Wakaichirō Ken
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| Wakaichirō Ken | |
|---|---|
| 若一郎 健 | |
 | |
| Personal information | |
| Born | Ichiro Kendrick Young July 7, 1998 Houston, Texas |
| Height | 178 cm (5 ft 10 in) |
| Weight | 115 kg (254 lb; 18 st 2 lb) |
| Career | |
| Stable | Musashigawa stable |
| Current rank | see below |
| Debut | November, 2016 |
| Highest rank | Sandanme 77 (September, 2018) |
| * Up to date as of Sept 21, 2018. | |
Wakaichirō Ken (若一郎 健, born July 7, 1998 as Ichiro Kendrick Young) is a professional sumo wrestler with the Mushashigawa stable from Houston, Texas. His highest rank is West sandanme 77.[1]
Background
Ichiro Kendrick Young was born in 1998 in Houston, Texas to an African-American father and Japanese mother.[2] Young did not have a sumo background before joining the professional sport. Although he played football until the age of 14, he then went to Quest Early College High School and gave up sports because of the academic workload.[2] He graduated with an Associate degree in science and was considering becoming a pilot or joining the armed forces.[3][4] However, his mother urged him to give sumo a try, regarding his short and stocky build as ideal.[3] He joined Musashigawa stable in November 2016, and was given the shikona of Wakaichirō, a literal translation of his real name Young Ichiro.[3] As he has Japanese nationality, Wakaichirō does not count against the one foreigner per heya quota set by the Japan Sumo Association.[3]. Wakaichirō lists his hometown on the banzuke ranking sheets as Nagasaki, where he has also lived.[5]
Career
Wakaichirō made his first appearance on the dohyo in November 2016, winning his three maezumo bouts.[5] On his first official banzuke appearance in January 2017 at the rank of jonokuchi 17 he scored three wins against four losses.[5] After a 5-2 result in March he was promoted to the jonidan division in May 2017 and had reached jonidan 4 by September.[5] In November he was promoted to the sandanme division but scored only one win against six losses in this tournament. This dropped him again to jonidan, where a 5-2 result in the January 2018 tournament returned him to sandanme, a 3-4 record in March sent him back down, and 4-3 in May back up again. In July he got his first winning record in sandanme, 4-3.
With a high-profile ex-yokozuna as its stablemaster Musashigawa stable has had many visitors from other sports and as a consequence Wakaichirō has met Max Holloway of the UFC and Michael Bennett of the Seattle Seahawks.[3] Wakaichirō himself is a Houston Texans fan.[3]
Career record
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | x | x | x | x | x | (Maezumo) |
| 2017 | West Jonokuchi #17 3–4 |
West Jonokuchi #5 5–2 |
East Jonidan #52 4–3 |
East Jonidan #26 4–3 |
West Jonidan #4 4–3 |
West Sandanme #85 1–6 |
| 2018 | East Jonidan #23 5–2 |
East Sandanme #89 3–4 |
East Jonidan #14 4–3 |
West Sandanme #94 4–3 |
West Sandanme #77 2–5 |
x |
| Record given as wins–losses–absencies 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) |
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See also
References
- ^ "日本相撲協会公式サイト" (in Japanese). Retrieved 8 August 2017.
- ^ a b "Sumo Spotlight: Houston-Based Ichiro Young Interview". Cageside Press. April 16, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f Gunning, John (August 31, 2017). "More multiracial wrestlers making mark in raised ring". Retrieved September 16, 2017.
- ^ Gunning, John (June 27, 2018). "Sumo world attracts wide range of characters". Japan Times. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e "Wakaichiro Ken Rikishi Information". Sumo Reference. Retrieved 16 September 2017.