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Tomonohana Shinya
智乃花 伸哉
Personal information
Born	Shinya Narimatsu (1964-06-23) 23 June 1964 (age 60) Kumamoto, Japan
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight	113 kg (249 lb)
Career
Stable	Tatsunami
Record	379-381-85
Debut	March, 1992
Highest rank	Komusubi (January, 1994)
Retired	November, 2001
Elder name	Tamagaki
Championships	1 (Makushita)
Special Prizes	Technique (2)
* Up to date as of July 2008.

Tomonohana Shinya (born 23 June 1964 as Shinya Narimatsu) is a former sumo wrestler from Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. His highest rank was komusubi. He is now a sumo coach.

Career

He had been an amateur sumo champion at Nihon University but worked as a high school physical education teacher after graduation. He did not join the professional sport until March 1992, when he was nearly 28, an extraordinarily late age. (The Sumo Association have since changed its rules and all former amateurs must now make their professional debuts before the age of 25). He made his debut in the third highest makushita division, fighting out of Tatsunami stable. At just 174 cm (5 ft 8+1⁄2 in) and 100 kg (220 lb), he was not much bigger than Mainoumi, the lightest wrestler at the time. He began wrestling under his own surname of Narimatsu, but upon reaching sekitori status he adopted the formal shikona of Tomonohana, meaning "flower of wisdom."

Tomonohana had winning records or kachi-koshi in his first twelve tournaments, reaching the second highest jūryō division in November 1992 and the top makuuchi division in July 1993. A popular wrestler, he was nicknamed "Sensei" because of his teaching background. He used a wide variety of techniques to counteract his light weight, and won the prestigious Ginō-shō, or technique prize, in two consecutive tournaments in September and November 1993. In January 1994 he reached the sanyaku ranks at komusubi, but turned in the first losing record of his career, 4–11, and never made the rank again. He was demoted back to jūryō in March 1996 and subsequent injuries prevented him from returning to the top division. Nevertheless, he carried on fighting until November 2001 when he announced his retirement at the age of 37.

Fighting style

Tomonohana preferred a migi-yotsu or right hand inside, left hand outside grip on his opponent's mawashi, and his speciality was shitatenage, or underarm throw, which was his most common winning kimarite. He used 34 different kimarite during his career, some of them extremely rare. In January 1993 he defeated Hananokuni with izori, or backwards body drop, a technique that had not been seen at sekitori level since 1964.

Retirement from sumo

Upon his retirement he temporarily used his old fighting name as an elder, under the jun-toshiyori system. In February 2003 he switched to the elder name of Asakayama owned by former ōzeki Kaiō, after it was vacated by ex-maegashira Ōwakamatsu who left the Sumo Association. He transferred from Tatsunami stable to coach at Tomozuna stable in April 2005. In March 2006 he obtained the Tamagaki stock upon the mandatory retirement of its previous owner, the former Wakanami.

Prior to the March 2024 tournament Tomonohana was named the acting master of Miyagino stable in the place of the former Hakuhō, following the latter's discipline over the behavior of former sumo competitor Hokuseihō. On March 27, he announced, as expected, that his position as acting master was to end immediately.

Career record

See also

• Glossary of sumo terms
• List of past sumo wrestlers
• List of sumo elders
• List of komusubi

References

1. Schilling, Mark (1994). Sumo: A Fan's Guide. Japan Times. p. 25. ISBN 4-7890-0725-1. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
2. Kaori, Shoji (14 January 2000). "Wrestling with a national tradition". The Japan Times. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
3. "A SIZABLE IMPACT: Small in Stature, Ura Looks to Ride Rare Technique to New Heights". Daily Yomiuri. 25 February 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
4. "宮城野部屋の師匠代行に同じ伊勢ケ浜一門の玉垣親方を任命へ 元横綱白鵬の親方が師匠立場外れる" (in Japanese). Nikkan Sports. 26 February 2024. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
5. "玉垣親方が宮城野部屋の師匠代行終了「とりあえず自分の役目は終わった」「思いを吐き出してもらった」" (in Japanese). Sports Nippon. 27 March 2024. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
6. "Tomonohana Shinya Rikishi Information". Sumo Reference. Retrieved 27 August 2012.

External links

• Tomonohana Shinya's official biography (English) at the Grand Sumo Homepage

• 1964 births
• Living people
• People from Yatsushiro, Kumamoto
• Japanese sumo wrestlers
• Sumo people from Kumamoto Prefecture
• Nihon University alumni
• Komusubi