Hasegawa Katsutoshi

Hasegawa Katsutoshi (born 20 July 1944) is a former sumo wrestler from Kurisawa, Hokkaido, Japan (now a part of Iwamizawa city). He began his professional career in 1960, reaching the top division in 1965. He won eight special prizes for his achievements in tournaments and earned nine gold stars for defeating yokozuna. He won a tournament championship or yūshō in 1972 and was a runner-up in two other tournaments. His highest rank was sekiwake. He retired in 1976 and became an elder of the Japan Sumo Association, working as a coach at Sadogatake stable until his retirement in 2009.

Hasegawa Katsutoshi
長谷川 勝敏
Personal information
BornKatsutoshi Hasegawa
(1944-07-20) 20 July 1944
Hokkaidō, Japan
Height1.84 m (6 ft 12 in)
Weight127 kg (280 lb)
Career
StableSadogatake
Record678-577-15
DebutMarch 1960
Highest rankSekiwake (January 1969)
RetiredMay, 1976
Elder nameHidenoyama
Championships1 (Makuuchi)
1 (Jūryō)
1 (Makushita)
Special PrizesOutstanding Performance (3)
Fighting Spirit (3)
Technique(2)
Gold Stars9
Sadanoyama (2)
Tochinoumi (2)
Kashiwado (2)
Kitanofuji (2)
Wajima
* Up to date as of June 2020.

Career

Hasegawa joined professional sumo in March 1960 at the age of 15, recruited by the former sekiwake Kotonishiki. Unusually, he fought under his own surname for his entire career (he is the only top division wrestler from Sadogatake stable not to have adopted a shikona or fighting name with the prefix "Koto"). He made the jūryō division in January 1963 and was promoted to the top makuuchi division two years later in January 1965.

Hasegawa quickly rose up the ranks, defeating his first yokozuna (Tochinoumi) in September 1965 and earning his first special prize, for Technique. In the following tournament in November he made his debut in the titled san'yaku ranks at komusubi. He was runner-up to yokozuna Taihō in the May 1967 tournament. He reached sekiwake for the first time in January 1969 and held the rank for eight straight tournaments.

He won the top division yūshō or tournament championship at sekiwake rank in March 1972, defeating Kaiketsu in a playoff. However, the Sumo Association decided not to promote him, as there were already four ōzeki at that time, who were generally felt to be performing at a mediocre level. Managing only eight wins in the following tournament in May, he never became an ōzeki. He was a sekiwake for 21 tournaments, a record for the modern era which stood until 2007 when it was broken by Kotomitsuki. His last appearance at sekiwake was in January 1974. After this tournament he changed the second part of his shikona from Katsutoshi to Katsuhiro but it did not bring a change of luck and he remained largely in the maegashira ranks.

Retirement from sumo

Hasegawa retired in May 1976, but remained in the sumo world as an elder, with the name Hidenoyama Oyakata. Until 2008 he was a Director of the Japan Sumo Association, responsible for the running of the annual honbasho held in Nagoya. He then worked at Special Executive level. Unusually for a senior member of the Association, he did not take charge of a stable, instead working as a coach at Sadogatake stable, firstly under former yokozuna Kotozakura, and from 2005 under former sekiwake Kotonowaka. He reached the mandatory retirement age of 65 in July 2009.

Fighting style

Hasegawa's favoured techniques were hidari-yotsu (a right hand outside, left hand inside grip on the opponent's mawashi), sukuinage (scoop throw), and yorikiri (force out).

Career record

Hasegawa Katsuhiro[1]
Year in sumo January
Hatsu basho, Tokyo
March
Haru basho, Osaka
May
Natsu basho, Tokyo
July
Nagoya basho, Nagoya
September
Aki basho, Tokyo
November
Kyūshū basho, Fukuoka
1960 x (Maezumo) West Jonokuchi #11
71
 
West Jonidan #74
61
 
West Jonidan #13
52
 
West Sandanme #79
61
 
1961 East Sandanme #39
61
 
West Makushita #83
61
 
East Makushita #45
34
 
East Makushita #53
43
 
East Makushita #49
43
 
East Makushita #45
61
 
1962 East Makushita #22
43
 
West Makushita #19
43
 
East Makushita #16
52
 
East Makushita #7
43
 
West Makushita #3
43
 
East Makushita #2
52
 
1963 East Jūryō #17
96
 
West Jūryō #11
Sat out due to injury
0015
West Makushita #6
16
 
West Makushita #22
52
 
East Makushita #16
43
 
West Makushita #15
43
 
1964 West Makushita #12
52
 
East Makushita #4
70P
Champion

 
East Jūryō #13
96
 
East Jūryō #10
132
Champion

 
West Jūryō #3
114
 
East Jūryō #1
87
 
1965 East Maegashira #15
87
 
East Maegashira #13
87
 
East Maegashira #8
105
 
East Maegashira #3
87
 
East Maegashira #2
105
T
East Komusubi #1
78
 
1966 West Maegashira #1
510
West Maegashira #5
96
 
East Maegashira #2
96
 
West Komusubi #1
96
 
East Komusubi #1
69
 
West Maegashira #2
411
1967 West Maegashira #7
105
 
West Maegashira #1
411
 
West Maegashira #7
132
F
East Komusubi #1
96
O
East Komusubi #1
69
 
East Maegashira #1
96
 
1968 East Komusubi #1
510
 
West Maegashira #4
87
East Maegashira #2
87
West Maegashira #1
78
 
West Maegashira #2
96
 
East Maegashira #1
96
 
1969 West Sekiwake #1
96
 
East Sekiwake #1
96
 
East Sekiwake #1
96
 
East Sekiwake #1
114
 
East Sekiwake #1
87
 
West Sekiwake #1
87
 
1970 West Sekiwake #1
87
 
East Sekiwake #2
69
 
East Maegashira #2
510
 
East Maegashira #5
105
 
East Komusubi #1
510
 
West Maegashira #2
87
O
1971 West Sekiwake #1
312
 
West Maegashira #2
87
 
West Sekiwake #1
96
 
East Sekiwake #1
87
 
East Sekiwake #1
87
O
West Sekiwake #1
87
 
1972 East Sekiwake #2
105
 
East Sekiwake #1
123P
F
East Sekiwake #1
87
 
East Sekiwake #3
510
 
West Maegashira #1
114
 
East Sekiwake #1
87
 
1973 East Sekiwake #1
411
 
East Maegashira #4
78
 
East Maegashira #5
87
 
West Maegashira #1
69
 
East Maegashira #2
96
West Sekiwake #1
87
 
1974 West Sekiwake #1
510
 
East Maegashira #2
105
F
West Komusubi #1
411
 
East Maegashira #5
105
T
East Komusubi #2
69
 
West Maegashira #3
69
 
1975 West Maegashira #5
96
 
West Maegashira #1
69
 
West Maegashira #3
69
 
West Maegashira #6
87
 
East Maegashira #3
411
 
West Maegashira #9
105
 
1976 East Maegashira #3
78
 
East Maegashira #4
69
 
East Maegashira #8
Retired
05
Record given as win-loss-absent    Top Division Champion Top Division Runner-up Retired Lower Divisions

Sanshō key: F=Fighting spirit; O=Outstanding performance; T=Technique     Also shown: =Kinboshi; P=Playoff(s)
Divisions: Makuuchi Jūryō Makushita Sandanme Jonidan Jonokuchi

Makuuchi ranks: Yokozuna Ōzeki Sekiwake Komusubi Maegashira

See also

References

  1. "Hasegawa Katsuhiro Rikishi Information". Sumo Reference. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
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