Dewanokuni Masamitsu

Dewanokuni Masamitsu - 出羽の邦 真光 (born January 15, 1964) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Kawaguchi, Saitama. He made his debut in March 1979 and wrestled for Dewanoumi stable. He reached the juryo division in May 1988. His highest rank was juryo 3 and he retired in July 1990.

## **Early Life**

Abiru was born the eldest son to a electrical design office worker. He was a member of the basketball and track and field clubs at Kawaguchishi Ritsuhigashi Junior High School, but was invited by the sumo club to participate at a national sumo competition. There, he was scouted by former makushita wrestler Dewahikari and recruited into Dewanoumi stable.

## **Career**

He made his professional debut in March 1979 and was given the shikona "Dewanokuni" (出羽の邦). In November 1981, he finished with a perfect 7-0 record, but missed out on the jonidan yusho after losing to Kotokongo in a playoff. Nevertheless, he was promoted to sandanme in the following Janaury 1982 tournament and makushita in ay 1983. Dewanokuni remained in makushita for five years where he performed on a consistent, but unspectacular basis. In March 1988, he produced a 5-2 record at the rank of makushita 2 and was promoted to juryo in the following May 1988 tournament. He made his sekitori debut alongside Hidenohana.

Dewanokuni remained in juryo for a total of six tournaments. In November 1988, he recorded a career-best 10-5 performance and was promoted to the rank of juryo 3 in January 1989. However, after two losing records, including a 3-12 in March 1989, he was demoted back down to makushita in May 1989. He announced his retirement after the July 1990 tournament.

## **Retirement from Sumo**

* ***Disclaimer:** it was never confirmed whether Dewanokuni was actually the suspect for the bank robbery described below, but it very likely that he is as there are many overlapping quality's in both their profiles.*

### **Bank Robbery Suspect**

Not much is known about Dewanokuni after he retired. According to Yahoo News, on November 6th, 2018, a man with the name Yoshihito Abiru was arrested on suspicion of committing a robbery at a bank. The robbery happened at Johoku Shinkin Bank Iriya Toneri Branch in Adachi, Tokyo, at approximately 3:00 PM. According to witnesses, Abiru put his hand in his pocket and pretended to have a weapon as he threatened a female employee at the reception desk. He demanded cash and as he left the bank and headed for his car, police officers immediately arrested him on suspicion of robbery. There was no information on wether he actually carried a weapon into the bank.

It was never confirmed whether the suspect is Dewanokuni, but his profile on the Sumo Database match up with Suspect's profile. They were both in Kawaguchi, Saitama, in 1964, and both shared the same name of Yoshihito Abiru (畔蒜 敬人). According to police interrogations, Abiru was working as a taxi driver and was in debt of 3 million yen, so as a result, he robbed the bank.source

## **Fighting Style**

Dewanokuni 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 were yorikiri (force out) and oshidashi (push out).

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 259-249-16/508 (69 basho)
* **Juryo:** 40-50/90 (6 basho)
* **Makushita:** 99-97-7/196 (29 basho)
* **Sandanme:** 62-48-9/110 (17 basho)
* **Jonidan:** 54-51/105 (15 basho)
* **Jonokuchi:** 4-3/7 (1 basho)

## **Shikona History**

* Abiru Yoshihito (1979.03 - 1980.03)
* Dewanokuni Masamitsu (1980.05 - 1980.07)

## **Gallery**

Dewanokuni in makushita prior to his juryo promotion (c. 1988)Dewanokuni in juryo (c. 1988)
## **Sources**

* Dewanokuni Masamitsu Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Dewanokuni Masamitsu Rikishi Information