Nishikifuji Ryusei

Nishikifuji Ryusei - 錦富士 隆聖 (born July 22, 1996) is a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Towada, Aomori. He made his debut in September 2016 and currently wrestles for Isegahama stable. He reached the makuuchi division in July 2022 and has one special prize. His highest rank as of 2023 is maegashira 3.

## **Early Life**

Ogasawara began sumo wrestling during his third year at Sanbongi Elementary School in Towada, Aomori, and in his sixth year he was named top eight in the national tournament. While attending Towada Junior High School, Ogasawara was also named in the top eight for the National Junior High School Sumo Championship tournament.

He later attended Sanbongi Agriculture High School and in his third year he won third place at the national tournament. After graduating from high school, Ogasawara enrolled in Kinki University's Department of Business Administration. He was a regular member in team competitions at Kinki University, however, he decided to drop out in his second year and gain a head start in his sumo career. He decided to enter Isegahama stable alongside his college teammate, Midorifuji, who also dropped out from college.

## **Career**

### **Early Career**

Ogasawara made his professional debut in September 2016 and had a strong start. In his first jonokuchi tournament, Ogasawara won all seven matches and a playoff against stablemate Midorifuji for the jonokuchi yusho. Following this tournament, he changed his shikona from his family name to "Nishikifuji". The next tournament, Nishikifuji had an identical tournament, where he won all seven matches and a playoff against stablemate Midorifuji for the jonidan yusho. However, Nishikifuji would struggle in the following tournaments and wouldn't earn a promotion to makushita until November 2017.

Nishikifuji gradually rose the ranks of makushita and reached as high as makushita 3 in September 2019. However a muscle on his left elbow was torn during practice mid tournament, and Nishikifuji would pull out of the tournament. He underwent surgery on his left elbow on September 20th, 2019, and would sit out of the whole November tournament. He returned in the following tournament and was ranked near the bottom of makushita. Nishikifuji scored a 4-3 in his first tournament back and followed this with a perfect 7-0 record and the makushita yusho. This boosted him back up to makushita 3 and he defeated Chiyonoumi on the final day to finish with a 5-2 record and a promotion to the juryo division for the September 2020 tournament.

### **Juryo Career**

Nishikifuji performed well in the first half of the September 2020 tournament, however, he went on to lose the final five matches and finished with a losing record of 7-8. Nishikifuji luckily did not suffer any damage in rank, but struggled in the November 2020 tournament. In this tournament, Nishikifuji started out with 1-1 record by the second day, however he went on to lose the next ten matches and finished with a disastrous 3-12 tournament. As a result, he was demoted back down to makushita for the January 2021 tournament.

He returned to juryo in March 2021 after producing a 6-1 record in the previous tournament at the rank of makushita 5. In September 2021, Nishikifuji finished with a strong 10-5 record and was promoted to a career-best rank of juryo 4 in November 2021. In the May 2022 tournament, Nishikifuji finished with an 11-4 record and won the juryo yusho.

### **Makuuchi Career**

After winning the juryo yusho, Nishikifuji was promoted to makuuchi for the following July 2022 tournament. He went on to get double-digit wins, finishing the basho with a 10-5 record. That same tournament he was granted a special prize, the Fighting Spirit prize, for finishing his debut in the top division with a strong winning record. During the May 2023 tournament, Nishikifuji injured the ligaments in his right leg and finished the tournament with a poor result. His condition did not improve as the July tournament of the same year approached, stating that he felt his participation was "forced".

## **Personal Life**

* Nishikifuji made his debut alongside college teammates Midorifuji and Uehara. They all dropped out of Kinki University during their second year to gain a head start in their sumo career. Nishikifuji and Midorifuji joined the same stable while Uehara joined Musashigawa stable. Nishikifuji and Midorifuji would make the salaried ranks, however, Uehara retired just three tournaments into his sumo career.
* Nishikifuji considers his elder stablemate, Aminishiki, to be a role model. The "nishiki (錦)" from his shikona is derived from the "nishiki" in Aminishiki's shikona. He served as Aminsihiki's tsukebito, or personal servant, until his retirement in 2019.
* He is married and announced on November 2023 that his wife had given birth to twins the previous month.

## **Fighting Style**

Nishikifuji is a yotsu-sumo wrestler who favors clinch fighting techniques as opposed to pushing and thrusting (oshi-sumo). His preferred grip on his opponent's mawashi or belt is hidari-yotsu, a right hand outside, left hand inside position. His favorite winning kimarite or technique is a straightforward yori-kiri, or force out. However, Nishikifuji also worked to develop his thrusts and pushes techniques. It has been noted that Nishikifuji has great difficulty maintaining his weight during tournaments, forcing him to take his weight gains more seriously. On his promotion to the rank of juryo he also communicated about his endurance work, which he considered weak and wished to strengthen.

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 236-200-10/435 (43 basho)
* **Makuuchi:** 62-73/135 (9 basho)
* **Juryo:** 76-74/150 (10 basho)
* **Makushita:** 68-41-10/108 (17 basho)
* **Sandanme:** 16-12/28 (4 basho)
* **Jonidan:** 7-0/7 (1 basho)
* **Jonokuchi:** 7-0/7 (1 basho)

### **Championships**

* 1 **Juryo** Championship (May 2022)
* 1 **Makushita** Championship (March 2020)
* 1 **Jonidan** Championship (January 2017)
* 1 **Jonokuchi** Championship (November 2016)

### **Achievements**

* **Special Prize:** Fighting Spirit Prize (1)

## **Shikona History**

* Ogasawara Ryusei (2016.09 - 2016.11)
* Nishikifuji Ryusei (2017.01 - )

## **Gallery**

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

Nishikifuji Ryusei - 2023 (Retrieved from the JSA)Nishikifuji Ryusei - 2022 (Retrieved from the JSA)Nishikifuji Ryusei - 2020 (Retrieved from the JSA)Nishikifuji Ryusei - 2020 (Retrieved from the JSA)Nishikifuji's Tegata
### **Career Overview**

Nishikifuji joins professional sumo (c. 2016)Nishikifuji wins the Jonokuchi Yusho (c. 2016)Nishikifuji defeats Tamashoho to win the Makushita Yusho (c. 2020)Nishikifuji ensures promotion to Juryo (c. 2020)Nishikifuji after promotion to Juryo (c. 2020)Nishikifuji celebrates promotion to Juryo (c. 2020)Nishikifuji throws and defeats Oki (c. 2020)Nishikifuji defeats Takagenji (c. 2021)Nishikifuji prepares for his upcoming match (c. 2022)Nishikifuji defeats Daiamami to win his first Juryo Yusho (c. 2022)Nishikifuji after promotion to Makuuchi (c. 2022)Nishikifuji defeats Chiyomaru (c. 2022)Nishikifuji with his first sansho prize (c. 2022)Nishikifuji throws and defeats Hiradoumi (c. 2023)
## **Sources**

* Nishikifuji Ryusei Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Nishikifuji Ryusei Rikishi Information