Narutoumi Kazuyuki

Narutoumi Kazuyuki - 鳴門海 一行 (born January 1, 1926 - June 19, 2010) was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Minamiawaji, Hyogo. He made his debut in May 1942 and last wrestled for Kasugano stable. He reached the makuuchi division in October 1949 and has two special prizes as well as three kinboshi. His highest rank was maegashira 1 and he retired in January 1961.

## **Early Life**

Kazuyuki Takeoka was born on New Year's Day in Mihara District, Hyogo, to a farming family. He was tall from an early age and was often driven to participate in local sumo tournaments which he usually won due to his outstanding skills. After graduating from high school, he worked at his family farm due to a labor shortage as his brother was serving in the Second World War. However, he was later recruited into Kasugano stable due to his amateur sumo experience.

## **Career**

### **Early Career**

He made his professional debut in May 1942 and initially wrestled under his surname "Takeoka" (武岡). He was promoted to sandanme in January 1944 and makushita in June 1945. Upon reaching makushita 1 in November 1946, Takeoka had not posted a single losing record since his debut, but in this tournament he finished with a 2-5 record. He was given the shikona "Narutoumi" (鳴門海) for the following June 1947 tournament and was promoted to juryo one tournament later in November 1947. Narutoumi finished with a solid 7-4 record in his first tournament as a sekitori. In January 1949, he won the juryo yusho with a strong 9-4 record. He followed with a 9-6 record in the following tournament and was promoted to makuuchi for the October 1949 tournament.

### **Makuuchi Career**

Despite never reaching the san'yaku ranks, Narutoumi was ranked in makuuchi for a total of 44 tournaments. In 1956, he defeated yokozuna Kagamisato in three consecutive tournaments, and was dubbed the "Kagamisato Killer" (鏡里キラー). Furthermore, he won a Technique prize in March 1953 and an Outstanding Performance prize in May 1956. He retired in January 1961 after a spell of bouncing back and forth between makuuchi and juryo.

## **Retirement from Sumo**

After retiring from sumo, Narutoumi remained in the sumo world as a coach for Kasugano stable under the name Takenawa. He reached the mandatory retirement age on December 31, 1990, and later worked as a coach for Keio University's sumo club.

### **Death**

He died on June 19, 2010, at the age of 84 due to heart failure. His death was not announced until January 13, 2011.

## **Fighting Style**

Narutoumi 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 (force out), followed closely by shitatenage (underarm throw). Narutoumi was one of the lightest wrestlers of his time, weighing 90 kg (198 Ib), and he was very enthusiastic about training.

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 414-447-4-2d/861 (65 basho)
* **Makuuchi:** 296-359-4-1d/654 (44 basho)
* **Juryo:** 83-67-1d/151 (11 basho)
* **Makushita:** 11-11/22 (4 basho)
* **Sandanme:** 12-6/18 (3 basho)
* **Jonidan:** 7-1/8 (1 basho)
* **Jonokuchi:** 5-3/8 (1 basho)

### **Championships**

* 1 **Juryo** Championship (January 1949)

### **Achievements**

* **Special Prizes:** Outstanding Performance Prize (1), Technique Prize (1)
* **Kinboshi:** (3) Kagamisato

## **Shikona History**

* Takeoka Kazuyuki (1942.05 - 1946.11)
* Narutoumi Kazuyuki (1947.06 - 1961.01)

## **Sources**

* Narutoumi Kazuyuki Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Narutoumi Kazuyuki Rikishi Information