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Isegahama stable (2007)

Coordinates: 35°41′27″N 139°48′45″E / 35.6908°N 139.8126°E / 35.6908; 139.8126
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For the stable founded in 1859, see Isegahama stable.

Isegahama stable (伊勢ヶ濱部屋, Isegahama-beya), formerly known as Ajigawa stable from 1979 to 2007, is a stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Isegahama ichimon or group of stables. Its current head coach is former yokozuna Asahifuji.

As of January 2023 it had 19 wrestlers. However, after the transfer of Miyagino stable's wrestlers and staff in March 2024, the stable's numbers climbed to just under forty, making it the most populous stable in the sport.[1]

History

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The original Ajigawa stable was established in April 1979 by former sekiwake Mutsuarashi. He had originally hoped to become head of Miyagino stable and had married the daughter of the incumbent stablemaster there, but the marriage ended in divorce. He moved to Tomozuna stable upon his retirement in 1977 before opening up his new stable two years later. Ajigawa stable absorbed Kasugayama stable in 1990 on the retirement of its head coach. In April 1993 Asahifuji acceded to the Ajigawa name and took over the stable, due to the poor health of the incumbent. In late 2007 Asahifuji switched to the prestigious Isegahama elder name which had become available upon the retirement of its previous holder, former maegashira Katsuhikari, thereby also changing the name of his stable. Asahifuji's decision to switch to the Isegahama name can be seen as an attempt to restore his ichimon's reputation (the ichimon was known as Tatsunami-Isegahama for many years before becoming solely Tatsunami; as a result of the success of the renamed stable the ichimon has been solely known as Isegahama since January 2013). He also moved the stable to new premises.[2]

In September 2012, ōzeki Harumafuji won his second consecutive tournament and was promoted yokozuna for the next tournament. In March 2013, the stable absorbed the coach and wrestlers (Terunofuji, Wakaaoba and Shunba) of the Magaki stable. Magaki was shut down due to the poor health of Magaki-oyakata.[3] Isegahama stable had four of its wrestlers ranked in the makuuchi and jūryō divisions in 2017, although Harumafuji retired in November 2017 and ōzeki Terunofuji fell to the lower divisions through injury in 2018 before staging a successful comeback, eventually reaching the rank of yokozuna in July 2021.

In March 2022, the stable managed to have six active sekitori wrestlers at the same time, with the promotion of, then 19 year-old, Atamifuji to the jūryō division for the March tournament, after a winning record at the top of the makushita division.[4]

In November 2022, the stable managed, in another rare occurrence, to have all six sekitori of the stable ranked at the elite first division makuuchi, with the promotion of then 20 year-old Atamifuji to the rank of maegashira 15.[5] The last time a stable had six sekitori in the makuuchi division was Musashigawa stable in March 2004.[6]

In December 2022, two junior wrestlers in the stable were found to have acted violently against younger wrestlers, with the victims beaten with wooden beams and burned with chankonabe hot water poured on their backs. One of the wrestlers held responsible submitted his retirement papers, while another was handed a two-tournament suspension. Following the investigation, stablemaster Isegahama (Asahifuji) resigned his seat on the Sumo Association's board of directors.[7]

In March 2024, the Sumo Association announced the temporary closure of Miyagino stable—also part of the Isegahama ichimon—and the transfer of its personnel to Isegahama stable for an indefinite period of time. This occurred in the aftermath of physical abuse at Miyagino stable from the former Hokuseihō and the subsequent punishment and demotion of its stablemaster, the 69th yokozuna Hakuhō.[1] Commenting on the transfer, the top-ranked wrestlers in the stable, Terunofuji and Atamifuji, made positive comments, highlighting in particular the training opportunities to help the wrestlers progress.[8][9]

With the publication of the banzuke for the January 2025 tournament, Isegahama stable became the first stable in 22 years to include seven of its wrestlers in the makuuchi division, a first since Musashigawa stable ranked seven of its own at the September 2003 tournament.[10]

Ring name conventions

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During its time as Ajigawa stable, most of the wrestlers' ring names started with the kanji 安 (pronounced a or an, meaning peaceful). Since the name change to Isegahama, a new pattern has taken hold, with many wrestlers having ring names ending with the characters 富士 (read: fuji), in deference to their coach and the stable's owner, the former Asahifuji, although other stables use this suffix too. The 照 ("teru") prefix is also common; examples are Terunofuji, Terutsuyoshi, Terumichi and Teruju.

Owners

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Notable active wrestlers

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Satonofuji performing the bow-twirling ceremony.
See also: sekitori

Coaches

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Notable former members

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Assistants

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Referee

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  • Shikimori Seiichirō (Sandanme gyōji, real name Rikuto Fukuda)
  • Shikimori Seisuke (Sandanme gyōji, real name Koshi Saikawa)

Ushers

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  • Teruki (makuuchi yobidashi, real name Takahisa Kudō)
  • Fujio (juryo yobidashi, real name Shinsuke Onodera)
  • Teruya (makushita yobidashi, real name Daisuke Kondō)
  • Ryūji (makuuchi yobidashi, real name Ryūji Takahashi)

Hairdresser

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  • Tokoyodo (special class tokoyama)
  • Tokoami (third class tokoyama)
  • Tokoshun (5th class tokoyama)

Location and access

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Mōri 1-7-4, Kōtō-ku, Tokyo 135-0001
Near Sumiyoshi station on the Toei Shinjuku Line and the Hanzōmon Line

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Sumo: Wrestlers from scandal-hit Miyagino stable to join Isegahama". Kyodo News. 28 March 2024. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  2. ^ Gould, Chris (June 2009). "Heya Peek - Isegahama-Beya" (PDF). Sumo Fan Magazine. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  3. ^ 間垣部屋　春場所後に閉鎖...伊勢ケ浜部屋に移籍へ. Sports Nippon (in Japanese). 27 January 2013. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
  4. ^ Andy (31 January 2022). "News Round-up 1/30/2022". Tachiai (立合い). Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  5. ^ ２０歳の大器・熱海富士　８位タイのスピード昇進　大相撲九州場所. The Sankei News (in Japanese). 31 October 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  6. ^ "2022 November Grand Sumo Tournament Banzuke Topics". Japan Sumo Association. Archived from the original on 22 November 2022. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  7. ^ "伊勢ケ浜部屋の幕下以下力士が弟弟子に暴力で引退　伊勢ケ浜親方は理事辞任のみで処分なし". news.yahoo.co.jp (in Japanese). Sports Nippon. 26 December 2022. Archived from the original on 26 December 2022. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  8. ^ "横綱・照ノ富士　宮城野勢の伊勢ケ浜部屋転籍について初言及「プラスになることもある。切磋琢磨」と力士指導にも意欲" (in Japanese). Sports Hochi. 31 March 2024. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
  9. ^ "熱海富士、宮城野部屋勢の転籍歓迎「稽古相手ができて楽しそう」　角界有数の稽古時間も延長を予想" (in Japanese). Sports Nippon. 1 April 2024. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
  10. ^ "【初場所新番付】伊勢ケ浜部屋の関取７人はすべて幕内力士／部屋別・出身地別データ" (in Japanese). Nikkan Sports. 23 December 2024. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
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35°41′27″N 139°48′45″E / 35.6908°N 139.8126°E / 35.6908; 139.8126

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