Asahikuni
| Asahikuni Masuo | |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Born | Takeo Ōta April 25, 1947 Hokkaidō, Japan |
| Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 8 1⁄2 in) |
| Weight | 121 kg (267 lb) |
| Career | |
| Stable | Tatsunami |
| Record | 635-479-72 |
| Debut | July, 1963 |
| Highest rank | Ōzeki (May, 1976) |
| Retired | September, 1979 |
| Championships | 1 (Jūryō) 1 (Makushita) |
| Special Prizes | Fighting Spirit (1) Technique(6) |
| Gold Stars | 2 (Kotozakura, Kitanofuji) |
| * Up to date as of August 2012. | |
Asahikuni Masuo (旭國斗雄?), born April 25, 1947 as Takeo Ōta (太田武雄?) is a former sumo wrestler from Hokkaidō, Japan. His highest rank was ōzeki. After his retirement he set up Ōshima stable which he ran from 1980 until he left the Japan Sumo Association in 2012 upon reaching the age of 65.
Born in Aibetsu, Kamikawa District, Asahikuni made his professional debut in July 1963, joining Tatsunami stable. He reached the second highest jūryō division in March 1969 and the top makuuchi division just two tournaments after that. In 1970 he dropped to jūryō once again but he returned to the top division in 1972, reaching sekiwake in November.
At the beginning of 1976 Asahikuni put together two strong records of 12-3 and 13-2, finishing as runner-up in both tournaments, and this earned him promotion to the rank of ōzeki. It had taken him 77 tournaments from his professional debut to reach ōzeki, which at the time was the slowest ever. His best tournament result came in July 1977 when he lost just one bout, but he finished as runner-up to Kitanoumi who won with a perfect record. Asahikuni was never able to win a top division championship, this being his fourth and final runner-up performance.
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