Tochifudo Shuji

Tochifudo Shuji - 栃不動 周二 (born June 14, 1977) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Asaka, Saitama. He made his debut in March 1993 and last wrestled for Kasugano stable. He reached the juryo division in September 2003. His highest rank was juryo 12 and he retired in September 2012.

## **Early Life**

Shuji Fujiwara was born on June 14, 1977, in Asaka, Saitama. He began sumo wrestling when he was in elementary school, and although he belonged to the judo club in junior high school, he still practiced sumo. After graduating junior high school, he joined Kasugano stable in March 1993.

## **Career**

### **Early Career**

Fujiwara was given the shikona "Tochifudo" (栃不動), and in his third tournament he participated in a seven man jonokuchi playoff, but lost in the second round to his stablemate and brother Fujiwara (his brother ended up winning the yusho). This became a hot topic as it was the first time that two brothers faced off on the dohyo. He was promoted to sandanme in November 1995 and makushita in September 1996. In January 1998, Tochifudo won the sandanme yusho with a perfect 7-0 record and by the end of 1998, Tochifudo made it as high as makushita 3. In November 1999, Tochifudo suffered a retinal detachment and had to sit out for two straight tournaments. After two operations, he was ranked at the lower tier of sandanme, but he eventually returned to makushita and he was promoted to juryo in September 2003.

### **Juryo Career**

Tochifudo could only manage five wins in his juryo debut and was demoted back down to makushita. He immediately returned after posting a 5-2 record, but was again demoted back to makushita after another lackluster 5-10 record. Again, Tochifudo immediately regained promotion to juryo with a 4-3 record, but could only win four out of his fifteen matches and was demoted back down to makushita. This proved to be his last tournament as a sekitori.

### **Later Career**

In May 2005, Tochifudo fell down to jonidan after sitting out of three consecutive tournaments. Nevertheless, he returned to in November 2005. He remained mainly in makushita and sandanme for majority of his later career. In January 2012 he fell back down to jonidan after posting a 1-6 record in November 2011.

## **Retirement from Sumo**

Tochifudo announced his retirement after sitting out of the July 2012 tournament. He submitted his retirement papers after the tournament, but his name still appeared on the September 2012 banzuke. He was ranked in jonokuchi which is one of the lowest for former sekitori.

After retirement, he worked as a sumo coach for elementary school kids in Kashiwa, Chiba.

### **Family**

Tochifudo's older brother by two years, Shigeru, joined Kasugano stable in May 1992 and wrestled under their family name of "Fujiwara" (藤原). In September 1993, Fujiwara and Tochifudo participated in a playoff for the jonokuchi yusho and they faced off against each other in the second round where Fujiwara defeated Tochifudo by yorikiri. Fujiwara ended up winning the jonokuchi yusho. This became a hot topic because it is believed to be the first time that two brothers faced off on the dohyo. Fujiwara only made it to jonidan 36 and he retired in January 1995.

## **Fighting Style**

According to his Japan Sumo Association profile, Tochifudo's favored techniques are yori (forcing) and hidari-yotsu, a right hand outside, left hand inside position. His most common winning kimarite is a straightforward yorikiri or force out.

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 400-369-60/767 (116 basho)
* **Juryo:** 14-31/45 (3 basho)
* **Makushita:** 153-161-22/314 (48 basho)
* **Sandanme:** 162-118-28/280 (44 basho)
* **Jonidan:** 61-55-10/114 (18 basho)
* **Jonokuchi:** 10-4/14 (2 basho)

### **Championships**

* 1 **Sandanme** Championship (January 1998)

## **Shikona History**

* Fujiwara (1993.03 - 1993.03)
* Tochifudo Shuji (1993.05 - 2012.09)

## **Gallery**

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

Tochifudo Shuji - 2003 (Retrieved from the JSA)Tochifudo's tegata
### **Career Overview**

Tochifudo after promotion to juryo (c. 2003)Tochifudo prepares for his upcoming match (c. 2004)Tochifudo awaits for his upcoming match in makushita (c. 2007)
## **Sources**

* Tochifudo Shuji Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Tochifudo Shuji Rikishi Information