Kitazakura Hidetoshi
北桜 英敏
Personal information
Born	Hidetoshi Mukō (1971-12-15)December 15, 1971 (age 53) Hiroshima, Japan
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight	168 kg (370 lb)
Web presence	website
Career
Stable	Kitanoumi
Record	713-711-15
Debut	March, 1987
Highest rank	Maegashira 9 (July, 2001)
Retired	March, 2010
Elder name	Shikihide
Championships	1 (Jūryō) 1 (Makushita)
* Up to date as of Mar 2010.

Kitazakura Hidetoshi (北桜 英敏), born December 15, 1971 asHidetoshi Mukō (向 英俊,Mukō Hidetoshi), is a formersumo wrestler fromAsakita ward,Hiroshima City,Japan. His highest rank wasmaegashira 9. He is the elder brother ofToyozakura, also a top division wrestler. He was a popular figure with sumo fans. He is now a stable master andelder of theJapan Sumo Association under the name Shikihide-oyakata.

Kitazakura made his professional debut in March 1987, joiningKitanoumi stable. His brotherToyozakura became a sumo wrestler two years later. Unusually for brothers in sumo, they joined different stables, Toyozakura being recruited by Tatsutagawa stable. This was the wish of their father,^[1] a former sumo wrestler himself who reached the fourth highestsandanme division. Kitazakura and Toyozakura never met in competition, as brothers are not matched against each other.

Initially wrestling using his real name, Kitazakura first adopted hisshikona in November 1987. It took a long time to get to the salariedsekitori ranks and he spent seven years from 1991 to 1998 in the third highestmakushita division. He got as high asmakushita 5 in September 1995 and a good performance might have got him promotion to the secondjūryō division but he fell short with a 2–5 record. Reverting to his own surname failed to change his fortunes and he fell right to the bottom of themakushita division. However, after changing back to the name Kitazakura he took themakushita championship with a perfect 7-0 record in September 1997 and three more winning records finally earned him promotion tojūryō in July 1998, after a total of eleven years in the lower divisions.

Kitazakura did not reach the topmakuuchi division until July 2001 when he was in his thirtieth year, after winning thejūryō championship in May 2001. The 86 tournaments it took him to get there was the fourth slowest ever at the time (now the eighth slowest as of 2016). He never managed to become amakuuchi regular, spending 48 of his 60sekitori tournaments injūryō, but he was very popular with the tournament crowds, due to his adoption ofMitoizumi's trademark salt throwing routine in the pre-bout rituals.^[1] He was also renowned for his sheer eagerness to fight, forever imploring his opponent to start battle before the allotted time was up.^[2]

After a 5–10 result atjūryō 11 in January 2009 he was demoted to the unsalariedmakushita division for the first time since 2003. Kitazakura did not retire as some expected and compiled a 4–3 record atmakushita in March 2009, including one win against ajūryō 13Wakatenro). This however was not quite enough to send him back tosekitori status for the Natsubasho, the three available places going toSagatsukasa,Jūmonji andTamaasuka. He produced another 4-3 score in May and this time he was promoted back tojūryō. He is the second oldest wrestler in the modern era afterŌshio to earn promotion back to thejūryō division. However, he could score only 3-12 in the July 2009 tournament and returned tomakushita.

Kitazakura announced his retirement from active competition in March 2010, bringing an end to a 23-year career. His announcement came on the same day that Sendagawa-oyakata (the formerōzekiMaenoyama) reached the mandatory retirement age of 65. This allowed Onogawa-oyakata (formermaegashiraYotsukasa) to switch to the Sendagawa elder name , leaving the Onogawa name free for Kitazakura. He remained at his old stable as a coach, until December 2012 when he took over theShikihide stable in anticipation of Shikihide-oyakata, formerkomusubiŌshio reaching the mandatory retirement age. The stable is unusual in that it accepts recruits who do not show much promise and may not have the physical attributes normally considered essential to success in sumo. His best known wrestler,Shōnanzakura of the lowestjonokuchi division, retired in 2021 with a career record of only three wins in 238 matches.^[2]

Kitazakura was ayotsu-sumo wrestler, his favourite grip on his opponent'smawashi while grappling beingmigi-yotsu, or left hand outside, right hand inside his opponent's arms. His most common winningkimarite by far was a straightforwardyori-kiri or force out, which determined the outcome of over half his victories atsekitori level.^[3]

Kitazakura is married, with one daughter. He was ill for much of 2020, and his wife in her role asokamisan took an increasing role in running and even training at Shikihide stable. Half the stable's wrestlers ran away in early August 2020, complaining about her strict behaviour and invasions of their privacy.^[4] They were persuaded to return, and with the Sumo Association's compliance committee continuing to investigate and interview the wrestlers involved, Shikihide-oyakata has promised to instruct the wrestlers better in the future.

He is known for hisbeadwork and his art has been displayed at theRyōgoku Kokugikan.^[2]

• Glossary of sumo terms
• List of sumo tournament second division champions
• List of past sumo wrestlers
• List of sumo elders

• Kitazakura Hidetoshi's official biography (English) at the Grand Sumo Homepage
• A Year in the Life of Kitazakura

• 1971 births
• Hidetoshi brothers
• Living people
• Japanese sumo wrestlers
• People from Asakita, Hiroshima
• Sportspeople from Hiroshima
• Sumo people from Hiroshima Prefecture

• Articles containing Japanese-language text