Kisenosato Yutaka (稀勢の里 寛) is a Japanese former professional sumo wrestler from Ibaraki.
1949
Despite this he was not promoted to sekiwake, only the third time since 15-day tournaments were introduced in 1949 that a komusubi with ten wins has not moved up the rankings.
Kisenosato spent nine tournaments at komusubi without making sekiwake, which has only happened to three previous wrestlers, Dewanishiki, Fujinishiki, and Takamiyama.
2002
He made his professional debut in 2002 and reached the top makuuchi division in 2004 at the age of just 18.
He fought his first bout in March 2002 under his real name.
2004
He rose quickly through the divisions, entering the second-highest jūryō division in May 2004, aged 17 years and 9 months, the second youngest ever jūryō wrestler after Takanohana, whom Hagiwara had idolised when he was a boy.
Three tournaments later, in November 2004, he entered the top makuuchi division, again the second youngest (18 years and 3 months) after Takanohana.
To mark his entry into the top division his stablemaster gave him the shikona or ring surname of Kisenosato.
2005
His first major top division result was 12 wins against three losses in the September 2005 tournament, where he was awarded the Fighting Spirit special prize.
2006
He was promoted to the rank of komusubi in July 2006, which he held until March 2007 when he fell back to maegashira 1.
Early in his top division career, Kisenosato was involved in some controversial bouts with yokozuna Asashōryū.
He defeated him for the first time in September 2006 and was awarded the Outstanding Performance Prize.
Shaken by this, Asashōryū responded in the next tournament by leaping to the side at the tachi-ai and employing a highly unusual leg-kicking technique called ketaguri.
Afterwards, Asashōryū was criticised by the Yokozuna Deliberation Committee for using this rare move.
2007
In March 2007 Kisenosato slapped Asashōryū around the face during their match.
Asashōryū was so riled by this that he gave Kisenosato a small kick in the back after the bout was over, which prompted much criticism from the Japanese media.
In July 2007 Kisenosato turned in a strong 11–4 record and derailed Kotomitsuki's hopes of a tournament championship on the final day by slapping him down.
This earned him a promotion back to komusubi in September 2007.
2008
Kisenosato defeated Asashōryū once again in the yokozuna's comeback tournament in January 2008, earning him his first kinboshi or gold star, (his first win over Asashōryū had been at komusubi rank so he was ineligible then), and his second Outstanding Performance prize.
After this performance, he was named one of seven wrestlers who NHK commentator Shūhei Nagao (the former Mainoumi) called the "Seven Samurai" and identified as "holding the key" to a Japanese resurgence in sumo, which was dominated by foreigners in the top ranks.
(The others were Gōeidō, Kotoshōgiku, Hōmashō, Toyohibiki, Toyonoshima and Tochiōzan).
Returning to komusubi in the March 2008 tournament, Kisenosato lost to Asashōryū on opening day but defeated three out of four ōzeki and held his rank with an 8–7 score.
In May 2008 he scored another win over Asashōryū on opening day, finishing with a strong 10–5 record and a share of the Fighting Spirit prize.
2012
After many years in the junior san'yaku ranks, he reached the second highest rank of ōzeki in January 2012.
He earned three kinboshi or gold stars by defeating yokozuna in his career leading up to ōzeki and nine special prizes.
He scored more than 20 double-digit winning records at the ōzeki rank.
2014
He had been a candidate four times previously (July 2013, January 2014, July 2016 and September 2016), but in each case, he failed to achieve the necessary number of wins.
2016
In 2016, he secured the most wins in the calendar year, the first wrestler to do so without winning a tournament in that year.
2017
After being a runner-up in a tournament on twelve occasions, he broke through at the January 2017 tournament, winning his first top division championship or yūshō with a record and subsequently was promoted to yokozuna, the first Japanese-born wrestler to reach sumo's highest rank since Wakanohana in 1998.
Kisenosato won his first tournament as a yokozuna in March 2017, but suffered a left chest muscle injury in the process and was not able to complete another tournament until September 2018.
His eight straight missed tournaments were a record for a yokozuna.
2019
In January 2019, he announced his retirement from sumo.
He is now an elder of the Japan Sumo Association under the name of Nishonoseki Yutaka (二所ノ関 寛).
Yutaka Hagiwara was born in Ashiya, Hyōgo, but moved to Ryūgasaki, Ibaraki when he was two years old.
In his second year of middle school, he moved to neighbouring Ushiku but continued to attend school in Ryūgasaki.
Though Hagiwara was a fan of watching sumo from a young age, he was on his school's baseball teams as a pitcher in primary and junior high school.
He eventually gave up when he realized he was only excelling because of his size.
On a chance meeting with the head of Naruto stable, the former yokozuna Takanosato, the stablemaster convinced Hagiwara's initially skeptical parents that he was a great candidate for sumo.
Hagiwara eventually joined the stable upon finishing junior high school.
The stable was known for its strict environment and the oyakata would encourage him to always use forward-moving techniques in training to better prepare him for tournament situations, rather than go for a quick win by stepping backward.
