Asashio Taro IV
| Asashio Tarō | |
|---|---|
| 朝潮太郎(4代) | |
| Personal information | |
| Born | Suehiro Nagaoka December 9, 1955 Kochi, Japan |
| Height | 1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in) |
| Weight | 175 kg (386 lb) |
| Career | |
| Stable | Takasago |
| Record | 564-382-33 |
| Debut | March, 1978 |
| Highest rank | Ōzeki (May, 1983) |
| Retired | March, 1989 |
| Championships | 1 (Makuuchi) 1 (Makushita) |
| Special Prizes | Outstanding Performance (10) Fighting Spirit (3) Technique (1) |
| Gold Stars | 5 Kitanoumi (4) Wajima |
| * Up to date as of August 2012. | |
Asashio Tarō IV (born 9 December 1955 as Suehiro Nagaoka) is a former sumo wrestler from Muroto, Kochi, Japan. His highest rank was ōzeki. He is currently the head coach of Takasago stable.
Joining Takasago stable in March 1978 after a successful amateur sumo career at Kinki University, he began his professional career in the third highest makushita division, and was promoted to the top makuuchi division in November 1978. He initially competed under his own surname, Nagaoka, but in March 1979 he was given the shikona of Asashio (or "morning tide"), which had previously been used by several past greats in Takasago stable, including his own stablemaster. Asashio was promoted to komusubi in May 1980 and sekiwake in July 1980. In November 1981 he lost a playoff for the tournament championship to new yokozuna Chiyonofuji. He was runner-up to Chiyonofuji once again in May 1982 and to Kotokaze in January 1983.
After accumulating a record ten Shukun-shō, or Outstanding Performance prizes for his achievements in tournaments, he was promoted to sumo's second highest rank of ōzeki in May 1983. Having lost three top division championship playoffs in his career, he finally took his only tournament championship in March 1985 with a 13-2 record. After that he was rarely a threat in tournaments, usually posting only eight or nine wins. He retained his rank until March 1989, when after a poor start to the tournament he announced his retirement from the ring at the age of thirty-three.
Asashio was fond of tsuki/oshi (thrusting and pushing) techniques, winning many bouts by oshi-dashi (push out) and hataki-komi (slap down). However, he was also well capable of fighting on the mawashi, preferring a right hand outside, left hand inside grip (hidari-yotsu), and overall yori-kiri (force out) was his most regularly used kimarite. He rarely employed throws.
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