Terunobori Katsuhiko

Terunobori Katsuhiko - 輝昇 勝彦 (born January 26, 1922 - February 20, 1967) was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Rumoi, Hokkaido. He made his debut in May 1937 and wrestled for Takashima stable. He reached the makuuchi division in January 1942 and has 2 special prizes as well as 1 kinboshi. His highest rank was sekiwake and he retired in March 1956.

## **Early Life**

Yoshihiko Kobayashi was born in Rumoi, Hokkaido, as the second son of a government official. Since he was a child, Kobayashi showed strength in local sumo tournaments which earned him a lot of attention inn Rumoi.

## **Career**

### **Early Career**

At the age of 15 he joined Takashima stable and made his professional debut in May 1937 under the shikona "Terunobori" (輝昇). In January 1939, he won the jonidan yusho with a perfect 7-0 record. He went on to win the sandanme yusho in January 1940 and was promoted to makushita in May 1940. After only one tournament in makushita, Terunobori was promoted to juryo in January 1941. At the time of his juryo debut, Terunobori was only 18 years old. He won the juryo yusho with a 14-1 record in May 1941 and was promoted to makuuchi in January 1942.

### **Makuuchi Career**

Terunobori produced a strong 12-3 record in his top division debut and served as the flag bearer for Yokozuna Futabayama during his championship parade. He followed with two more winning records and was promoted to komusubi in May 1943. In his san'yaku debut, Terunobori finished with an 8-7 record and was promoted to sekiwake for the following January 1944 tournament. At the time of his sekiwake debut, Terunobori had not posted a single losing record, however, he finished this tournament with a 6-9 record. Nevertheless, he spent the next four years wrestling mainly at the san'yaku level. In November 1946, he defeated Yokozuna Terukuni to earn his first and only kinboshi. Furthermore, he also won two Fighting Spirit prizes throughout his career. In May 1948, while ranked as a sekiwake, Terunobori injured his left elbow and withdrew from the tournament. He subsequently was demoted back down to the maegashira ranks and he never returned back to san'yaku. In January 1955, Terunobori suffered a serious injury to his right achilles tendon and was demoted back down to juryo in March 1955. He ultimately retired from sumo in March 1956.

## **Retirement from Sumo**

After retiring from sumo, Terunobori left the Japan Sumo Association, and tried out for a career in professional wrestling, however, he was unable to wrestle a single match due to injury. He later became a sumo commentator for TBS (Tokyo Broadcasting System) and ran a general store in Itabashi, Tokyo.

### **Death**

Terunobori died on February 20, 1967, at the age of 45 due to an illness.

## **Fighting Style**

Terunobori was an oshi-sumo wrestler who prefers pushing and thrusting techniques to fighting on the mawashi. His most common kimarite used was tsukidashi (thrust out), followed closely by oshidashi (push out). He was also fond of employing tsuppari (a series of rapid thrusts to the chest).

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 289-270-50/556 (49 basho)
* **Makuuchi:** 222-226-33/447 (35 basho)
* **Juryo:** 38-35-17/71 (7 basho)
* **Makushita:** 7-1/8 (1 basho)
* **Sandanme:** 11-5/16 (2 basho)
* **Jonidan:** 7-0/7 (1 basho)
* **Jonokuchi:** 4-3/7 (1 basho)

### **Championships**

* 1 **Juryo** Championship (May 1941)
* 1 **Sandanme** Championship (January 1940)
* 1 **Jonidan** Championship (January 1939)

### **Achievements**

* **Special Prizes:** Fighting Spirit Prize (2)
* **Kinboshi:** (1) Terukuni

## **Shikona History**

* Terunobori Katsuhiko (1937.05 - 1956.03)

## **Sources**

* Terunobori Katsuhiko Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Terunobori Katsuhiko Rikishi Information