Masutsuyoshi Nobuyuki

Masutsuyoshi Nobuyuki - 増健 亘志 (born January 22, 1974) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Kochi City, Kochi Prefecture. He made his debut in January 1996 and wrestled for Mihogaseki stable. He reached the juryo division in March 1998. His highest rank was juryo 6 and he retired in January 2011.

## **Early Life**

Yanagawa initially played baseball before transitioning to sumo in the 4th year of elementary school. During his third year at Kochi Shiritsu Nankai Junior High School, he won title of junior high school yokozuna. He continued his amateur career at Kochi Technical High School and Nihon University. In 1995, he won the title of college yokozuna in his 4th year.

## **Career**

### **Early Career**

After graduation, Yanagawa joined Mihogaseki stable and made his debut in January 1996 alongside college rivals, Tochinonada and Kaiho. Due to his amateur accomplishment, he was granted makushita tsukedashi status and he made his debut at the bottom of makushita. He initially wrestled under his surname Yanagawa before witching to Masutsuyoshi in September 1996. After six consecutive winning records, he was promoted to juryo in March 1998.

### **Juryo Career**

Masutsuyoshi produced a solid 9-6 record in his sekitori debut, but followed with a poor 4-11 record which sent him back down to makushita. He returned to juryo for one tournament in May 1999 where he posted a disastrous 3-12 record. He was promoted back to juryo in November 2000 where he could only finish with five wins. In March 2001, he was promoted to juryo for the fourth time and lasted five tournaments before returning to makushita in January 2002. He was promoted to juryo for a fifth time in July 2003 where he produced a strong 10-5 record and was promoted to a career-best juryo 6. However, he posted four consecutive losing records and was demoted back down to makushita in May 2004.

### **Later Career**

In November 2005 he reverted back to his surname Yanagawa. Even though he remained in makushita for the remainder of his career, he never managed to become a contender for a juryo re-promotion. The closest he got was in July 2007 where he was ranked at makushita 7, but he could only manage three wins at the tournament.

## **Retirement from Sumo**

Yanagawa announced his retirement after the January 2011 tournament at the age of 37. His danpatsu-shiki, or retirement ceremony, was held on February 12th, 2011, at the Ryogoku Kokugikan where 60 guests, including ozeki Baruto, took cuts at his chonmage. After retiring, he returned to Kochi Prefecture and currently works at a wholesale fishery company and coaches at a boy's sumo club.

## **Personal Life**

* In 2014, he married comedian Tamako (real name: Mizuko Sakaguchi).
* Masutsuyoshi's hobby is reading manga. His favorite food is yakiniku.

## **Fighting Style**

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

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 358-367-24/723 (91 basho)
* **Juryo:** 83-127/210 (14 basho)
* **Makushita:** 275-240-24/513 (77 basho)

## **Shikona History**

* Yanagawa Nobuyuki (1996.01 - 1996.07)
* Masutsuyoshi Nobuyuki (1996.09 - 2005.09)
* Yanagawa Nobuyuki (2005.11 - 2011.01)

## **Gallery**

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

Masutsuyoshi Nobuyuki - 2001 (Retrieved from the JSA)Masutsuyoshi Nobuyuki - 1998 (Retrieved from the JSA)Masutsuyoshi's tegata
### **Career Overview**

Masutsuyoshi was an elite collegiate sumo wrestlerMasutsuyoshi gets recruited into Mihogaseki stable (c. 1995)Masutsuyoshi gets measured upon joining professional sumo (c. 1995)Masutsuyoshi's first sumo tournament (c. 1996)Masutsuyoshi in Juryo (c. 2001)Masutsuyoshi battles Tamakasuga (c. 2003)Masutsuyoshi's later career after falling to the unsalaried ranksMasutsuyoshi's retirement ceremony (c. 2011)
## **Sources**

* Masutsuyoshi Nobuyuki Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Masutsuyoshi Nobuyuki Rikishi Information