Kitakachidoki Hayato

Kitakachidoki Hayato - 北勝鬨 準人 (born January 1, 1966) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Obihiro, Hokkaido. He made his debut in May 1981 and last wrestled for Isenoumi stable. He reached the makuuchi division in January 1989. His highest rank was maegashira 3 and he retired in September 2000.

## **Early Life**

Kuga attended Obihiro Shiritsu Ozora Junior High School and he was a member of the soccer club where he was the goalkeeper. After he attended Hokkaido Obihiro Hakuyo High School but dropped out after one month to join Isenoumi stable.

## **Career**

### **Early Career**

Kuga made his professional debut in May 1981 alongside future sekiwake Wakashoyo. He was promoted to sandanme in July 1982 and makushita in July 1984. In September 1986 he posted a strong 6-1 record and was promoted to the rank of makushita 2. At this rank, he won all seven matches and was promoted to juryo in the following January 1987 tournament.

### **Juryo Career**

He had been using his family name of Kuga as his ring name, but upon his promotion he was given the shikona of Kitakachidoki, or "northern battle-cry," a reference to his Hokkaido birthplace in the north of the country. He had few other wrestlers in his stable at a similar rank to him (former maegashira Hattori Yuji being forced to retire through injury around that time) and he had to go to other stables in his Tokitsukaze ichimon or stable group to find quality training partners.

### **Makuuchi Career**

He reached the top makuuchi division for the first time in January 1989, but was demoted back to the second juryo division after only one tournament. He did not establish himself as a top division regular until 1991. He fought in makuuchi for 49 tournaments in total, with a 331–389 win/loss record. He never managed to reach a san'yaku rank, his highest position in the banzuke being maegashira 3 in March 1994. He was also unable to defeat a yokozuna or win a special prize. His final appearance in the top division was in May 1998, although he continued to compete in the juryo division for two years after that. His demotion meant there were no longer any Hokkaidō natives in the top division, a remarkable decline considering that in the early 1990s there were three yokozuna (Chiyonofuji, Hokutoumi, and Onokuni) from Hokkaido on the banzuke. It was not until May 2018, with the promotion of Kyokutaisei, that Hokkaido Prefecture had another top division representative.

## **Retirement from Sumo**

After a poor 5–10 record in July 2000, and facing certain demotion to the unsalaried makushita division, Kitakachidoki announced his retirement at the age of thirty four. He had fought in 1438 matches across 117 tournaments. On 22 August 2000 he became an elder in the Japan Sumo Association, acquiring the vacant elder name of Katsunora Oyakata. He worked as a coach at Isenoumi stable, and in September 2011 he took over as head of the stable when his old boss, former sekiwake Fujinokawa, reached the mandatory retirement age of 65. Now known as Isenoumi Oyakata, he oversaw the promotion of Ikioi to the top division in 2012 and Nishikigi to the top division in 2016. In March 2022 he was elected to the Japan Sumo Association's board of directors.

## **Personal Life**

* Kitakachidoki's favorite food is fried eggs and his hobby is watching soccer games.
* On November 14, 2004, he was attacked by an assailant on the sidewalk near the Fukuoka Convention Center where the Kyushu basho was taking place. However, Kitakachidoki was able to subdue the assailant until the police arrived.

## **Fighting Style**

His most common winning kimarite or technique was yorikiri or force out, where he preferred a right hand inside grip (migi-yotsu) on his opponent's mawashi or belt. He was also fond of hip throws like sukuinage (scoop throw) and uwatenage (overarm throw). He was only of average height and weight for the top division but had a notably muscular frame as he was a keen weight-lifter.

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 708-731-29/1438 (117 basho)
* **Makuuchi:** 331-389-15/719 (49 basho)
* **Juryo:** 244-251/495 (33 basho)
* **Makushita:** 63-42-7/105 (16 basho)
* **Sandanme:** 38-32-7/70 (11 basho)
* **Jonidan:** 27-15/42 (6 basho)
* **Jonokuchi:** 5-2/7 (1 basho)

### **Championships**

* 1 **Makushita** Championship (November 1986)

## **Shikona History**

* Kuga Hayato (1981.05 - 1986.11)
* Kitakachidoki Hayato (1987.01 - 2000.09)

## **Gallery**

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

Kitakachidoki Hayato - 1997 (Retrieved from the JSA)Kitakachidoki's tegata
### **Career Overview**

Kitakachidoki joins professional sumo (c. 1981)Kitakachidoki struggles against Mainoumi (c. 1992)Kitakachidoki leads Slovakia during the Nagano Olympics (c. 1998)Kitakachidoki during his later career (c. 2000)Kitakachidoki's retirement ceremony (c. 2000)Kitakachidoki becomes the new Isenoumi Oyakata (c. 2011)Kitakachidoki as the new Isenoumi Oyakata (c. 2012)
## **Sources**

* Kitakachidoki Hayato Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Kitakachidoki Hayato Rikishi Information