Kotoyuuki intai

[Kintamayama 44,652]

The hooter has retired. He will assume the Kimigahama name. He suffered injuries in both his elbows and both his knees but he also had sideburns, giving him that special "Ukiyoe" look.

HOOT!

Edited April 14, 2021 by Kintamayama

[Kintamayama 44,652]

One memorable anecdote- his hooting pissed Hakuhou off, who at some point reprimanded him in front of the other rikishi. "Stop clearing your throat loudly. You are not a dog, so stop barking!" said Hakuhou back then. Kotoyuuki wasn't the only one- Chiyoootori was doing it as well  at the time. Chiyoootori stopped at the additional behest of his oyakata. Kotoyuuki did not stop. "I've been doing this since I was in Sandanme to pump myself up. I 'm not doing it for the audience's laughs. It is part of my inner rhythm. That is what i want people to understand," he said. When asked by reporters at some point if he would give up sumo if he had to give up the hooting and his principles, he immediately replied that he would (he went on to suddenly stop doing it, replacing it with his "helicopter" move which did not garner much attention..). The audience loved it and was heard shouting at him to go on and not stop doing it, many times imitating the sound loudly. "Kotoyuuki is a handsome guy. I was too scared to continue doing it. I should  apologize to him (for imitating him).. He is a cool guy, " added Chiyoootori back then.

Hooting right at the man..

Edited April 14, 2021 by Kintamayama

[yohcun 401]

Wow. I wouldn't have thought getting reprimanded by a yokozuna in front of other rikishi would fall under "negotiable suggestions". I thought Hakuho was the reason he stopped, I didn't know he kept on doing it for a while afterwards.

He seemed like a big-hearted rikishi. Always threw in everything, getting injured a lot, crying after his kinboshi.

[Kintamayama 44,652]

Kotoyuuki actually gives a hoot - AND the hootenany video-in Hakuhou's face (probably before Hakuhou asked him nicely to stop, but maybe the cause..)..

http://www.youtube.com/embed/a5aIEDtvr3M?autoplay=1

Edited April 14, 2021 by Kintamayama

[dada78641 884]

Wow, what a shame. He was the bento yokozuna after all, constantly being flung so far off the dohyo he almost ended in orbit.

Somehow it doesn't feel to me like he's been around for long enough to retire, but apparently he started in 2008. He first reached makuuchi in 2013 and I feel his "makuuchi mainstay" days started in late 2014, staying mainly at the low end of makuuchi or occasionally the top end of juryo from there on. I always liked watching his aggression heavy bouts.

[Yokozuna Hattorizakura 151]

why so suddenly? he was in Makuuchi very recently and isn't that old. he could've easily gotten back up.

 

[just_some_guy 264]

7 minutes ago, Yokozuna Hattorizakura said:

why so suddenly? he was in Makuuchi very recently and isn't that old. he could've easily gotten back up.

 

Could he though? He had been having middling-to-poor performances even at the Juryo level. Purely speculation on my part, but it seems like he'd reached the point in his career where cumulative injuries and reduced mobility were too much to overcome. Combine that with the fact that he never just "lost," he always ended up crashing off of the dohyo and rolling over three rows of elderly men and re-injuring something... It was time. I will miss the Kotoyuki-copter, but I think he made the right decision.

[Kenneth Minami 60]

19 minutes ago, Yokozuna Hattorizakura said:

why so suddenly? he was in Makuuchi very recently and isn't that old. he could've easily gotten back up.

 

His condition didn’t get better after his operation in November. He can’t even do shiko.

[yohcun 401]

Another notable habit he seemed to drop - remember when his apologies after a matta were so earnest and proper? To the point where he'd get applause for it.

edit: found one

 

Edited April 14, 2021 by yohcun

[Katooshu 3,182]

Always found it difficult to like him for some reason....maybe the combination of smirking and his slapping style. Though he did usually seem to put full effort into each match and I respect that.

His most memorable moment for me was when he beat an ailing Terunofuji by yorikiri.....if any match captured the ozeki's fall it was that one.

Does this make him the youngest oyakata at the moment?

Edited April 14, 2021 by Katooshu

[Yubinhaad 11,594]

44 minutes ago, Katooshu said:

Does this make him the youngest oyakata at the moment?

Yes - and the first one born in the Heisei era.

[Zannah 49]

A bit unexpected news to me, tho not totally surprising. I will always have a little soft spot for him in my memories; he was the first rikishi, who I started to remember and recognize when I started to follow sumo...  (word 'koto' is one way of saying 'home' in Finnish )

I wish him long & successful career as oyakata. 

[dingo 1,212]

Surprised cause I had mentally put him in the new generation category, but in the end I guess the injuries don't care about your age. Sad to see him retire cause his prime bouts were always entertaining. 

He should bring back the hoot for rijikai meetings in the future, that'll make sure his words will get attention 

[Yaochozuna 137]

I can't say I liked him. I found his tachi-ai rather obnoxious. However, I do remember reading about his hooting habit as a result of him coming from a religious/population minority practicing some kind of "totemism" with the owl being his "guardian spirit". Is this true or is it just an unsubstantiated legend?

[Kaninoyama 1,712]

The energy seemed to disappear from his sumo when the hoot and clap (don't forget the clap) went away. The NHK announcers always talked about how he taped up his mitts so thickly that doing anything other than oshi became impossible. Can't say he was an all-time favorite of mine, but it is too bad any time a promising rikishi has to retire early due to injuries. 

[Philioyamfugi 378]

Seems young. I called him lobster boy because of the taped hands. He must be in a lot of pain between the hands and knees. Still had a pretty long career at salary level. Wishing him a healthy retirement. 

[Jabbamaru 166]

Man, ALL the cool guys are going intai. Bummer.

[Godango 973]

I liked Kotoyuki, he's so instantly recognisable which drew me in in the early days.

What are his long-term kabu prospects? With Okinoumi at 35 years of age (solid sumo non-withstanding) you wouldn't think he'd have Kimigahama for long?

 

[WAKATAKE 2,644]

Loved the hoots! Also loved the manly crying when he got that kinboshi. He gave that bonus money to his brother's college fund.

[Jakusotsu 5,876]

7 hours ago, Yaochozuna said:

However, I do remember reading about his hooting habit as a result of him coming from a religious/population minority practicing some kind of "totemism" with the owl being his "guardian spirit". Is this true or is it just an unsubstantiated legend?

If that was posted by Kintamayama, I can guess the date.

[Thorbjarn 214]

As some others mentioned, surprising because it seemed as if he had a little more mileage left and he is not that old. Good career, though, with fifty+ Basho in salaried ranks. Good on him for calling it quits at the right time, there's still lots of life ahead, being relatively healthy will hopefully make it more enjoyable for him. 

[Akinomaki 40,071]

Some Kotoyuki pics

o oo o o o o

with his younger brother on a visit to the heya in 2008 - he wanted to support Kotoyuki and is now physiotherapist - too late to help o

[Koorifuu 924]

14 hours ago, Houmanumi said:

I liked Kotoyuki, he's so instantly recognisable which drew me in in the early days.

What are his long-term kabu prospects? With Okinoumi at 35 years of age (solid sumo non-withstanding) you wouldn't think he'd have Kimigahama for long?

 

His recent 3-12 performance was absolutely hapless, however, so signs are not the best. Hopefully it's just a blip and he can do well from a low maegashira position.

[Seiyashi 4,072]

22 hours ago, Koorifuu said:

On 15/04/2021 at 11:17, Houmanumi said:

I liked Kotoyuki, he's so instantly recognisable which drew me in in the early days.

What are his long-term kabu prospects? With Okinoumi at 35 years of age (solid sumo non-withstanding) you wouldn't think he'd have Kimigahama for long?

 

His recent 3-12 performance was absolutely hapless, however, so signs are not the best. Hopefully it's just a blip and he can do well from a low maegashira position.

There's a number of sanyo whose terms are coming up, so at the worst case you have a few cases of sekitori sliding down the ranks for a bit until a kabu can be freed up for them.

The funny thing is, even if Chiganoura is being saved for Takakeisho or Takanosho, neither of them are in imminent need of it, so you'd think that Kotoyuki would have loaned the same-ichimon Chiganoura for the time being instead of 1) going off-ichimon for the Kimigahama name and 2) loaning from a rikishi who might himself be considering a haircut within a year. EDIT: ex-Satoyama has acquired the Chiganoura kabu, leaving Sanoyama free (currently owned by Chiyootori).

Now that Kotoyuki has retired, the other squeaky bum to watch is Ikioi. He's got the Kasugayama kabu but Bushuyama is currently borrowing it after having had to vacate Kiyomigata for Tochiozan; either someone needs to knock very nicely at Miyagino to borrow Hakuho's Magaki kabu (which may or may not be needed in ~4 months' time) or someone - either Bushuyama himself or a sanyo - is going to have to say bye bye to the NSK a bit earlier than they expected.

Edited April 16, 2021 by Seiyashi

[Koorifuu 924]

On 14/04/2021 at 15:02, Yubinhaad said:

Yes - and the first one born in the Heisei era.

I'm so old I remember the commotion when we had our first sekitori born in the Heisei era.