Urutora Taro

Urutora Taro - 宇瑠寅 太郎 (born May 8, 1989) is a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Otawara, Tochigi. He made his debut in September 2010 and currently wrestles for Shikihide stable. His highest rank as of 2023 is jonidan 38.

## **Early Life**

After graduating from high school, Takahashi worked for a major company, however, he gradually grew tired of his job. He was later scouted and recruited by Shikihide Oyakata (former komusubi Oshio). He subsequently joined Shikihide stable and made his professional debut in September 2010 at the age of 21 years and 4 months.

## **Career**

He was given the shikona "Oshio" (櫻潮), which has the same pronunciation as his stablemaster's old shikona, but a different spelling. Weighing only 67 kg at the time of his debut he finished with a decent 2-2 record in maezumo (pre-sumo). At the time, he had no amateur sumo experience but made use of his judo background. By November 2011, his weight had dropped to 54.5 kg (120 Ib) but he increased it back to 60 kg by 2013 and it has since remained around the same. In November 2013 he was given the new shikona "Urutora Taro" (宇瑠寅 太郎) which is derived from the 1970s show *Ultraman Taro*.

Due to his extremely small frame, Urutora suffered many injuries during training, including frequent dislocations of his left shoulder. By July 2014, his left shoulder had deteriorated considerably and he underwent surgery after the tournament. He returned to sumo in May 2015 after a four tournament absence and had to redo maezumo (pre-sumo). Prior to the September 2015 tournament, Urutora dislocated his right shoulder and subsequently missed the next four tournaments. He returned to sumo in May 2016, however, prior to the November 2015 tournament Urutora suffered a fracture in his left leg and had to withdraw once again. He returned to sumo in July 2017 after another four tournament absence and in July 2018 he finished with his first and only 6-1 record and was promoted to a career-best jonidan 38 for the September 2018 tournament. In January 2019, Urutora required another surgery for his left shoulder and he subsequently missed the following three tournaments.

## **Fighting Style**

Due to his small frame, Urutora rarely hits his opponents at the tachi-ai, or initial charge, and would usually attempt to grab his opponent's mawashi while dodging their attacks. He makes use of his judo background and regularly employs throwing and twisting techniques. His most used kimarite are shitatenage (underarm throw) followed by ashitori (leg pick).

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 163-229-63/392 (70 basho)
* **Jonidan:** 92-160-35/252 (41 basho)
* **Jonokuchi:** 71-69-28/140 (24 basho)

## **Shikona History**

* Oshio Kodo (2010.09 - 2013.09)
* Urutora Taro (2013.11 - )

## **Gallery**

Urutora with his stable master, Shikihide Oyakata (c. 2013)Urutora defeats Ogata (c. 2013)Urutora prepares for his upcoming match (c. 2017)Urutora gets thrown by his much larger opponent (c. 2021)Urutora battles his much larger opponent (c. 2021)Urutora loses to fellow lightweight Byakuen (c. 2022)
## **Sources**

* Urutora Taro Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Urutora Taro Rikishi Information