15 Years In The Making For This Japanese Rikishi
You probably don't know this man, but his name is Yutaka Hagiwara, and his sport is sumo.
In the dohyo, he is known as Kisenosato Yutaka. I know him just as Kisenosato. Today, Kisenosato was awarded his first Emperor's Cup, the most coveted prize in professional sumo. This comes after 15 years since his professional debut, 97 upper division tournaments, and about 1,455 individual bouts.
It was this time last year that the first Japanese born rikishi in a decade had won the prize, fellow Ozeki ranked wrestler Kotoshogiku. Kisenosato is the second in a decade to win. The sport has been more or less dominated by Mongolian yokozuna, but could we be witnessing a turning point?
More exciting still, if Kisenosato keeps up this momentum, he could become the first Japanese born rikishi in 19 years to earn the rank of yokozuna.
In the dohyo, he is known as Kisenosato Yutaka. I know him just as Kisenosato. Today, Kisenosato was awarded his first Emperor's Cup, the most coveted prize in professional sumo. This comes after 15 years since his professional debut, 97 upper division tournaments, and about 1,455 individual bouts.
It was this time last year that the first Japanese born rikishi in a decade had won the prize, fellow Ozeki ranked wrestler Kotoshogiku. Kisenosato is the second in a decade to win. The sport has been more or less dominated by Mongolian yokozuna, but could we be witnessing a turning point?
More exciting still, if Kisenosato keeps up this momentum, he could become the first Japanese born rikishi in 19 years to earn the rank of yokozuna.
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