Toyonokuni Daichi

Toyonokuni Daichi - 豊乃國 大地 (born May 23, 1979) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Niigata City, Niigata. He made his debut in March 1995 and wrestled for Tokitsukaze stable. He reached the juryo division in November 2004. His highest rank was juryo 13 and he retired in November 2013.

## **Early Life**

Daichi Minami was born in Niigata City, Niigata Prefecture, on May 23, 1979. He began sumo wrestling from an early age, and in the summer of his third year in junior high school, he visited Tokitsukaze stable and practiced with many of the wrestlers. After graduating high school he joined Tokitsukaze stable in March 1995.

## **Career**

### **Early Career**

Minami had a strong start and produced nine consecutive winning records from his debut. He was promoted to sandanme in March 1996 and makushita in September 1997. He was 18 years old at the time of his makushita promotion and many saw great potential in him. However, he was not as strong as his opponents in makushita and he began to struggle. In March 2002 he changed his shikona from his family name to "Toyonokuni" (豊乃國). By 2003, he had increased his weight and started to produce stronger results. However, he suffered a neck injury and fell to the bottom of makushita. Nevertheless, he bounced back with the makushita yusho after producing perfect 7-0 record in July 2004. As a result he was promoted to makushita 2 for the following tournament where he won five of his seven matches which secured him a spot in juryo for the November 2004 tournament.

### **Juryo Career**

Toyonokuni struggled in his juryo debut and could only manage six wins. Since he was ranked at juryo 13 he was demoted back down to makushita in January 2005. This proved to be his only experience as a sekitori as he never returned back to juryo.

### **Later Career**

Toyonokuni struggled to wrestle in the upper-levels of makushita and remained in the mid-levels of makushita. In January 2006 he participated in a seven man playoff for the makushita yusho, but lost in the second round to future ozeki Baruto. In March 2007 he briefly changed his shikona to "Tokifutatsu" (時双津) for five tournaments before reverting back to Toyonokuni in January 2008. He remained in the makushita division for the majority of his later career with brief falls back to sandanme.

## **Retirement from Sumo**

In September 2013, Toyonokuni participated in his last tournament where he produced a 5-2 record. Nevertheless, he submitted his retirement papers after the tournament, but his name still appeared on the November 2013 banzuke. His danpatsu-shiki, or retirement ceremony, was held on October 6th, 2013 at a restaurant in the Ryogoku district.

After retirement, Toyonokuni went on to train at a chankonabe restaurant in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka. He intends to take over his parent's restaurant in Niigata city.

## **Controversy**

### **Tokitsukaze Stable Hazing Scandal**

In February 2009, a seventeen-year-old junior sumo wrestler who fought under the shikona of Tokitaizan, collapsed and died after a training session at Tokitsukaze stable. It emerged that he was beaten with a beer bottle and a metal baseball bat at the direction of his trainer. Toyonokuni was not one of the three main wrestlers who contributed to the wrestler's death, but he was speculated to have been involved. Nonetheless, he was not prosecuted by the police. He was still issued a one tournament suspension by the Japan Sumo Association for the March 2008 tournament.

## **Fighting Style**

Toyonokuni is a tsuki/oshi specialist, who prefers pushing and thrusting at his opponents rather than fighting on the mawashi or belt. His most common winning kimarite or technique is oshidashi or a straightforward push out.

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 409-354-15/763 (111 basho)
* **Juryo:** 6-9/15 (1 basho)
* **Makushita:** 320-295-15/615 (90 basho)
* **Sandanme:** 59-39/98 (14 basho)
* **Jonidan:** 19-9/28 (4 basho)
* **Jonokuchi:** 5-2/7 (1 basho)

### **Championships**

* 1 **Makushita** Championship (July 2004)

## **Shikona History**

* Minami Daichi (1995.03 - 2001.11)
* Toyonokuni Daichi (2002.01 - 2007.01)
* Tokifutatsu Daichi (2007.03 - 2007.11)
* Toyonokuni Daichi (2008.01 - 2013.11)

## **Gallery**

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

Toyonokuni Daichi - 2004 (Retrieved from the JSA)Toyonokuni's tegata
### **Career Overview**

Toyonokuni wins his first Makushita Yusho (c. 2004)Toyonokuni after promotion to juryo (c. 2004)Toyonokuni returns to his hometown of Niigata (c. 2004)Toyonokuni's only time as a sekitori with his stablemates (c. 2004)Toyonokuni prepares for his upcoming match (c. 2010)Toyonokuni wins his final match against Takamisato (c. 2013)Toyonokuni after wrestling his final match (c. 2013)Toyonokuni's retirement ceremony (c. 2013)Toyonokuni's kesho-mawashi and akeni box on display
## **Sources**

* Toyonokuni Daichi Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Toyonokuni Daichi Rikishi Information