Kotonishiki
| Kotonishiki Katsuhiro | |
|---|---|
| 琴錦 功宗 | |
| Personal information | |
| Born | Hideyuki Matsuzawa June 8, 1968 Gunma, Japan |
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in) |
| Weight | 131.5 kg (290 lb) |
| Career | |
| Stable | Sadogatake |
| Record | 663-557-58 |
| Debut | March, 1984 |
| Highest rank | Sekiwake (November, 1990) |
| Retired | September, 2000 |
| Championships | 2 (Makuuchi) |
| Special Prizes | Outstanding Performance (7) Fighting Spirit (3) Technique (8) |
| Gold Stars | 8 Takanohana II (3) Wakanohana III (2) Akebono Hokutoumi Chiyonofuji |
| * Up to date as of June 2016. | |
Kotonishiki Katsuhiro (born June 8, 1968 as Hideyuki Matsuzawa) is a former sumo wrestler from Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture, Japan. He began his career in 1984, reaching the top makuuchi division in 1989. He won two top division tournament titles from the maegashira ranks (the only wrestler ever to do so), the first in 1991 and the second in 1998. His highest rank was sekiwake, which he held 21 times. He earned eighteen special prizes during his career, second on the all-time list, and defeated yokozuna eight times when ranked as a maegashira. He retired in 2000 and after a long stint as a sumo coach at Oguruma stable, took the vacant elder name Asahiyama and branched out to form his own stable of the same name.
He was born in the former Misato, Gunma. At the wish of his father, he practiced both sumo and judo from a young age. After competing in the National Junior High School Sumo Championships at the age of 14, he met former yokozuna Kotozakura who persuaded him to join Sadogatake stable. He made his professional debut in March 1984. His first shikona or fighting name was Kotomatsuzawa, based on his own surname. He switched to Kotonishiki in late 1987 and shortly afterwards made the elite sekitori ranks, being promoted to the jūryō division in March 1988. A losing score of 4-11 meant he was demoted back to the unsalaried makushita division after only one tournament, but he returned to the second division in September 1988 and was promoted to the top makuuchi division in May 1989 after an 11-4 record at jūryō 6 in March.
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