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At last, the turning point came at the 1972 November basho, his thirtieth as ozeki. By this time his weight was up to 150 kg and he had a physique not easily pushed around, but in this basho, the fans saw a different Kotozakura – no sign of wavering, just a quick and power dash towards his opponent, immediately pushing him out. On day 8, Kotozakura lost to Kongo and was to face yokozuna Kitanofuji on day 14. He went after Kitanofuji with ferocious nodo-wa (thrust to the throat) and pressing forward powerfully, he crushed Kitanofuji by oshitaoshi, winning his third yusho on day 14. It had been three and half years since his last yusho and this win was the fruit of all his labors – long and arduous training and struggles back from injuries. Furthermore, by this time, Kotozakura perfected his own form of attacking his opponent with migi-ottsuke (right side push from below) and with hidari-nodowa (thrusts to the throat from left). His unceasing assault to the top continued during the following basho in January 1973, as he started by winning 10 straight bouts. On day 11, he faced ozeki Wajima who was also in great condition with only one loss at the point. In the bout, Wajima quickly got into his favorite |
position by getting the left mawashi. However, Kotozakura responded with his favorite, powerful thrusts to the throat, getting Wajima's upper body to move backwards. Using these techniques, Kotozakura immediately pushed Wajima out. Later in the basho, Kotozakura lost to Fukunohana but completed the tournament with another 14 win and 1 loss record, his second consecutive yusho, convincingly earning the promotion to yokozuna. The reign of the “Perpetual Ozeki” finally came to an end after five years and 32 basho. This late blooming sakura flower was finally in full bloom. After promotion to yokozuna, Kotozakura, following the late Tamanoumi, decided to use the shiranui-style dohyo-iri. As he was already 32 years and two months old, many did not expect longevity from Kotozakura. Three bashos after his promotion at the 1973 July Basho, Kotozakura faced yokozuna Kitanofuji in the yusho kettei-sei (yusho-deciding) bout, both having finished with identical 14 and 1 records. In this bout, Kotozakura first got the mawashi with both hands and when Kitanofuji attempted to switch his right hand around the mawashi, Kotozakura pushed him out decisively. This was his |
first yusho as yokozuna and his fifth career yusho. That basho represented the highest plateau for yokozuna Kotozakura. Three tournaments later, during the 1974 January basho, he withdrew from day 6 after injuring his left knee. He returned in the following basho, barely making kachikoshi with 8 wins and 7 losses. He re-injured his knee during the following May basho and withdrew on day 3. Just prior to the start of the next July basho, Kotozakura announced his retirement from active sumo, concluding that he had reached the point of his physical limit and could no longer continue. Kotozakura assumed the Shiratama Myoseki (oyakata name) upon his retirement and was hoping one day to found his own heya and develop his own recruits. Exactly 10 days later, his shisho Sadogatake oyakata died suddenly and he inherited Sadogatake Myoseki and the heya. Kotozakura lived a life of integrity and perseverance through his active sumo career. Maintaining this lifestyle as an oyakata, he continues to pour all his passion into attracting and developing promising recruits Next Home |
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