Sumo Scene / A Resurrected Ring Name and a Prayer for a Former Wrestler

By Kuniyuki Kamimura / Yomiuri Shimbun Senior Writer

15:42 JST, September 17, 2025

A nostalgic old sumo ring name was revived at the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament in July.

A wrestler who had gone by Wakaikari was promoted to the makuuchi top division after the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament held in May and has changed his ring name to Fujinokawa, an inherited name associated with the stable he belongs to, Isenoumi.

At the Nagoya tournament, he won 10 bouts and earned the Kanto-sho (Fighting Spirit Prize). He is a promising young wrestler expected to also do well in the ongoing Autumn tournament.

He is said to have taken the name from the previous stablemaster of Isenoumi, former sekiwake Fujinokawa. Like the current Fujinokawa, he was small in stature but was a force to be reckoned with in the ring.

However, in between those two, there is one more person who bore the name Fujinokawa who must not be forgotten: Yuji Hattori, a former makuuchi wrestler.

The excitement surrounding the start of Hattori’s professional career was incredible. After winning numerous titles as an amateur and collegiate yokozuna titles at Doshisha University, he entered the professional sumo world with much fanfare.

Many were certain he would eventually become a yokozuna, but he was plagued by a chronic back problem and retired in what should have been the middle of his career, without ever holding one of the three sanyaku ranks just below yokozuna.

After he stopped wrestling, Hattori worked as a sumo commentator while also coaching students at Tokai Gakuen University in Aichi Prefecture and actively promoting amateur sumo.

However, he was struck by hardship once again. A few years ago, he fell ill and was diagnosed with cancer. He fought desperately against the disease but died on June 6 this year, at the young age of 64.

I can still vividly recall his technical commentary, which was easy even for novices to understand. His death is a truly heartbreaking loss.

Hattori may not have achieved the level of success that he was expected to in the professional ring, but I don’t want sumo fans to forget the fact that he carried the venerable name Fujinokawa with confidence in each of his bouts.

Every time I hear the name Fujinokawa, which has made a comeback in the Reiwa-era sumo ring, I am moved to pray for the repose of Hattori’s soul.

— Kamimura is a sumo expert.