Shobushi Kanji Explained

Native Name:勝武士 幹士
Shobushi Kanji
Birth Name:Kiyotaka Ōmori
Birth Date:November 4, 1991
Birth Place:Kōfu, Yamanashi, Japan
Death Place:Tokyo, Japan
Weight:111.2kg (245.2lb)
Heya:Takadagawa
Record:260-279
Debut:March, 2007
Highestrank:Sandanme 11 (November 2017)

[1] was a Japanese sumo wrestler from Kōfu, Yamanashi. He was the first sumo wrestler to die from COVID-19, and is also thought to be the first person in their 20s to die from the virus in Japan.[2]

Career

Shobushi did judo at Ryuo Junior High School in Kai. He joined Takadagawa stable in 2007. His highest rank was sandanme 11, which he achieved in November 2017. He was a to his stablemate Ryuden, who was a fellow Yamanashi Prefecture native and alumnus of his junior high school judo club.[3] Starting in March 2014, Shobushi was a performer of on regional tours and exhibition tournaments. His partner in the performances was Takamisato of the Azumazeki stable. Usually both wrestlers in shokkiri are from the same stable, but Azumazeki had no-one small enough to provide a contrast to the larger Takamisato, so Shobushi who was of short stature and weighed only around was asked instead.[4] Following Takamisato's retirement in 2018 Shobushi's partner was Ebisumaru, who made his professional debut alongside Shobushi and is also from Takadagawa. Shobushi also performed at Takekaze's in February 2020.

Illness and death

Shobushi was the first sumo wrestler confirmed to have been infected with the COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan, though his identity was not disclosed at the time.[5] [6] On April 4, 2020, he developed a fever, but was not able to get medical attention or get admitted to a hospital until April 8 when coughing up blood, due to the high number of people with symptoms that Japan was experiencing at the time.[7] An initial test for coronavirus came back negative, but after being transferred to a different hospital he tested positive on April 10. He remained in intensive care from 19 April until his death from multiple organ failure brought on by COVID-19 related pneumonia on May 13.[8] Prior to his death, he suffered from diabetes and in 2016 had to withdraw from a bout because of hypoglycemia.[9] He was the first active sumo wrestler to die since of the makushita division died of acute myelogenous leukemia in 2008.[10] Shortly before the announcement of his death, the May tournament was cancelled.

The Nishonoseki ichimon (a group of related stables) was planning to hold a ichimon funeral for Shobushi, which are normally reserved for wrestlers who go on to be elders of the Japan Sumo Association (JSA). The JSA chairman, Hakkaku, said after Shobushi's death, "We cannot find any words to say when we think about the broken hearts of his family. It must have been so very painful to fight the disease for over a month but, like a sumo wrestler, he persevered and endured, fighting to the very end. We only wish that he rests in peace now."[11]

Fighting style

Shobushi was an oshi-sumo specialist who preferred pushing and thrusting rather than fighting on the mawashi. His most common winning kimarite or techniques were oshi-dashi (push out) and tsuki-otoshi (thrust over).[12]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 28歳の勝武士さんがコロナ死 八角理事長「言葉も見つかりません」. Yahoo Japan. Japanese. 13 May 2020. 22 May 2020. 17 May 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200517215520/https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/a9859edac13e34f3dd6745abc9b3d89fd77ef549. dead.
  2. Web site: 28-year-old sumo wrestler dies after coronavirus infection. . 13 May 2020. english.kyodonews.net. Kyodo. 13 May 2020.
  3. Web site: 勝武士さん、異例の一門葬も…親方衆ら対象多いが協会関係者「約1か月も頑張った証しとして」. 14 May 2020. Hochi. Japanese. 18 May 2020.
  4. Web site: コンビ秘話…勝武士さん初っ切り相棒に聞く(上). 14 May 2020. Nikkan Sports. 22 May 2020.
  5. Web site: 1st sumo wrestler tests positive for coronavirus. . 10 April 2020. english.kyodonews.net. Kyodo. 10 April 2020.
  6. Web site: 28-year-old sumo wrestler dies after coronavirus infection. . 13 May 2020. english.kyodonews.net. Kyodo. 13 May 2020.
  7. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-japan-testing/as-japan-reopens-coronavirus-testing-slowed-by-bureaucracy-and-staff-shortages-idUSKBN23406H As Japan reopens, coronavirus testing slowed by bureaucracy and staff shortages
  8. Web site: Grand sumo confronts the coronavirus challenge. Hiroshi. Morita. 11 June 2020. NHK World Japan. 15 June 2020.
  9. Web site: 巡業人気者の勝武士さん、土俵下で糖尿発症不戦敗も. Nikkan Sports. Japanese. 14 May 2020.
  10. Web site: コロナ感染の力士死去 角界初 三段目・28歳勝武士さん. 14 May 2020. Tokyo Shimbun. Japanese. 22 May 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200520082041/https://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/sports/list/202005/CK2020051402000124.html. 20 May 2020. dead.
  11. Web site: Japanese sumo wrestler Shobushi dies of COVID-19 at age 28. 13 May 2020. Yahoo! Sports. 18 May 2020.
  12. Web site: Wins of Shobushi. Sumo Reference. 22 May 2020.