Dewanosato Hideyuki

Dewanosato Hideyuki - 出羽の郷 秀之 (born November 22, 1970) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Misato, Saitama. He made his debut in May 1986 and wrestled for Dewanoumi stable. He reached the juryo division in May 2006. His highest rank was juryo 14 and he retired in May 2015.

## **Early Life**

Kawahara was born on November 22, 1970, in Misato, Saitama. In junior high school, he belonged to the track and field club. After graduating junior high school in 1986 he joined the prestigious Dewanoumi stable in May of the same year.

## **Career**

### **Early Career**

Kawahara slowly rose through the ranks of the lower divisions. After five jonokuchi tournaments he was promoted to jonidan in May 1987. In September 1989 he changed his shikona from his family name to "Dewanosato" (出羽の郷). He was promoted to sandanme in July 1990 and makushita in July 1995. He suffered an injury in the May 2003 tournament and eventually fell back to sandanme in November 2003. He immediately returned and posted nine straight winning records which earned him a promotion to juryo.

### **Juryo Career**

At the age of 34 years and 5 months, he was the oldest wrestler to be promoted to juryo. The 114 tournaments (19 years) it took him was also a record. At the time of his juryo debut, Dewanosato was already the oldest wrestler in juryo and second oldest sekitori after Kotonowaka. He could only manage three wins in the tournament and was immediately demoted back down to makushita. This proved to be his only tournament as a sekitori.

### **Later Career**

Dewanosato did not manage to return and he established himself in the lower tier of makushita. In March 2007, he fell back down to sandanme, but immediately returned to makushita. By 2008, he became a sandanme regular with minimal appearances in makushita. His last makushita appearance was in January 2011 where he was already 40 years old. Up until his retirement, he was the oldest rikishi with sekitori experience.

## **Retirement from Sumo**

After the May 2015 tournament, Dewanosato announced his retirement at the age of 44. His danpatsu-shiki, or retirement ceremony, was held on June 20th, 2015, where 100 guests took turns to cut his hair.

After retirement, Dewanosato has been involved in the nursing-care industry in Fukuoka.

## **Personal Life**

* Before dawn, on March 26, 2006, Dewanosato, who came back after a meal with an acquaintance, noticed a burglar at Shounji Temple in Osaka, which was the temporary lodging for Dewanoumi stable. The burglar tried to escape, but Dewanosato was able to hold him down and prevent him.

## **Fighting Style**

Dewanosato was a yotsu-sumo wrestler who prefers grappling to pushing and thrusting techniques. He won over half of his bouts with a straightforward yorikiri, or force out.

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 594-598-27/1192 (174 basho)
* **Juryo:** 3-12/15 (1 basho)
* **Makushita:** 237-248-12/485 (71 basho)
* **Sandanme:** 245-239-13/484 (71 basho)
* **Jonidan:** 94-79-2/173 (25 basho)
* **Jonokuchi:** 15-20/35 (5 basho)

### **Achievements**

* **Record:** Oldest newly promoted sekitori (34 years 5 months)
* **Record:** Slowest progress to the juryo division (114)

## **Shikona History**

* Kawahara Hideyuki (1986.05 - 1989.07)
* Dewanosato Hideyuki (1989.09 - 2015.05)

## **Gallery**

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

Dewanosato Hideyuki - 2005 (Retrieved from the JSA)Dewanosato's tegata
### **Career Overview**

Dewanosato after promotion to Juryo (c. 2005)Dewanosato is the oldest rikishi promoted to Juryo at 34 (c. 2005)Dewanosato during the Juryo dohyo-iri (c. 2005)Dewanosato makes his way into the kokugikan (c. 2005)Dewanosato in Juryo at the age of 34 (c. 2005)Dewanosato throws and defeats Maikaze (c. 2005)Dewanosato prepares for his upcoming match (c. 2015)Dewanosato after wrestling his final match (c. 2015)Dewanosato's retirement ceremony (c. 2015)
## **Sources**

* Dewanosato Hideyuki Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Dewanosato Hideyuki Rikishi Information