Sagatsukasa Hiroyuki

is a retired Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Mishima, Shizuoka. A former amateur competitor at Toyo University, he made his professional debut in March 2004, reaching the top makuuchi division for the first time in March 2010. He won a makushita and a jūryō division championship. His highest rank was maegashira 9. He was one of the shortest wrestlers in professional sumo at .

Early life and sumo background Isobe began practicing sumo as a fourth grader in Mishima City, his hometown. His father encouraged him to drink milk to try to increase his height. In his sixth year of primary school he won a national boys sumo tournament, earning the title of wanpaku-yokozuna for this accomplishment. He decided to join Numazu Gakuen High School and, as a representative for Shizuoka prefecture in a national tournament, won both the team and individual competitions. In his second year of high school in 1998 he took the championship to take the high school yokozuna title. He went on to Toyo University where the future Kimurayama was his teammate.

Career Joining Irumagawa stable in March 2004, he was below the official height requirement at just 166 cm but was accepted after passing a secondary examination. One year after his retirement, Sagatsukasa's retirement ceremony was held in Numazu.

Fighting style Sagatsukasa's Sumo Association profile listed his favoured techniques as kuisagari, an unusual move employed by shorter wrestlers that involves pushing the head against the opponent's chest and grabbing the front part of the mawashi, oshi (pushing) and nage (throwing). His most common winning kimarite were oshi dashi (push out), hiki otoshi (pull down) and tsuki otoshi (thrust over). In September 2011 he defeated Tochinowaka with the spectacular ipponzeoi move, which had only been seen twice in the top division since 1974.

Career record