Mainoumi Shūhei

Mainoumi Shūhei (born 17 February 1968 as Shūhei Nagao) is a former sumo wrestler from Aomori, Japan. His highest rank was komusubi. During the 1990s he was one of the most popular wrestlers in sumo due to his wide variety of techniques and great fighting spirit in battling opponents nearly twice his size.

Mainoumi Shūhei
舞の海 秀平
Personal information
BornShūhei Nagao
(1968-02-17) 17 February 1968
Aomori, Japan
Height1.71 m (5 ft 7 1⁄2 in)
Weight98 kg (216 lb)
Career
StableDewanoumi
UniversityNihon University
Record385-418-27
DebutMay, 1990
Highest rankKomusubi (September, 1994)
RetiredNovember, 1999
Special PrizesTechnique (5)
* Up to date as of July 2007.

Career

Born in Ajigasawa, Nagao was an amateur sumo champion at Nihon University, where he studied economics. He originally wanted to be a teacher, but decided to join professional sumo in honour of a close friend who died before he could achieve his own ambition of being a sumo champion.[1] Mainoumi initially failed the Sumo Association's physical entrance exam, because he was too short to meet their height requirement, which at that time was 173 cm. He got around this by persuading a doctor to inject silicone into his scalp, giving him the necessary couple of centimetres.[2] To prevent any future hopefuls from having to go through this painful procedure, the Sumo Association changed its rules to allow special dispensation for amateur champions who do not meet the height requirements.

Nagao made his professional debut in May 1990 in the third makushita division and reached jūryō in March 1991. To mark his promotion he changed his shikona from his own surname to Mainoumi (which means "dancing sea").[3] On his debut in the top makuuchi division in September 1991 he scored eight wins and was awarded the Ginō-shō or Technique Prize,[1] the first of five he was to win during his career.

Mainoumi said his ambition in the top division was to reach a san'yaku rank at least once,[4] and this he achieved in September 1994 when he was promoted to komusubi. In July 1996 he broke his leg when the 275 kg Konishiki fell on it during a bout that Mainoumi won. He was forced to sit out the rest of that tournament and all of the next, dropping to the jūryō division. He returned to the top division in May 1997 but since his injury he had lost some of his speed and he was finding it more difficult to hold his own. In March 1998 he fell back to jūryō once again, where he remained until his retirement from sumo in November 1999.

Fighting style

Mainoumi had such an extensive knowledge of sumo techniques that he was nicknamed Waza no Depaato, or the Department Store of Techniques. He used up to 33 different kimarite during his career. In November 1991 he famously defeated the 204 cm, 200 kg wrestler Akebono by mitokorozeme, a "triple attack force out", which involves simultaneously tripping one leg, grabbing the other, and pushing with the head into the opponent's chest to force him down backwards.[5] Despite appearing to most observers to be mitokorozeme, the win was actually given as uchigake by officials. Mainoumi subsequently won two further bouts that were officially determined as mitokorozeme, against Kotofuji in September 1992 and Tomoefuji in January 1993. He was the only sekitori to have used this technique from the beginning of the Heisei era until November 2019, when it was successfully used by current top division wrestler Ishiura Masakatsu[6]. Mainoumi also had a very unusual tachi-ai, and sometimes used the tactic of nekodamashi, of clapping of the hands in front of the opponent's face to distract him at the initial charge.[7] Another tactic was the "Hasso tobi," or "eight-boat leap," which involved a sidestep at the tachi-ai that would see him leave the ground and reappear directly behind his opponent, as happened to Kitakachidoki in January 1992.[8]

Retirement from sumo

Mainoumi chose not to stay in sumo as a coach after retiring from the ring, a decision that caused some disquiet in the Sumo Association at a time when the sport's popularity was at a low ebb.[9] Instead he launched a new career as a television personality. He can still be heard commentating on NHK's sumo broadcasts. He has turned down many offers from political parties to run as their candidate.[10] He appeared in 2005 Hollywood film Memoirs of a Geisha as a sumo wrestler, credited as Shūhei Nagao, his real name.[11] He has also worked at Sakaigawa stable (run by his ex-stablemate Ryōgoku) as an assistant instructor. In 2015 he published a book entitled, "Why Can't Japanese Become Yokozuna?" in which he argued that because of their rich lifestyle Japanese youth lacked the "hungry spirit" of Mongolian wrestlers who had come to dominate the top ranks.[12]

Family

Mainoumi was married in May 1997, to a nightclub manager with two children from a previous marriage.

Career record
Mainoumi Shūhei[13]
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
1990 x x Makushita tsukedashi #60
6–1–PP
 		 East Makushita #32
5–2
 		 West Makushita #17
6–1
 		 West Makushita #5
5–2
 
1991 East Makushita #1
4–3
 		 West Jūryō #12
9–6
 		 West Jūryō #6
8–7
 		 West Jūryō #2
9–6
 		 West Maegashira #12
8–7
T		 East Maegashira #9
8–7
T
1992 East Maegashira #7
4–11
 		 East Maegashira #15
9–6
 		 East Maegashira #8
6–9
 		 East Maegashira #11
8–7
 		 East Maegashira #6
7–8
 		 West Maegashira #7
4–11
 
1993 East Maegashira #16
9–6
 		 West Maegashira #11
6–9
 		 East Maegashira #15
10–5
 		 West Maegashira #6
4–11
 		 East Maegashira #14
9–6
T		 East Maegashira #8
6–9
 
1994 West Maegashira #12
8–7
 		 West Maegashira #7
6–9
 		 East Maegashira #12
9–6
T		 East Maegashira #4
9–6
T		 East Komusubi #1
2–13
 		 East Maegashira #8
8–7
 
1995 West Maegashira #3
4–11
 		 East Maegashira #9
6–9
 		 West Maegashira #12
9–6
 		 East Maegashira #6
5–10
 		 West Maegashira #11
8–7
 		 West Maegashira #6
4–11
 
1996 East Maegashira #15
9–6
 		 West Maegashira #6
6–9
 		 West Maegashira #9
7–8
 		 West Maegashira #11
2–1–12
 		 West Jūryō #4
Sat out due to injury
0–0–15		 West Jūryō #4
8–7
 
1997 West Jūryō #3
8–7
 		 West Jūryō #2
10–5
 		 East Maegashira #15
9–6
 		 East Maegashira #9
5–10
 		 East Maegashira #14
8–7
 		 East Maegashira #9
5–10
 
1998 West Maegashira #14
9–6
 		 West Maegashira #10
5–10
 		 West Jūryō #1
4–11
 		 East Jūryō #7
9–6
 		 West Jūryō #2
8–7
 		 West Jūryō #1
3–12
 
1999 East Jūryō #10
9–6
 		 West Jūryō #3
9–6
 		 West Jūryō #2
8–7
 		 West Jūryō #1
5–10
 		 West Jūryō #5
5–10
 		 West Jūryō #10
Retired
6–9
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(s); P=Playoff(s)
Divisions: Makuuchi — Jūryō — Makushita — Sandanme — Jonidan — Jonokuchi

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

References
  1. Sharnoff, Lora (1993). Grand Sumo. Weatherhill. ISBN 0-8348-0283-X.
  2. Himmer, Alastair (30 November 2012). "Sumo wrestling - Japan's ancient sport threatened in "age of convenience"". Reuters. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
  3. Kaori, Shoji (14 January 2000). "Wrestling with a national tradition". Japan Times. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  4. Newton, Clyde (1994). Dynamic Sumo. Kodansha. ISBN 4-7700-1802-9.
  5. Gunning, John (21 May 2019). "Sumo 101: Small rikishi". Japan Times. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  6. "Hakuho easily defeats Tamawashi to stay on top". The Japan Times Online. 17 November 2019. ISSN 0447-5763. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  7. Zerling, Andrew (7 November 2016). "Sumo: A Case Study in Size vs. Technique". YMAA Publishing. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  8. Miki, Shuji. "Tachai jump-offs can be make or break in sumo match". Japan News. 30 June 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  9. Kattoulas, Velisarios (31 December 1999). "For old sumo stars, retirement can be heavy going". International Herald Tribune. Archived from the original on 29 June 2008. Retrieved 29 July 2007.
  10. "Mainoumi turns down LDP offer". Japan Times. 14 February 2004. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
  11. Shuhei Nagao
  12. Olsen, Kelly (11 June 2015). "Heavyweight hopes for Mongolia's would-be sumo stars". Yahoo!/AFP. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
  13. "Mainoumi Shuhei Rikishi Information". Sumo Reference. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
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