Kasugano stable
Kasugano stable (春日野部屋, Kasugano-beya) is a stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Dewanoumi ichimon or group of stables. As of January 2020 it had 19 wrestlers. It has been led by former sekiwake Tochinowaka Kiyotaka since 2003. It was one of the most successful stables in 2013, with six sekitori wrestlers, including the Georgian Tochinoshin and the now retired Japanese born (but Korean national) Tochinowaka Michihiro, who used the current head coach's old ring name.
It was founded in the mid 18th century by a wrestler named Kasugano Gunpachi.[1] It became inactive for a long time but was led in the Meiji period by a referee named Kimura Soshiro (this is no longer allowed as oyakata must now be former wrestlers).[1] He adopted as his son the 27th yokozuna Tochigiyama, who led the stable for over thirty years. He in turn adopted as his son the 44th yokozuna Tochinishiki, who became the head in 1959 whilst still an active wrestler and later served as the chairman of the Japan Sumo Association.[1] Tochinoumi took over upon Tochinishiki's death in 1990 and led the stable until his retirement in 2003. The stable absorbed Mihogaseki stable in 2013 when its stablemaster (former ōzeki Masuiyama Daishirō II) reached the mandatory retirement age.
Kasugano Oyakata was warned by the Sumo Association in 2011 after he beat three of his charges with a golf club for breaking a curfew.[2] In a separate case, a junior wrestler was convicted in 2014 of an assault on another wrestler and given a three year jail sentence, suspended for four years. In March 2017 the victim sued Kasugano Oyakata and the now retired assailant, saying he was still suffering from the effects of the broken jaw he received and that Kasugano failed to exercise appropriate oversight.[3]
Ring name conventions
Many wrestlers at this stable take ring names or shikona that begin with the character 栃 (read: tochi), in deference to the long line of owners who have used this character in their shikona. It originally referred to Tochigi Prefecture, where Tochigiyama came from, but subsequent owners were not from there and the prefix no longer has a geographical meaning.[1]
Owners
- 2003–present: 11th Kasugano Kiyotaka (riji, former sekiwake Tochinowaka)
- 1990-2003: 10th Kasugano Terumasa (the 49th yokozuna Tochinoumi)
- 1959-1990: 9th Kasugano Kiyotaka (the 44th yokozuna Tochinishiki)
- 1925-1959: 8th Kasugano Takeya (the 27th yokozuna Tochigiyama)
Notable active wrestlers
- Tochinoshin (best rank ōzeki)
- Aoiyama (best rank sekiwake)
Coaches
- Matsuchiyama Takaharu (consultant, former komusubi Banryūyama)
- Fujigane Masaharu (iin, former komusubi Daizen)
- Hatachiyama Hitoshi (iin, former komusubi Tochinohana)
- Mihogaseki Atsushi (iin, former maegashira Tochisakae)
- Takenawa Taiichi (iin, former sekiwake Tochinonada)
- Iwatomo Mamoru (shunin, former maegashira Kimurayama)
- Kiyomigata Yuichiro (toshiyori, former sekiwake Tochiōzan)
Notable former members
- Tochihikari (former ōzeki)
- Kaneshiro (former sekiwake)
- Masudayama (former sekiwake)
- Tochiakagi (former sekiwake)
- Tochiazuma (former sekiwake)
- Tochiōzan (former sekiwake)
- Tochitsukasa (former sekiwake)
- Tochinowaka Michihiro (former maegashira)
- Kasuganishiki (former maegashira)
Assistants
- Torafusuyama (sewanin, former makushita, real name Tomoyuki Tamaru)
- Tochigenō (sewanin, former makushita, real name Yasuyuki Shigeto)
- Tochinofuji (wakaimonogashira, former maegashira, real name Tatsuyuki Kusano)
Referees
- Kimura Shōtarō (sanyaku gyōji, real name Yoshimitsu Morita)
- Kimura Akijiro (makuuchi gyōji, real name Shigehiro Nakazawa)
- Kimura Zennosuke (juryo gyoji, real name Makoto Kimura)
Ushers
- Takurō (chief yobidashi, real name Takurō Hanazato)
- Jirō (san'yaku yobidashi, real name Kazuo Nishide)
Hairdressers
- Tokotakumi (fifth class tokoyama)
Location and access
Tokyo, Sumida Ward, Ryōgoku 1-7-11
7 minute walk from Ryōgoku Station on the Sōbu Line
See also
- List of sumo stables
- List of active sumo wrestlers
- List of past sumo wrestlers
- Glossary of sumo terms
References
- ^ a b c d Sharnoff, Lora (1993). Grand Sumo. Weatherhill. ISBN 0-8348-0283-X.
- ^ "Sumo stablemaster Kasugano reprimanded for beating wrestlers". Mainichi Daily News. 21 October 2011. Archived from the original on 21 October 2011. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
- ^ "Suit revealed against former sumo stablemaster Kasugano, now JSA director, and wrestler over 2014 assault". Japan Times. 25 January 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2018.