Kotoiwakuni Takeshi

Kotoiwakuni Takeshi - 琴岩国 武士 (born October 21, 1972) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Iwakuni, Yamaguchi. He made his debut in March 1988 and wrestled for Sadogatake stable. He reached the juryo division in September 1999. His highest rank was juryo 12 and he retired in September 2004.

## **Career**

### **Early Career**

Fujimoto joined Sadogatake stable and made his professional debut in March 1988. He initially wrestled under the shikona "Kotofujimoto" (琴藤本), before switching to "Kotoiwakuni" (琴岩国) in July 1997. He was promoted to sandanme in March 1990 and he won the sandanme yusho in March 1991 which earned him a promotion to makushita in the following May tournament. However, he did not establish himself in makushita until November 1994. He was promoted to the rank of makushita 1 on three separate occasions before his juryo promotion, but he never managed a winning record in this rank. In July 1999, he was ranked at makushita 2 and produced a 5-2 record which earned him a promotion to juryo in the following September tournament.

### **Juryo Career**

Kotoiwakuni could only managed four wins in his juryo debut and was demoted back down to makushita. He returned to juryo in July 2000. In this tournament, he lost his last two matches and finished with a losing record and as a result he was demoted back down to makushita. He made his last juryo appearance in July 2003 where he posted a 5-10 record.

## **Retirement from Sumo**

Kotoiwakuni announced his retirement after the September 2004 tournament. After retirement he was briefly employed at a food and beverage company based in Tokyo. He then worked as an apprentice for former stablemate Kotoasaki's restaurant in Osaka. He also worked as an apprentice for the restaurant "Kotosho" (琴勝) in Yanagawa, Fukuoka. He returned back to his hometown Iwakuni, and opened up his own chankonabe restaurant called "Kotoiwakuni" (琴岩国).

## **Fighting Style**

Kotoiwakuni 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 (force out) and hatakikomi (slap down). He was also fond of employing sukuinage (beltless arm throw)

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 367-333-18/699 (100 basho)
* **Juryo:** 16-29/45 (3 basho)
* **Makushita:** 247-228-16/474 (70 basho)
* **Sandanme:** 52-37-2/89 (13 basho)
* **Jonidan:** 43-34/77 (11 basho)
* **Jonokuchi:** 9-5/14 (2 basho)

### **Championships**

* 1 **Sandanme** Championship (March 1991)

## **Shikona History**

* Fujimoto Takeshi (1988.03 - 1988.03)
* Kotofujimoto Takeshi (1988.05 - 1997.05)
* Kotoiwakuni Takeshi (1997.07 - 2004.09)

## **Gallery**

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

Kotoiwakuni Takeshi - 1999 (Retrieved from the JSA)Kotoiwakuni's tegata
### **Career Overview**

Kotoiwakuni's early career in the unsalaried ranksKotoiwakuni after promotion to Juryo (c. 1999)Kotoiwakuni during the Juryo dohyo-iri (c. 2000)Kotoiwakuni (c. 2000)Kotoiwakuni outside his restaurant after retirement (c. 2018)
## **Sources**

* Kotoiwakuni Takeshi Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Kotoiwakuni Takeshi Rikishi Information