| Hokutoumi Nobuyoshi | |
|---|---|
| 北勝海 信芳 | |
 Hokutoumi atSumiyoshi-taisha, March 2017 | |
| Personal information | |
| Born | Nobuyoshi Hoshi (1963-06-22)June 22, 1963 (age 62) Hiroo, Hokkaidō, Japan |
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) |
| Weight | 151 kg (333 lb) |
| Career | |
| Stable | Kokonoe |
| Record | 591-286-109 |
| Debut | March 1979 |
| Highest rank | Yokozuna (May, 1987) |
| Retired | May 1992 |
| Elder name | Hakkaku |
| Championships | 8 (Makuuchi) 1 (Jūryō) 1 (Makushita) 1 (Jonidan) |
| Special Prizes | Outstanding Performance (3) Fighting Spirit (3) Technique (5) |
| Gold Stars | 1 (Kitanoumi) |
Hokutoumi Nobuyoshi (Japanese:北勝海 信芳; born June 22, 1963 asNobuyoshi Hoshi (保志 信芳)) is a Japanese former professionalsumo wrestler fromHokkaidō. He was the sport's 61styokozuna and won eight top division championships. He wrestled forKokonoe stable, as didChiyonofuji, and the two were the firstyokozuna stablemates to take part in a play-off for the championship, in 1989. After a number of injury problems he retired in 1992, and is now the head coach ofHakkaku stable. In November 2015 he was appointed chairman of theJapan Sumo Association, following the death ofKitanoumi,[1] initially to serve until the end of March 2016. He was then elected as head for a full term by his fellow board members in a vote held in March 2016.[2][3] He was reappointed to a full term as chairman four times,[4][5][6][7] most recently in 2024.[8]
Hoshi was born inHiroo, Hokkaidō. An uncle was an acquaintance of formeryokozunaKitanofuji, who by then had retired from competition and was runningKokonoe stable, and at his invitation Hoshi moved toTokyo. Upon leaving school, his first appearance in the ring was March 1979, aged just 15, using his real name as hisshikona or ring name. Also starting at the same time was futureyokozunaFutahaguro.
It took him four years to reach the second-highestjūryō division in March 1983, aged 19, the same time as fellowTokachi district rivalŌnokuni entered the top division. By this time his stablemateChiyonofuji had been promoted toyokozuna. Hokutoumi made his debut in the topmakuuchi division in September 1983. He changed the spelling of hisshikona's given name to延芳 in November 1985.
In March 1986 at thesekiwake rank he won his firstyūshō or tournament championship with a record of thirteen wins and two losses. Despite this impressive result he was not immediately promoted to the second-highestōzeki rank as he had not done particularly well in the previous two tournaments, only managing 30 wins in the most recent three tournaments when 33 is generally required. It also did not help his cause that there were already fiveōzeki, leaving theSumo Association with no incentive to loosen the promotion criteria. However, he carried on producing excellent results with an 11–4 in May, and then went 12–3 in July, securing his promotion for the September tournament. Futahaguro was promoted toyokozuna at the same time.
At this point, his coach decided a new ring name was appropriate. He wished to acknowledge his home district of Tokachi, but thekanji for it literally means "ten wins" and it was felt that this might be bad luck, limiting his wins in any tournament to ten. As a compromise he adopted the surname Hokutoumi, taking勝 ("win") from the secondkanji in Tokachi, but pronouncing itto like the firstkanji in the district's name. He also changed the spelling of Nobuyoshi back to his legal way.
After his second tournament title in March 1987 and a runner-up performance in May, he was promoted toyokozuna for the July tournament. During hisyokozuna dohyō-iri at theMeiji Shrine in 1987, Hokutoumi unusually used a set of personalkeshō-mawashi because his masterKokonoe (formeryokozunaKitanofuji) had had threekeshō-mawashi made in his name for him while he was stillōzeki.[9] In 1988 he suffered a severe back injury which kept him out of three tournaments. It also appeared he would miss the start of the January 1989 tournament, but it was delayed due to the death of theemperor, and he went on to win the tournament. He also won the May tournament. In July, he took part in an historic play-off with Chiyonofuji – the first time ever that twoyokozuna from the same stable had met in the ring (the rules of sumo state that wrestlers from the same stable can only fight each other in a play-off); Hokutoumi ending up losing the playoff and the championship to Chiyonofuji.
On the last day of the March 1990 tournament, he fought in a rare three-way play-off withōzekiKonishiki andsekiwakeKirishima. In a play-off, wrestlers fight each other in turn, the first to win two consecutive bouts winning the tournament. First, Hokutoumi fought Konishiki and lost. Konishiki was then drawn up against Kirishima. Konishiki only needed to win this bout for the tournament, but Kirishima won. Next was Kirishima against Hokutoumi, Kirishima needing just this bout for his firstyūshō. Hokutoumi won. Hokutoumi then beat Konishiki in the next bout, thus winning the tournament.
On the fourteenth day of the March 1991 tournament, he injured his left knee during a bout with Ōnokuni, but managed to go on to win the tournament with 13 wins. After this, Hokutoumi had many absences due to his knee. In October 1991 he was awarded the Japan Festival Trophy after winning an exhibition tournament at theRoyal Albert Hall inLondon.[10] At the start of 1991 there were fouryokozuna, but Chiyonofuji retired in May 1991, Ōnokuni in July and Asahifuji in January of the next year (1992), leaving Hokutoumi the soleyokozuna. Left with this responsibility he struggled on, but he withdrew from the March 1992 tournament after losing his first two matches toMitoizumi andKushimaumi, and announced his retirement shortly before the May 1992 tournament at the age of 28 years and 10 months. Citing shoulder, elbow and knee injuries, he said he had "lost my fighting spirit to continue training."[11] In the space of just one year, all fouryokozuna had retired. Hokutoumi had fought 29basho asyokozuna. Following his retirement, there were noyokozuna on thebanzuke for the first time in 60 years, and sumo went without one for the next eight months, until the promotion ofAkebono in January 1993.
Following his retirement Hokutoumi became a member of theJapan Sumo Association with thetoshiyori name "Hakkaku". He opened up his own stable,Hakkaku stable, which has had four top division wrestlers,Hokutōriki,Kaihō,Okinoumi, andHokutofuji. He occasionally appears onNHK sumo broadcasts as a commentator and analyst.
On December 18, 2015, he was appointed chairman of the Japan Sumo Association, after former chairmanKitanoumi died in office on November 20, 2015. He had been serving as an executive director of the board under Kitanoumi since 2012. His appointment lasted until the end of March 2016.[12] He then won a contested ballot on March 28, 2016, defeatingTakanohana, and was confirmed for a further two-year term.[2][3] He was re-elected for additional two-year terms in 2018,[4][5] 2020[6] and 2022.[7]
Taking advantage of his abundant work experience and broad perspective, such as the general manager of the public relations department and the general manager of the business department, he implemented various reforms and fan services as the chairman. In January 2017, the "Social Contribution Department" was established for the purpose of supporting areas affected by various disasters. At the Nagoya Basho in July of the same year, a donation box was set up in the venue to support the areas affected by the heavy rains in northern Kyushu, and he said, "I hope it helps."[13]
On his sixtieth birthday, on 22 June 2023, Hokutoumi declared his intention to perform akanreki dohyō-iri at theRyōgoku Kokugikan on 2 September of the same year.[14] The event is of particular importance as it is expected to be the result of a combination of several major factors. The event marks 30 years since the creation ofHakkaku stable and, to celebrate the occasion, theYokozuna Deliberation Council will also be holding a training session (sōken) which will be public and free for the first time in four years since the COVID crisis. The organisation of this training session in parallel with the 60th anniversary ceremony makes thiskanreki dohyō-iri the first event of its kind to be free and open to the public.[9] Hokutoumi also announced his choice of attendants for the event, in the person of his two students,Okinoumi, astachimochi (sword-bearer), andHokutofuji astsuyuharai (dew sweeper).[14] For the event Hokutoumi also chose to wear thekeshō-mawashi set he wore during his firstyokozuna dohyō-iri at the Meiji Shrine in 1987.[9] The event will be the first time in ten years that a Sumo Association chairman will performed hiskanreki dohyō-iri sinceKitanoumi Toshimitsu performed it during his fourth term in 2013.[9] On 23 August 2023 members of Hakkaku stable participated in thetsunauchi to create the redtsuna that Hokutoumi will wear for the ceremony.[15]
Hokutoumi'skanreki dohyō-iri was held on 2 September 2023 at theRyōgoku Kokugikan in front of approximately 4,000 people who came to attend the Yokozuna Deliberation Council's training session. Commenting after the ceremony, Hokutoumi said he was relieved. "I thought I was going to have fun and take it slow," he said, "but it just happened in the blink of an eye."[16]
Hokutoumi was primarily anoshi-sumo specialist, preferring pushing and thrusting techniques that got his opponents out of the ring as quickly as possible. He had a powerfultachi-ai, or initial charge, and his specialty wasnodowa, a single-handed push to the throat. To do this he would lock up his opponent's right arm with his left (a technique known asottsuke) and thrust with his right.[17] His most common winningkimarite by far wereoshi-dashi andyori-kiri, which together accounted for around 60 percent of his wins atsekitori level.[18] When fighting on themawashi he preferred amigi-yotsu (left hand outside, right hand inside) grip. He said in an interview withChannel 4 television that the technique he most enjoyed wastsuri-dashi or lift out, although he was only credited with thiskimarite once in official tournament competition (againstTerao in November 1989).[18]
| Year | January Hatsu basho,Tokyo | March Haru basho,Osaka | May Natsu basho,Tokyo | July Nagoya basho,Nagoya | September Aki basho,Tokyo | November Kyūshū basho,Fukuoka |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | x | (Maezumo) | East Jonokuchi #15 5–2 | West Jonidan #84 7–0 Champion | West Sandanme #85 3–4 | West Jonidan #6 3–4 |
| 1980 | West Jonidan #20 5–2 | East Sandanme #71 3–4 | West Sandanme #88 4–3 | West Sandanme #78 4–3 | East Sandanme #61 4–3 | East Sandanme #39 2–5 |
| 1981 | East Sandanme #60 6–1 | East Sandanme #14 5–2 | East Makushita #50 3–4 | East Makushita #57 5–2 | East Makushita #39 4–3 | East Makushita #29 5–2 |
| 1982 | East Makushita #14 4–3 | East Makushita #10 3–4 | East Makushita #18 5–2 | East Makushita #10 3–4 | East Makushita #22 6–1 | East Makushita #7 4–3 |
| 1983 | East Makushita #4 7–0 Champion | West Jūryō #10 8–7 | East Jūryō #6 8–7 | East Jūryō #5 10–5–P Champion | West Maegashira #13 8–7 | East Maegashira #7 9–6 F |
| 1984 | East Komusubi #1 9–6 F | West Sekiwake #1 6–9 | East Maegashira #1 6–9 | West Maegashira #3 9–6 | East Komusubi #1 7–8 | East Maegashira #1 9–6 T★ |
| 1985 | West Sekiwake #1 10–5 O | East Sekiwake #1 8–7 | East Sekiwake #2 7–8 | West Komusubi #1 10–5 T | East Komusubi #1 8–7 | West Sekiwake #1 9–6 T |
| 1986 | East Sekiwake #1 8–7 T | West Sekiwake #1 13–2 TO | East Sekiwake #1 11–4 F | East Sekiwake #1 12–3 O | East Ōzeki #1 12–3 | East Ōzeki #1 8–7 |
| 1987 | East Ōzeki #2 11–4 | West Ōzeki #1 12–3 | East Ōzeki #1 13–2 | East Yokozuna #2 11–4 | West Yokozuna #1 14–1 | East Yokozuna #1 13–2 |
| 1988 | West Yokozuna #1 11–4 | West Yokozuna #1 13–2–P | East Yokozuna #1 11–4 | West Yokozuna #1 Sat out due to injury 0–0–15 | East Yokozuna #2 Sat out due to injury 0–0–15 | East Yokozuna #2 Sat out due to injury 0–0–15 |
| 1989 | East Yokozuna #2 14–1–P | East Yokozuna #1 11–4 | East Yokozuna #2 13–2–P | East Yokozuna #1 12–3–P | East Yokozuna #1 11–4 | West Yokozuna #1 11–4 |
| 1990 | West Yokozuna #1 11–4 | West Yokozuna #1 13–2–PPP | East Yokozuna #1 10–5 | West Yokozuna #1 10–5 | East Yokozuna #2 14–1 | East Yokozuna #1 9–6 |
| 1991 | West Yokozuna #2 12–3 | East Yokozuna #1 13–2 | East Yokozuna #1 Sat out due to injury 0–0–15 | West Yokozuna #1 9–6 | East Yokozuna #1 Sat out due to injury 0–0–15 | West Yokozuna #1 4–4–7 |
| 1992 | East Yokozuna #1 Sat out due to injury 0–0–15 | East Yokozuna #1 0–3–12 | East Yokozuna #1 Retired – | x | x | x |
| Record given aswins–losses–absences Top division champion Top division runner-up Retired Lower divisions Non-participation Sanshō key:F=Fighting spirit;O=Outstanding performance;T=Technique Also shown:★=Kinboshi;P=Playoff(s) | ||||||
| Preceded by | 61stYokozuna July 1987 – March 1992 | Succeeded by | ||
| Yokozuna is not a successive rank, and more than one wrestler can hold the title at once | ||||
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Chairman of the Japan Sumo Association 2015– | Succeeded by Incumbent |