Tobizaru Masaya

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"Tobizaru" redirects here. For the mixed martial artist nicknamed Tobizaru, see Yosuke Saruta.
Tobizaru Masaya
Tobizaru 20171112.jpg
Tobizaru competing in the makushita division in November 2017
Personal information
BornMasaya Iwasaki
(1992-04-24) April 24, 1992 (age 29)
Edogawa, Tokyo, Japan
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight134 kg (295 lb)
Career
StableOitekaze
UniversityNihon University
Current ranksee below
DebutJanuary 2015
Highest rankMaegashira 2 (May, 2021)
Special Prizes1 Fighting Spirit
* Up to date as of 29 August 2021.

Tobizaru Masaya (翔猿 正也, born April 24, 1992 as Masaya Iwasaki (岩﨑 正也, Iwasaki Masaya)) is a professional sumo wrestler from Japan and wrestles for Oitekaze stable. He made his top division debut in September 2020.

He is the brother of active wrestler Hidenoumi, who is a top division wrestler for Kise stable; they became the 18th pair of sekitori brothers in sumo history.[1] Despite the fact that they are in different stables, Tobizaru will not face him in competition as Japan Sumo Association rules prevent close relatives from being matched against each other outside of playoff bouts.

Career[]

Masaya Iwasaki followed his elder brother Takuya into sumo, joining the same sumo club in his first year of elementary school.[2] He was also interested in baseball, and had thoughts of becoming a professional baseball player, but gave up the game for sumo when he started junior high school. The future Hokutofuji was a contemporary of his at high school. He studied economics at Nihon University and was a member of their sumo team, but weighing only around 110 kg and having to sit out a year with an ankle injury he did not manage to win any major amateur titles. Deciding to turn professional, he opted not to join his brother who was already a sekitori at Kise stable, preferring the challenge of making his way on his own. Instead he joined Oitekaze stable, also home to Endō who was two years his senior at university.[3] He made his debut in January 2015, competing under his family name of Iwasaki. Upon reaching the jūryō division after the May 2017 tournament he changed his shikona to Tobizaru (literally "Flying Monkey") as he was born in the year of the monkey and he considers his darting movement in the sumo ring similar to a monkey.[3][2] He recorded only six wins and nine losses in his jūryō debut in July and was demoted back to makushita in September 2017. His 5–2 record at Makushita 2 in the September tournament would normally have been good enough for an immediate re-promotion, but there were only two openings and priority went to Takagenji and Takanoshō. Tobizaru had to wait until the March 2018 tournament to return to jūryō, but he has maintained his sekitori status ever since.

Tobizaru earned promotion to the top makuuchi division for the September 2020 tournament after a 9–6 record at Jūryō 2 in July. He and Hidenoumi became the 11th pair of brothers to both have reached makuuchi. Tobizaru said he hoped his brother would be able to earn promotion back to makuuchi. He was also the tenth member of Oitekaze stable to reach makuuchi since its founding, the last being Tsurugishō in September 2019.[4] In his makuuchi debut he came close to becoming the first wrestler since Ryōgoku Kajinosuke II in 1914 to win the championship in his first top division tournament, needing to beat Shōdai on the final day to force a playoff, but he was defeated and finished with a 11–4 record. He was awarded the Fighting Spirit prize.[5]

Tobizaru original tegata (handprint & signature)

Fighting style[]

Tobizaru is below the average size for an elite sumo wrestler, being the second lightest sekitori when he reached jūryō in 2017, and he stands just 175 cm (5 ft 9 in) tall.[6] He is an oshi-sumo specialist, preferring to push his opponents rather than grab the mawashi or belt. He likes to pull his opponents down at the edge of the ring, with a high percentage of his victories being by hataki-komi (slap down) and hiki-otoshi (pull down). He is also good at kicks and leg sweeps. His style is fast-paced, and he regularly sidestepped at the initial charge when in jūryō, but in his makuuchi debut made a conscious effort to fight more on the offensive.[2]

Career record[]

Tobizaru Masaya[7]
Year in sumo January
Hatsu basho, Tokyo		 March
Haru basho, Osaka		 May
Natsu basho, Tokyo		 July
Nagoya basho, Nagoya		 September
Aki basho, Tokyo		 November
Kyūshū basho, Fukuoka
2015 (Maezumo) West Jonokuchi #17
6–1
 		 West Jonidan #30
6–1
 		 West Sandanme #66
6–1
 		 Sandanme #11
6–1
 		 West Makushita #37
5–2
 
2016 East Makushita #24
4–3
 		 West Makushita #19
4–3
 		 West Makushita #13
4–3
 		 West Makushita #10
4–3
 		 West Makushita #7
5–2
 		 East Makushita #3
2–5
 
2017 East Makushita #10
6–1
 		 East Makushita #3
4–3
 		 West Makushita #2
6–1
 		 West Jūryō #14
6–9
 		 East Makushita #2
5–2
 		 West Makushita #1
3–4
 
2018 West Makushita #3
4–3
 		 East Jūryō #13
7–8
 		 West Jūryō #13
7–8
 		 West Jūryō #13
9–6
 		 East Jūryō #10
7–8
 		 West Jūryō #11
8–7
 
2019 West Jūryō #10
7–8
 		 East Jūryō #11
7–8
 		 West Jūryō #12
10–5
 		 West Jūryō #6
7–8
 		 West Jūryō #8
6–9
 		 East Jūryō #10
8–7
 
2020 West Jūryō #6
9–6
 		 East Jūryō #4
10–5
 		 East Jūryō #2
Tournament Cancelled
0–0–0		 East Jūryō #2
9–6
 		 East Maegashira #14
11–4
F		 West Maegashira #4
6–9
 
2021 West Maegashira #7
6–9
 		 West Maegashira #8
10–5
 		 West Maegashira #2
5–10
 		 West Maegashira #3
4–11
 		 West Maegashira #8
–
 		 x
Record given as win-loss-absent    Top Division Champion Top Division Runner-up Retired Lower Divisions

Sanshō key: F=Fighting spirit; O=Outstanding performance; T=Technique     Also shown: ★=Kinboshi; P=Playoff(s)
Divisions: Makuuchi — Jūryō — Makushita — Sandanme — Jonidan — Jonokuchi

Makuuchi ranks: Yokozuna — Ōzeki — Sekiwake — Komusubi — Maegashira

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "岩崎改め翔猿が新十両 １８組目の兄弟関取に" (in Japanese). Sponichi. 31 May 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Sumo: Sumo's "flying monkey" ready to show he is no 1-hit wonder". Kyodo News. 15 October 2020. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b ""A fast sumo that can't be imitated" Tobizaru promoted to Juryo". The Mainichi (in Japanese). 9 June 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  4. ^ "2020 September Grand Sumo Tournament Banzuke Topics". Japan Sumo Association. Archived from the original on 29 September 2020. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  5. ^ "Sumo: Shodai yet to take in reality of winning 1st title". The Mainichi. 28 September 2020. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  6. ^ Morita, Hiroshi (2 October 2020). "Making Ozeki with a first title". NHK World Japan. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  7. ^ "Tobizaru Masaya Information". Sumo Reference. Retrieved 2020-08-31.

External links[]

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