Wakatakakage Atsushi

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In this Japanese shikona name, the surname is Wakatakakage.
Wakatakakage Atsushi
若隆景 渥
Personal information
BornAtsushi Onami
(1994-12-06) December 6, 1994 (age 26)
Fukushima, Fukushima, Japan
Height1.82 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)
Weight127 kg (280 lb; 20 st 0 lb)
Career
StableArashio
Current ranksee below
DebutMarch, 2017
Highest rankKomusubi (July, 2021)
Championships1 (Makushita)
1 (Sandanme)
Special Prizes2 Technique
* Up to date as of 29 August 2021.

Wakatakakage Atsushi (Japanese: 若隆景 渥, born December 6, 1994 as Atsushi Onami (大波 渥, Ōnami Atsushi)) is a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Fukushima. He made his debut in March 2017 and reached the top makuuchi division in November 2019. He wrestles for Arashio stable, where he is a stable mate of his older brothers Wakatakamoto and Wakamotoharu. His highest rank has been komusubi.

Family background[]

The three Onami brothers are the grandchildren of former komusubi Wakabayama. They were given their shikona or sumo names by Arashio stable's head coach Ōyutaka, after the three sons of Mōri Motonari in the well-known Japanese parable "Lesson of the three arrows" – Takamoto, Motoharu, and Takakage.[1] The eldest brother, Wakatakamoto, has a highest rank of makushita 7 and has been in sumo the longest, debuting in November 2009. Wakatakakage and  [ja] are the 19th pair of brothers in sumo to both reach sekitori level.[2] Wakamotoharu is the second eldest and entered in November 2011, but did not make his jūryō debut until after Wakatakakage, in March 2019. On the September 2020 banzuke Wakamotoharu reached his highest rank to date, jūryō 3. Wakatakakage, the youngest brother, has had by far the quickest rise up the rankings of the three.

Career[]

He made his professional debut in March 2017, and because of his success in amateur sumo began as a sandanme tsukedashi entrant. He won the sandanme division championship in May 2017 with a perfect 7–0 record and also won the makushita division championship in January 2018 by the same score. He made his jūryō debut in May 2018, the second to do from Arashio stable after Sokokurai in 2010 and the first from Fukushima Prefecture since in 2009. He rose slowly up the jūryō division, winning promotion to the top makuuchi division after a 9–6 record at jūryō 3 in September 2019. Despite a poor 2–6 start to that tournament he won his final seven matches (including wins over top division veterans such as Toyonoshima and Kaisei) to secure his promotion. He was the third sandanme tsukedashi entrant to reach the top division after Yutakayama and Asanoyama.

Wakatakakage won his first four bouts in his top division debut in November 2019, but dislocated a joint in his right foot after landing awkwardly during his fourth day win over Terutsuyoshi and had to withdraw from the rest of the tournament.[3] Back in jūryō he put together two consecutive winning records of 9–6 and 10–5 upon his return from injury to earn promotion back the top division for the (subsequently cancelled) May 2020 tournament at his highest rank to date of maegashira 14. In July 2020 he completed his first full tournament in makuuchi, posting a respectable 10 wins. In September he was on the leaderboard for much of the tournament, although he picked up his fourth loss to Mitakeumi on Day 14[4] and finished in a share of third place on 11–4.

Original tegata (handprint and signature ) of sumo wrestler Wakatakakage

On 31 December 2020 – 10 days before the start of the January 2021 basho - it was announced by the Sumo Association that Wakatakakage tested positive for COVID-19.[5] The entire Arashio stable – along with the Miyagino, Tomozuna and Kokonoe stables – sat out the tournament.[6] He returned in March and produced a 10–5 record, defeating two ōzeki and receiving the Technique Prize.[7] He earned his second Technique Prize in May 2021 with a 9–6 record and was promoted to the san'yaku ranks for the first time as komusubi.[8] He was the first from Arashio stable to reach the komusubi rank since its founding in 2002.[9]

Fighting style[]

According to his Japan Sumo Association profile Wakatakakage prefers a migi-yotsu (right hand inside, left hand outside) grip on his opponent's mawashi. His most common winning kimarite are oshi-dashi (push out), yori-kiri (force out) and okuri-dashi (push out from behind).[10] He is below the average weight for a sekitori at 124 kilograms (273 lb) and makes use of his speed and agility.

Career record[]

Wakatakakage Atsushi[11]
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
2017 x Sandanme tsukedashi #100
5–2
 		 West Sandanme #63
7–0
Champion
 		 West Makushita #38
6–1
 		 East Makushita #16
4–3
 		 East Makushita #12
3–4
 
2018 East Makushita #17
7–0
Champion
 		 East Makushita #1
4–3
 		 West Jūryō #14
8–7
 		 East Jūryō #12
9–6
 		 West Jūryō #7
8–7
 		 West Jūryō #6
8–7
 
2019 East Jūryō #5
7–8
 		 East Jūryō #5
8–7
 		 West Jūryō #2
6–9
 		 East Jūryō #4
8–7
 		 West Jūryō #3
9–6
 		 East Maegashira #16
4–1–10
 
2020 East Jūryō #5
9–6
 		 West Jūryō #2
10–5
 		 West Maegashira #14
Tournament Cancelled
0–0–0		 West Maegashira #14
10–5
 		 West Maegashira #8
11–4
 		 West Maegashira #1
7–8
 
2021 West Maegashira #2
Sat out due to COVID rules
0–0–15		 West Maegashira #2
10–5
T		 East Maegashira #1
9–6
T		 East Komusubi #1
5–10
 		 East Maegashira #3
–
 		 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. ^ "大波、しこ名は毛利元就の三男から「若隆景」". Sanspo. 4 March 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  2. ^ Gunning, John (19 March 2019). "Sumo 101: Brothers in sumo". Japan Times. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  3. ^ "Sumo: Shodai falls on Day 5 to even odds at injury-plagued Kyushu meet". Kyodo News. 14 November 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  4. ^ "Shodai taking lead into final day after beating Asanoyama". Japan Times. 26 September 2020. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  5. ^ "Sumo: Top-flight wrestler Wakatakakage infected with coronavirus". Kyodo. 31 December 2020. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  6. ^ "SUMO/ 65 wrestlers to stay away from tourney as 5 test positive for virus". Asahi Shimbun. 10 January 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  7. ^ "Sumo: Comeback king Terunofuji triumphs to reclaim ozeki rank". Kyodo News. 28 March 2021. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  8. ^ "Sumo: Terunofuji beats Takakeisho to win 4th career championship". Kyodo News. 23 May 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  9. ^ "2021 July Grand Sumo Tournament Banzuke Topics". Japan Sumo Association. Archived from the original on 25 June 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  10. ^ "Wins of Wakatakakage". Sumo Reference. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  11. ^ "Wakatakakage Atsushi Rikishi Information". Sumo Reference. Retrieved 28 April 2020.

External links[]

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