Sumo Scene / Terunofuji Ends Drama-Filled Career of Highs and Lows

The Yomiuri Shimbun
Terunofuji, left, appears at a press conference with stablemaster Isegahama to announce his retirement on Jan. 17 at Tokyo’s Ryogoku Kokugikan.

Of the 73 wrestlers who have reached the yokozuna rank in sumo history, arguably none have had as dramatic a career as Terunofuji.

Terunofuji was carrying the burden of being the sport’s lone yokozuna when he announced his retirement during the recently completed New Year Grand Sumo Tournament.

Still affected by the physical problems that had plagued him for so long, from knee and back injuries to struggles with diabetes, he was unable to display his powerful fighting style in what ultimately became his last tournament.

When he suffered his second loss of the tournament on the fourth day of the tournament, he decided that the end had come.

“I did everything that I could possibly do, but I have become unable to fight to my satisfaction,” he said at a press conference.

What most impressed me was that he shed no tears as he spoke to the press; on the contrary, his expression indicated a sense of being freed from the immense pressure.

Any talk of Terunofuji’s exploits inevitably turns to his dramatic plunge to the second-lowest jonidan division and subsequent rise all the way to the pinnacle of the sport — all with thoughts of retiring in the back of his mind.

That mental toughness that enabled his resurrection has earned him praise. But Terunofuji also had to overcome an unforeseen and serious circumstance that occurred prior to his promotion to the juryo division. He had to change sumo stables.

Normally, a wrestler remains with the same stable up to the day they retire. The fundamental nature of the sumo stable system builds a relationship similar to a family. The wrestlers and stablemaster spend all aspects of their lives together, sleeping and eating meals under the same roof.

This is why sumo wrestlers regard their stablemasters as “father.”

Terunofuji initially joined the now-defunct Magaki Stable, headed by former yokozuna Wakanohana II. Hence his ring name at the time of his debut was Wakamisho.

However, in March 2013, two years after his debut, the stable closed due to the stablemaster’s health problems and other issues. Wakamisho and his stablemates were transferred en masse to the Isegahama Stable, where his ring name was changed to Terunofuji.

It was under new stablemaster Isegahama (former yokozuna Asahifuji), a fierce taskmaster, that Terunofuji gradually bloomed and realized his potential.

In announcing his retirement, Teru- nofuji paid tribute to Isegahama, saying, “Without my stablemaster, there would never have been talk of a wrestler named Terunofuji.”

With that turning point of changing his “father,” Terunofuji embarked on a fulfilling career full of highs and lows.

It was a career filled with so much drama, it would take way too much time to relate everything about his life in sumo.

— Kamimura is a sumo expert.