Amatsukaze Masao

Amatsukaze Masao - 天津風 征夫 (born December 1, 1937 - April 30, 2013) was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Monzen, Ishikawa. He made his debut in May 1955 and wrestled for Tokitsukaze stable. He reached the makuuchi division in January 1962. His highest rank was maegashira 3 and he retired in May 1967.

## **Early Life**

Miyanaga attended Monzen High School where he was a member of the sumo club and in his second year, he won the prefectural tournament. In the same year (1954), he participated in both the National High School Sumo Championships and the National Sports Festival of Japan. Due to his amateur accomplishments, he was recruited by Tokitsukaze stable and he soon dropped out of high school and joined professional sumo.

## **Career**

### **Early Career**

He made his professional debut in May 1955 and wrestled under his surname Miyanaga. He was promoted to sandanme in September 1956 and makushita in January 1958. In March 1961, he posted a 5-2 record at the rank of makushita 3 and was promoted to juryo in May 1961.

### **Juryo Career**

In his first tournament as a sekitori, Miyanaga finished with a strong 10-5 record. In September 1961, he produced a 12-3 record, but missed out on the yusho after losing to stablemate Otsuka in the playoff. Nevertheless, he followed with a 10-5 record and was promoted to makuuchi for the January 1962 tournament.

### **Makuuchi Career**

Upon promotion to makuuchi, he changed his shikona to "Amatsukaze" (天津風) which had been previously used by five rikishi. He could only manage a 5-10 record in his top division debut and was demoted back down to juryo. He returned immediately to makuuchi after winning the juryo yusho in March 1962. He was ranked in makuuchi for a total of 16 tournaments, reaching as high as maegashira 3 in September 1962. In May 1964 he sprained his right ankle and subsequently withdrew from the tournament. As a result he was demoted back down to juryo, but returned to makuuchi in November 1965 after winning his second juryo yusho. His last makuuchi appearance was in January 1966 and he announced his retirement after the May 1967 tournament.

## **Retirement from Sumo**

He left the sumo world upon retirement in May 1967. In September 1967, he opened up a chanko restaurant called "Amatsukaze" (天津風) in Kanazawa, Ishikawa. He later moved to Chiba prefecture to work as a salaryman for Yakult Honsha. However, he was forced to amputate both of his legs due to worsening diabetes which he struggled with since his active career. In his later years, he lived in a nursing care facility in Shika, Ishikawa.

### **Death**

He died in Ishikawa prefecture on April 30, 2013, at around 9:30 AM due to a heart attack. He was 75 years old.

## **Fighting Style**

Amatsukaze was a yotsu-sumo wrestler who prefers grappling to pushing and thrusting techniques. He favored a migi-yotsu (left hand outside, right hand inside) position when gripping his opponent's mawashi (belt). His most common kimarite was yorikiri, or force out.

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 381-368-33/748 (68 basho)
* **Makuuchi:** 96-133-11/228 (16 basho)
* **Juryo:** 149-151/300 (20 basho)
* **Makushita:** 90-69-3/159 (21 basho)
* **Sandanme:** 22-10-8/32 (5 basho)
* **Jonidan:** 18-5-9/23 (4 basho)
* **Jonokuchi:** 6-0-2/6 (1 basho)

### **Championships**

* 2 **Juryo** Championships
	+ 1st (March 1962)
	+ 2nd (July 1965)

## **Shikona History**

* Miyanaga Takezo (1955.05 - 1961.11)
* Amatsukaze Takezo (1962.01 - 1965.05)
* Amatsukaze Masao (1965.07 - 1967.05)

## **Gallery**

Amatsukaze during his time as "Miyanaga" (c. 1961)Amatsukaze (far right) wins his second juryo yusho (c. 1965)
## **Sources**

* Amatsukaze Masao Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Amatsukaze Masao Rikishi Information