Kokkai Futoshi
| Kokkai Futoshi | |
|---|---|
| 黒海 太 | |
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|
| Personal information | |
| Born | Levan Tsaguria March 10, 1981 Sukhumi, Georgia, USSR |
| Height | 1.89 m (6 ft 2 1⁄2 in) |
| Weight | 153 kg (337 lb; 24.1 st) |
| Career | |
| Stable | Oitekaze |
| Record | 446-458-10 |
| Debut | May, 2001 |
| Highest rank | Komusubi (September, 2006) |
| Retired | September, 2012 |
| Championships | 1 (Jūryō) 1 (Makushita) 1 (Sandanme) 1 (Jonidan) |
| Special Prizes | Fighting Spirit (2) |
| Gold Stars | 2 (Asashōryū) |
| * Up to date as of Sep. 2012. | |
Kokkai Futoshi (born March 10, 1981 as Levan Tsaguria, Georgian: ლევან ცაგურია) is a former professional sumo wrestler from Georgia. He began his career in May 2001. He is the first Caucasian rikishi to reach sumo's highest division, makuuchi, which he achieved in 2004. His highest rank was komusubi, which he reached in 2006. He earned two special prizes for Fighting Spirit and two gold stars for defeating yokozuna. He wrestled for Oitekaze stable.
Kokkai was born as Levan Tsaguria in Sukhumi, Abkhaz Autonomous Republic in then-Soviet Georgia. The secessionist war in Abkhazia forced his family to move to Tbilisi, capital of Georgia, in 1992. He started amateur wrestling from the age of six, being taught by his father who represented the Soviet Union in the sport. Levan enrolled in the National Academy of Sports of Georgia and quickly got interested in sumo, taking part in the World Amateur Sumo Championships in Riesa, Germany. In January 2001, he arrived in Tokyo, Japan, and joined a local sumo school.
He made his professional debut in May 2001, joining Oitekaze stable. His stablemaster, former maegashira Daishoyama, gave him the shikona, or ring name of Kokkai, named after the word for Black Sea in Japanese. He quickly rose through the lower divisions, winning the jonidan and sandanme championships with perfect 7–0 records. Another tournament title in the makushita division in January 2003 followed by a 5–2 score at Makushita 1 saw him reach elite sekitori status in May 2003. After winning the jūryō division championship with a 14–1 record in November 2003 he was promoted to the top makuuchi division in January 2004, just 16 tournaments after his debut.
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