Fujizakura
| Fujizakura Yoshimori | |
|---|---|
| 富士櫻栄守 | |
| Personal information | |
| Born | Hideo Nakasawa February 9, 1948 Kōfu, Yamanashi, Japan |
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) |
| Weight | 129 kg (284 lb; 20.3 st) |
| Career | |
| Stable | Takasago |
| Record | 788-827-30 |
| Debut | March, 1963 |
| Highest rank | Sekiwake (March, 1974) |
| Retired | March, 1985 |
| Championships | 1 (Jūryō) 1 (Makushita) |
| Special Prizes | Technique (3) Outstanding Performance (3) Fighting Spirit (3) |
| Gold Stars | 9 Wajima (3) Wakanohana II (3) Kitanoumi (2) Kotozakura |
| * Up to date as of July 2012. | |
Fujizakura Yoshimori (富士櫻栄守) (born 9 February 1948 as Hideo Nakasawa) is a former sumo wrestler from Kōfu, Yamanashi, Japan. His highest rank was sekiwake. He wrestled for Takasago stable. He made his debut in 1963 and had one of the longest professional careers of any wrestler, fighting 1613 bouts in total, of which 1543 were consecutive. This latter record is second only to Aobajō. After his retirement in 1985 he was an elder of the Japan Sumo Association and the head coach of Nakamura stable.
He was the eldest son of a farmer, and was enrolled in the judo club at junior high school. He made his professional debut in March 1963. He was given the shikona of Fujizakura, meaning "cherry of Fuji", a reference to the prefectural flower of Yamanashi, a small pale red and white flower that blooms only around Mount Fuji. He reached sekitori status in January 1970 and was promoted to the top makuuchi division in September 1971 He was a runner-up in only his second honbasho or tournament in the division and was awarded the Fighting Spirit Prize. He fought in makuuchi for 73 tournaments in total, winning eight special prizes, and nine gold stars for defeating yokozuna. His highest rank was sekiwake, which he reached in March 1974.
He was demoted to the juryo division on two occasions in 1979 and 1980, but each time made an immediate comeback to makuuchi. His final top division tournament was in January 1984, where he had to withdraw through injury – coincidentally, his long-time stablemate Takamiyama withdrew from the same tournament and this was also his final makuuchi appearance. This brought to an end Fujizakura's run of 1543 consecutive appearances from his professional debut, which was the most in sumo history at the time. As of 2017 it is second only to Aobajō's 1630 consecutive bouts.
...
Wikipedia