Takadagawa stable
Takadagawa stable (高田川部屋, Takadagawa-beya) is a stable of sumo wrestlers, one of the Nishonoseki ichimon or group of stables. It was formed in 1974 by former ōzeki Maenoyama, and was originally in the Takasago group of stables, but was excommunicated from that group in 1998 due to disagreement over group nominations to the Japan Sumo Association's board of directors. Maenoyama handed over control to former sekiwake Akinoshima in 2009, as he was approaching the mandatory retirement age. A series of wrestlers from Taiwan were recruited in the late 1980s. Later a Mongolian, Maenoyu, was at the stable from 2004 until 2007, but there have been no foreigners recruited since Maenoyu's retirement and the current stablemaster has indicated there are no plans to do in the immediate future.[1]
The stable did not have any sekitori between Dairaidō′s last appearance in jūryō in July 2006 and the promotion of Ryūden in September 2012, where he lasted for only one tournament. In September 2014 Kagayaki reached jūryō, ending Takadagawa's sekitori drought. Kagayaki went on to reach the top makuuchi division in January 2016, the first Takadagawa wrestler to do so since Kenkō in 1992, and Ryūden returned to jūryō in November 2016, reaching the top division himself in January 2018.
The new Takadagawa head ended the stable's nearly thirteen years of non-alignment with an ichimon in January 2011 when he was accepted into the Nishonoseki group. As of January 2020, it had 22 wrestlers.
On 10 April 2020, the Sumo Association announced that an undisclosed wrestler had tested positive for the coronavirus. It was later confirmed to be Shobushi of Takadagawa Stable, a sandanme wrestler who died from coronavirus complications on 13 May 2020.[2] It had also been announced in late April 2020 that seven individuals, including Takadagawa's stablemaster and jūryō wrestler Hakuyozan, were hospitalized after testing positive for the virus.[3] The stable was only one of the 45 stables in sumo not included in the "all-clear" antibody test results issued by the Sumo Association on 6 July 2020.[4] The tate-gyōji at the stable, Shikimori Inosuke, missed the July 2020 tournament with an unspecified illness.
Ring name conventions
Some wrestlers at this stable have taken ring names or shikona that begin with the characters 安芸 (read: aki), in deference to their coach and the stable's owner, the former Akinoshima. Examples as of 2017 include Akinohana and Akinoyama.
Owners
- 2009–present: 9th Takadagawa (iin, former sekiwake Akinoshima)
- 1974-2009: 8th Takadagawa (former ōzeki Maenoyama)
Notable active wrestlers
- Ryūden (best rank komusubi)
- Kagayaki (best rank maegashira)
- Dairaidō (best rank jūryō)
- Hakuyozan (best rank juryo)
Assistant
- Zenshinyama (wakaimonogashira, former jūryō, real name Ryōta Akimoto)
Notable former members
Referee
- 41st Shikimori Inosuke (tate-gyōji, real name Hideki Imaoka)
- Shikimori Tatsunosuke (Jonidan-gyoji, real name Keisuke Mizutani)
Ushers
- Kazuya (makushita yobidashi, real name Naoya Osada)
Hairdresser
- Tokotetsu (1st class tokoyama)
Location and access
Tokyo, Kōtō ward, Kiyosumi 2-15-7
2 minute walk from Kiyosumi-shirakawa Station on the Ōedo Line and Hanzōmon Line
See also
References
- Gunning, John (18 March 2020). "Akinoshima had decorated career as part of sumo's dominant stable". Japan Times. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
- "28-year-old sumo wrestler dies after coronavirus infection". english.kyodonews.net. Kyodo. 13 May 2020. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
- "Sumo stablemaster, 5 wrestlers contract new coronavirus". english.kyodonews.net. Kyodo. 25 April 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
- "JSA says membership free of coronavirus after tests". Japan Times. 7 July 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
External links
- Official site (in Japanese)
- Japan Sumo Association profile