Kotozakura Masakatsu I

Career

Kotozakura Masakatsu, born Kamatani Norio in Kurayoshi, Tottori, was the 53rd yokozuna in sumo history. His family had ties to the sport: his father organized local amateur tournaments, and his grandfather’s brother was a professional wrestler. As a youth, he practiced judo and earned a shodan rank in middle school, but after performing well in a national high school sumo competition, he chose to turn pro. His parents initially wanted him to stick with judo, but former komusubi Kotonishiki Noboru convinced them to let him join Sadogatake stable.

He debuted in January 1959, reached the juryo division in July 1962, and entered the top makuuchi division in March 1963. After a komusubi debut in January 1964, an injury sent him back to juryo, but he bounced back quickly. A strong 11-4 record at sekiwake in September 1967 earned him the Outstanding Performance prize and promotion to ozeki. He won tournament championships in July 1968 and March 1969, but by the early 1970s he was seen as a perpetual ozeki, hampered by injuries and struggling to get enough wins to keep his rank. He faced kadoban—the threat of demotion—three times during this stretch. Remarkably, he then won back-to-back championships in November 1972 and January 1973, earning promotion to yokozuna at age 32, after 32 tournaments at ozeki. That made him the oldest wrestler promoted to the top rank since the current six-tournament system began in 1958. In July 1973, he beat Kitanofuji in a playoff for his only yokozuna title. A knee injury in 1974 forced him to sit out several tournaments, and he retired that July. He also appeared in the 1967 James Bond film You Only Live Twice, seen fighting fellow wrestler Fujinishiki.

After retirement

Kotozakura had been expecting to open up his own training stable, but when his stablemaster died suddenly just days after Kotozakura's retirement, he took over Sadogatake stable instead. He produced many top division wrestlers over the years, such as ōzeki Kotokaze, Kotoōshū, Kotomitsuki and Kotoshōgiku and sekiwake Kotogaume, Kotofuji, Kotonishiki, and Kotonowaka. When yokozuna Asashōryū was criticized for his behaviour in 2003, Kotozakura defended the Mongolian by pointing out the lack of emotional strength in young Japanese sumo wrestlers at the time. After 31 years as head coach, he passed on ownership of the stable upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of sixty five in November 2005 to Kotonowaka, who had become his son-in-law. Shortly after attending the ōzeki promotion ceremony of Kotomitsuki, Kotozakura died on August 14, 2007. He had battled diabetes for several years and had also suffered the trauma of a leg amputation.