Shōnannoumi Momotarō

Shōnannoumi played baseball at an early age because he comes from a family heavily linked with the sports, his father being a local baseball coach.[1][2] He first had a negative impression of sumo wrestlers but changed his mind after seeing Yokozuna Chiyonofuji.[3] His motivation to join sumo came from visiting Takadagawa stable when he was in junior high school in Ōiso, Kanagawa. Once he decided his post-graduation career path would be in professional sumo, he began an intense training with his father to make up for lost practice.[4] Upon joining the world of professional sumo he vowed not to return to his hometown until he had reached the rank of sekitori.[3]

Shōnannoumi made his professional debut in March 2014, alongside future ōzeki Shodai. He was given the shikona, or ring name, "Shōnannoumi" meaning "The Sea of Shōnan", which is the region in Kanagawa prefecture where Ōiso is located. His shikona first name, Momotarō, was given to him to encourage him to defeat strong opponents, just like the character from the myth.[1] He decided to join Takadagawa stable despite being invited by seven other stables because his master told him that the "disappointing Japanese wrestlers" would allow him to become a "hero".[5] Shōnannoumi would steadily rise through the lower 3 divisions and he was promoted to the makushita division in November 2016. Because of his physique, his stable had high hopes for him although Shōnannoumi suffered from the wall of the upper makushita ranks for a long time. In the July 2020 tournament, he was put up against former maegashira Ura, who was making his comeback to the top division after an injury caused him to miss 4 consecutive tournaments. Shōnannoumi ended Ura's 18-bout win streak and was Ura's only loss in this tournament.[6] On 19 January 2021, Shōnannoumi suffered a concussion in a makushita bout against Takasago wrestler Asagyokusei. Both wrestlers bumped into each other at the tachi-ai, forcing the match to be stopped as Shōnannoumi was unable to get up and had symptoms of a concussion. After deliberating whether or not to allow him to continue, the shimpan decided on a rematch, respecting the will of Shōnannoumi to continue. Shōnannoumi won the bout but the Japan Sumo Association faced an online backlash because Shōnannoumi was obviously dizzed.[7] The Sumo Association established in the same month a new rule preventing wrestlers from competing if they have a concussion or any other physical abnormality, regardless of the wrestler's intentions.[8]

In 2022, Shōnannoumi was finally promoted sekitori after nine years in professional sumo.[9] He initially chose a dark pink shimekomi for his first tournament because it's the colour of the Saikijin Clinic in Hiroshima who offered him the mawashi.[2] In his first tournament in jūryō, Shōnannoumi finished with a strong 12–3 record.

• Glossary of sumo terms
• List of active sumo wrestlers

• Shōnannoumi Momotarō's official biography (English) at the Grand Sumo Homepage