri (force out) and oshidashi (push out).

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 435-414-9/849 (119 basho)
* **Juryo:** 22-38/60 (4 basho)
* **Makushita:** 272-258-9/530 (77 basho)
* **Sandanme:** 78-69/147 (21 basho)
* **Jonidan:** 54-44/98 (14 basho)
* **Jonokuchi:** 9-5/14 (2 basho)

### **Championships**

* 1 **Makushita** Championship (November 2008)

### **Achievements**

* **Record:** 2nd slowest progress to the juryo division (89)

## **Shikona History**

* Kotosakuta Yukihiro (1994.03 - 1999.09)
* Kotokuni Akimasa (1999.11 - 2014.01)

## **Gallery**

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

Kotokuni Akimasa - 2009 (Retrieved from the JSA)Kotokuni's tegata
### **Career Overview**

Kotokuni serves as Kotonowaka's tsukebito (c. 1998)Kotokuni celebrates Kotooshu's Ozeki promotion (c. 2005)Kotokuni celebrates Kotomitsuki's Ozeki promotion (c. 2007)Kotokuni ensures promotion to Juryo at age 30 (c. 2008)Kotokuni after promotion to Juryo (c. 2008)Kotokuni during the juryo dohyo-iri (c. 2009)Kotokuni defeats Hoshihikari (c. 2009)Kotokuni after wrestling his final match (c. 2014)Kotokuni's retirement ceremony (c. 2014)
## **Sources**

* Kotokuni Akimasa Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Kotokuni Akimasa Rikishi Information