Atamifuji Sakutarō

is a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Atami. He wrestles for the Isegahama stable and made his debut in November 2020. He won the championships in the two lowest divisions of jonokuchi and jonidan in early 2021. In November 2022, he was promoted to makuuchi, becoming one of the fastest in the history of professional sumo to reach the top division. His highest rank has been , which he achieved in May 2026.

Early life and sumo beginnings Born in Chiba prefecture, Sakutarō Takei grew up in a single-parent household. He moved to Atami in Shizuoka prefecture in his second year of elementary school. He joined a sumo club in the nearby city of Mishima at the age of six. He joined Nihon University Mishima Junior High School where he was a part of the judo club, before turning to the sumo club during his second year of junior high school. During his high school years, he supported his family by cooking lunch boxes and doing part-time work as a dishwasher. Atamifuji stood out as a wrestler who was not exceptional but who showed great passion for training. Although anticipating the National High School tournament in the summer of 2020, the tournament was cancelled due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Sakutarō decided to turn pro upon graduating from high school in November 2020. He joined Isegahama stable because two graduates of Hiryū High School were already wrestling there (including Midorifuji) and the stable offered many advantages in terms of training facilities.

Career Early career Sakutarō was given the shikona, or ring name, Atamifuji , a combination of "Atami" coming from his hometown and "Fuji" from his stablemaster's ring name Asahifuji . While in maezumō, Atamifuji won all three of his matches and entered the January 2021 tournament at the rank of jonokuchi 25. It took only four tournaments in makushita to Atamifuji to be promoted to the jūryō division.

At the time of his jūryō promotion, Atamifuji had not produced a single losing record and was also the seventh-fastest promotion to jūryō in sumo history (excluding makushita tsukedashi) since 1958, when the six-tournament per-year system was introduced. His promotion also makes him the only sekitori from Atami. At the time of his promotion to sekitori, Atamifuji also received a keshō-mawashi from Hiryū High School.

Top division promotion After suffering his first losing record in his debut tournament as a sekitori in March 2022, Atamifuji would post three straight winning records. In September 2022, Atamifuji earned a promotion to makuuchi, sumo's top division, for the November 2022 tournament with an eighth victory on Day 14 over . It took only 12 tournaments to Atamifuji to reach the top division, which ties him in eighth place for the record of fastest progress to the top division since 1958. During the next tournament, in January 2023, Atamifuji had to leave the tournament on Day 11 due to a case of influenza. As his absence was not related to a case of COVID-19, his rank was not protected and Atamifuji was demoted to the rank of jūryō 8. At the May 2023 tournament, Atamifuji was runner-up for the entire competition, beaten on score only by Ochiai and Gōnoyama, the winner of the jūryō tournament. Atamifuji finished the tournament with a score of 13–2 and inflicted his only defeat on Gōnoyama on Day 10. At the July tournament, Atamifuji, then ranked jūryō 1, won an eighth victory over , reinforcing the hypothesis of a repromotion to the makuuchi division. On the subject of this repromotion, he congratulated himself on maintaining his efforts and step through his kimon ('devil's gate'), to secure an eighth victory early in the tournament, in contrast to his previous jūryō tournaments where, after securing seven victories, he would often collapse only to complete a barely achieved kachi-koshi. Atamifuji then went on to win the jūryō tournament, after a playoff victory over Daiamami.

On his return to sumo's top division, Atamifuji, then the division's youngest active competitor at 21, maintained a leading position along Takayasu in the first half of the tournament, obtaining his first kachi-koshi in the top division on day nine, losing only on day five to Tsurugishō. From the tenth day, he became the only leader of the competition having defeated his co-leader and former ōzeki by oshitaoshi. However, Atamifuji lost his lead in the title race by recording two consecutive defeats against sekiwake Daieishō and ōzeki Takakeishō, on days twelve and thirteen respectively. During the latter part of the tournament, however, Atamifuji maintained a winning lead over three other wrestlers (Takakeishō, Daieishō and Hokuseihō). In his final match, he faced former ōzeki Asanoyama, needing to win the match to win the tournament outright and avoid a playoff situation with the other wrestlers having reached 11–4. However, Atamifuji lost the match by yorikiri, eventually taking him into a playoff against Takakeishō. Atamifuji also lost the playoff and missed out on the championship. For leading the championship for most of the tournament, however, Atamifuji received the Fighting Spirit award.

During the November 2023 tournament, Atamifuji also found himself in the group of wrestlers leading the tournament, recording five consecutive victories since the first day of the tournament. However, he lost his lead after suffering back to back defeats at the hands of Sakaigawa stablemates Sadanoumi and Hiradoumi, on Day 6 and 7 respectively. Atamifuji bounced back, however, and recorded six consecutive wins from day eight onwards, including a victory over ōzeki Hōshōryū on the twelfth day of the tournament. With eleven victories to his name, Atamifuji remained at the top of the standings, being equalled on day thirteen only by ōzeki Kirishima, with the championship victory to be decided on day fourteen, in the match between these two competitors; Atamifuji also competing for the fastest championship win in the history of the sport if he managed to achieve a yūshō in 18 tournaments since his debut. The ōzeki won the match by yorikiri, securing a lead over Atamifuji, who now had to win on the final day and bank on a Kirishima defeat to force a playoff. On the final day, Atamifuji lost his match against Kotonowaka, ending his playoff hopes. For his efforts, however, it was announced that Atamifuji would be the recipient of the sanshō for Fighting Spirit.

At the May 2024 tournament, Atamifuji stood out by inflicting defeat on ōzeki Hōshōryū. At the January 2025 tournament, he defeated opponents Hōshōryū and Kotozakura, the latter occurring after a rare restart called when one of the ringside judges mistakenly raised his hand to stop the match.

In January 2026, Atamifuji earned his first two career gold stars by defeating both of the (Hōshōryū and Ōnosato) on consecutive days. This followed in the footsteps of his stablemate Yoshinofuji, who defeated the two on back-to-back days earlier in the tournament. Isegahama stable's Instagram account posted a photo of Atamifuji giving a bundle of prize money envelopes from his first to his stablemaster, the 73rd Terunofuji. It was reported that the stablemaster accepted the envelopes, but then returned an equivalent amount to Atamifuji. Atamifuji later became a contender to win his first Emperor's Cup, tying Aonishiki for the tournament lead on Day 14 before losing to him in the playoff. Atamifuji received his third Fighting Spirit prize for his efforts. In his debut, Atamifuji defeated both and Ōnosato. He went into the final day with an opportunity to win the Fighting Spirit Prize if he could win a 10th match, though he lost to Takayasu and did not receive the award. Atamifuji was promoted to the rank of for the May tournament.

During the July tournament, Atamifuji stood out by suffering only three losses halfway through the tournament, keeping him among the top group of wrestlers in contention for the championship. Starting on Day 9, he recorded five consecutive wins, notably defeating the Ōnosato and Hōshōryū on Days 11 and 13, respectively. This last victory was seen as a solid foundation, provided he achieved strong results in subsequent tournaments to aim for promotion to the rank of . On the 14th day, he stayed in the title race by defeating Shishi, another member of the group of wrestlers who were one win behind. Before the start of the tournament's final day, it was announced that Atamifuji would receive a fourth Fighting Spirit special prize for his performance during the tournament. In the final bouts of the tournament, Atamifuji won his match against Aonishiki, triggering a playoff involving the two wrestlers and Kirishima—a first in nine tournaments. Atamifuji managed to defeat Kirishima in his first match before losing to Aonishiki, who went on to win the final match of his playoff and claim the championship.

Fighting style Atamifuji is a wrestler specialized in yotsu-sumo grappling techniques. His preferred grip on his opponent's mawashi, or belt, is migi-yotsu, a right (migi) hand inside grip.

Atamifuji is known for his demonstrative attitude, frequently smiling in the hanamichi when he wins and showing a sad face when he loses, which makes him popular with fans. On this subject, his coach Tateyama calls him . During an interview at Okinoumi's retirement ceremony, his senior Terunofuji also dubbed him , meaning "Kakukai's pudding" referring to "Atami Pudding", a brand that recently sponsored Atamifuji.

Career record