Kise stable (2003)

For the stable founded in 1958, see Kise stable.

Kise stable (木瀬部屋, Kise-beya) is a stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Dewanoumi ichimon or group of stables. It was established in its current form in December 2003 by former maegashira and Nihon University amateur champion Higonoumi, who branched off from Mihogaseki stable. The stable's first top division wrestler was Kiyoseumi in January 2008. Its foreign recruit, Georgian Gagamaru, in May 2010 earned promotion to the top division. It is a popular destination for wrestlers with collegiate sumo experience like its stablemaster.[1]

Following the demotion of Kise-oyakata (or stablemaster) in May 2010 after a scandal involving the selling of tournament tickets to members of the yakuza, Kise stable was dissolved with all 27 of its wrestlers moving to the affiliated Kitanoumi stable.[2] Kise was allowed to reestablish the stable in April 2012. All former members, as well as newcomers Jōkōryu and Sasanoyama (now Daiseiryū [ja]), joined the reconstituted stable. Jōkōryu reached the rank of komusubi in 2014, but has since fallen greatly down the ranks due to injury, and Daiseidō in September 2017 became the eleventh wrestler from Kise to reach jūryō since its founding in 2003.[3] As of November 2023 Kise stable has 21 wrestlers, six of whom are sekitori.

Kise stable's first makuuchi championship was delivered by Tokushōryū in the January 2020 tournament. The 33-year-old won from the bottom-most makuuchi rank of maegashira 17, after spending all but one of the previous 12 tournaments in the jūryō division.[4]

In May 2022 the stable recruited the first ever student of the University of Tokyo, an elite academic institution, to join professional sumo.[5]

  1. ^ Gunning, John. "Popular rikishi Kotoshogiku and Gagamaru retire from sumo". Japan Times. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  2. ^ "Kise wrestlers to join Kitanoumi stable". Japan Times. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
  3. ^ "2017 September Grand Sumo Tournament Banzuke Topics". Japan Sumo Association. Archived from the original on 22 September 2017. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  4. ^ "Sumo: New champ Tokushoryu 'walking on clouds' after big win". Kyodo News. 27 January 2020. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  5. ^ "Sumo: 24-yr-old set to become 1st wrestler from elite Univ. of Tokyo". Kyodo News. 15 April 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2022.