Kasugafuji
| Kasugafuji Akihiro | |
|---|---|
| 春日富士 晃大 | |
 |
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| Personal information | |
| Born | Shoki Iwanaga February 20, 1966 Oshika, Miyagi, Japan |
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in) |
| Weight | 139 kg (306 lb) |
| Career | |
| Stable | Kasugayama → Ajigawa |
| Record | 518-542-15 |
| Debut | March, 1981 |
| Highest rank | Maegashira 1 (January, 1990) |
| Retired | September, 1996 |
| Special Prizes | Fighting Spirit (1) |
| * Up to date as of Sep. 2012. | |
Kasugafuji Akihiro (born February 20, 1966 as Shoki Iwanaga) is a former sumo wrestler and coach from Oshika, Miyagi, Japan. He was an active wrestler in professional sumo from 1981 until 1996, reaching a highest rank of maegashira 1. After his retirement he re-established the Kasugayama stable in 1997 and trained his own wrestlers. He left the Japan Sumo Association in 2012 after an expenses scandal.
He made his professional debut in March 1981, joining Kasugayama stable. He rose slowly through the ranks, having to overcome the disadvantage of being much shorter than most of his competitors at just 1.77 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in). He became a sekitori upon promotion to the second highest juryo division in January 1988. He reached the top makuuchi division in March 1989, reaching his highest rank of maegashira 1 in January 1990. In the same year his stable closed when his stable-master, former maegashira Ōnobori, retired and he moved to Ajigawa stable. He earned a special prize for Fighting Spirit in July 1990. He fought in the top division for a total of 42 tournaments, making his final appearance in May 1996.
He retired in September 1996 and became an elder of the Japan Sumo Association under the name of Kasugayama Oyakata. He re-established the Kasugayama stable in 1997 and coached the Korean born wrestler Kasugao to the top division in 2003. Kasugao was one of a number of wrestlers force to retire in 2011 because of a match-fixing scandal, and as a result his stable lost its only sekitori. In February 2012 he was elected to the Sumo Association's board of directors, and as a result stood down from the day-to-day running of the stable. He passed control over to the former Hamanishiki and switched elder names with him, becoming Ikazuchi Oyakata.
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