Nishikifuji Ryūsei

2.1. Childhood and Education

Born in Towada, Aomori, Nishikifuji started wrestling in his third year of elementary school at Towada's Sanbongi Elementary School. Initially, he was reluctant to participate in sumo, but his mother encouraged him to take up the sport. He continued practicing throughout his time at Towada's Junior High School, where he secured a top-eight finish at the National Junior High School Sumo Tournament in his third year. For senior high school, he attended Sanbongi Agricultural High School's Agricultural Machinery Department, a school renowned for its sumo club, alongside future professional wrestler Ōnoshō. During his third year of high school, he placed third in the individual division at the National High School Usa Tournament. After graduating from high school, he enrolled in the Department of Business Administration at Kindai University's Faculty of Business Administration.

2.2. Amateur Sumo Activities

While at Kindai University, Nishikifuji became a regular member of the university's sumo club in his second year. However, he decided to drop out of university to pursue professional sumo, believing that if he waited until after graduation, his style would become too rigid and difficult to change. He joined Isegahama stable along with his university peer Midorifuji, largely influenced by the passion of Isegahama Oyakata (the 63rd yokozuna Asahifuji). Their entry was facilitated by Aminishiki, who was an active sumo wrestler at Isegahama stable at the time and had a connection with the sumo coach at Sanbongi Agricultural High School. Nishikifuji and Midorifuji have maintained a friendly rivalry since turning professional.

3.1. Early Professional Career and Lower Division Championships

During the initial years of his professional career, Nishikifuji wrestled under his birth name, Ogasawara. He served as a tsukebito (assistant) to senior wrestler Aminishiki. In his first jonokuchi tournament in November 2016, he was tied with Midorifuji (then wrestling as Ihara), leading to a playoff on the final day, which Nishikifuji won. This marked his first championship.

After his first two tournaments, he was given the shikona, or ring name, Nishikifuji. The "Nishiki" part of his name comes from a kanji (錦) in Aminishiki's shikona, recognizing Aminishiki's mentorship and training. The "Fuji" part comes from his stablemaster's (former yokozuna Asahifuji) old ring name. In the subsequent tournament, January 2017, Nishikifuji was promoted to jonidan and once again faced Midorifuji in a playoff for the division title, emerging victorious for his second consecutive championship. Their senior wrestler Terunofuji commented that the Isegahama stable particularly enjoyed seeing the two fight against each other. Following Aminishiki's retirement in 2019, Nishikifuji briefly served as Terutsuyoshi's tsukebito. By November 2017, he had been promoted to the makushita division, where he consistently maintained his rank.

3.2. Rise to Jūryō and Makushita

In September 2019, Nishikifuji achieved his highest rank at the time, East Makushita 3. However, he sustained a left elbow ligament tear during training before the tournament. After losing his fifth bout, confirming a losing record, he withdrew from the remaining matches. On September 20, he underwent surgery on his left elbow, forcing him to miss the November 2019 tournament entirely. During his recovery, he specifically expressed gratitude for Aminishiki's care.

In March 2020, Nishikifuji made a strong comeback, claiming the makushita championship with a perfect 7-0 record, defeating Kyokusōten (Tamashōhō Manpei) who was also undefeated in his first six bouts. Following the cancellation of the May tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he returned to East Makushita 3 for the July tournament, achieving a 5-2 record. His performance led to his promotion to the jūryō division for the September 2020 tournament, a significant milestone that coincided with his stablemate Terunofuji winning the July 2020 makuuchi tournament championship upon his return to the top division. Nishikifuji stated that he and Terunofuji hoped to create a "whirlwind" by winning their respective divisions.

However, after two consecutive losing records in jūryō, Nishikifuji was demoted back to the makushita division for the January 2021 tournament. Despite losing on Day 2 to Ichiyamamoto, he contended for the makushita championship. Unusually, the playoff to determine the division winner involved nine wrestlers tied with only one defeat, a phenomenon not seen since the July 1996 tournament in Nagoya. Nishikifuji won his first playoff match against Shōhōryū but was then defeated by Shiba, leading to his early elimination from the title race, which was ultimately won by Sakigake (from Shibatayama stable). Nevertheless, his 6-1 record in that tournament secured his re-promotion to the jūryō division.

In May 2022, Nishikifuji won his first jūryō championship by defeating Oitekaze wrestler Daiamami in a playoff. This victory also coincided with his stablemate Terunofuji's seventh top-division championship. Nishikifuji expressed satisfaction at winning the championship just before his mentor Aminishiki's danpatsu-shiki (retirement ceremony), which was held on May 29, 2022.

3.3. Makuuchi Division Debut and Progression

Due to his jūryō championship, Nishikifuji was promoted to sumo's top division, making his debut at the rank of maegashira 17 East in July 2022. At the time of his promotion, he expressed a desire to face his former high school classmate Ōnoshō, who had debuted in makuuchi in May 2017. Nishikifuji had an impressive debut, achieving a double-digit winning record of 10-5. For this strong performance in his top-division debut, he was awarded the Fighting Spirit special prize.

His strong performance continued, and by May 2023, he reached his highest career rank, West maegashira 3. However, he then faced a challenging period. In the July 2023 tournament, he competed with a right leg ligament injury, finishing with a 5-10 record. He then had two more losing records, 5-10 in September 2023 and 6-9 in November 2023, leading to his demotion back to jūryō for the January 2024 tournament.

Despite this setback, Nishikifuji made a swift return to makuuchi. In the January 2024 tournament, at East jūryō 2, he started with four consecutive wins and secured a winning record by Day 12. He finished with a strong 10-5, earning re-promotion to the top division for March 2024. He followed this with an 8-7 winning record in March 2024 at East maegashira 14. However, he then recorded consecutive losing records of 5-10 in May 2024 and 6-9 in July 2024. Despite these results, due to other wrestlers' performances, he surprisingly remained in the makuuchi division at East maegashira 17 for September 2024. This marked a rare occurrence, as no wrestler had remained in makuuchi with a 6-9 record at the bottom of the division since the six-tournament-per-year system began. This retention was seen as saving the 141-year continuous presence of Aomori Prefecture-born wrestlers in the makuuchi division from being broken.

3.4. Injuries and Challenges

Nishikifuji has faced several injuries and challenges throughout his career. In September 2019, he suffered a left elbow ligament tear during training, necessitating surgery on September 20. This injury forced him to withdraw from part of the September tournament and to sit out the entire November 2019 tournament, impacting his progression.

In February 2022, the Japan Sumo Association announced that Nishikifuji had tested positive for COVID-19, which likely affected his training and performance around that period.

Before and during the May 2023 tournament, Nishikifuji sustained a right leg ligament injury. His condition did not improve as the July 2023 tournament approached, forcing him to spend most of the period rehabilitating. He decided to push through and compete in the July tournament, describing his participation as "forced" due to his desire to perform for his new wife and soon-to-be-born children.

6.1. Relationship with Aminishiki

His senior stablemate Aminishiki, also from Aomori Prefecture, has had a profound influence on Nishikifuji since his professional debut.

• The "Nishiki" in Nishikifuji's shikona is directly derived from Aminishiki's own ring name, signifying the deep mentor-protégé bond.
• Nishikifuji served as Aminishiki's tsukebito from January 2017 until Aminishiki's retirement in July 2019, deepening their connection.
• During his successful March 2020 makushita championship run, Nishikifuji and Aminishiki (then known as Anji-gawa Oyakata) shared a superstitious practice involving curry rice. Nishikifuji would eat curry on days he didn't have a bout, and Anji-gawa Oyakata would do so on days Nishikifuji wrestled.
• After winning the makushita championship, Nishikifuji set a goal to reach the sekitori ranks (jūryō or higher) before Aminishiki's retirement ceremony, originally scheduled for October 4, 2020. Although the ceremony was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Nishikifuji achieved his goal by being promoted to jūryō in September 2020, before the originally scheduled date.
• In June 2020, Nishikifuji appeared in a training video released on the official Japan Sumo Association YouTube channel, demonstrating stretching exercises introduced by Anji-gawa Oyakata.

6.2. Other Notable Episodes

• In the March 2020 tournament, Nishikifuji used the sagari (decorative tassels) that belonged to his former stablemate Shunba, who had retired in May 2019. Notably, Shunba's sagari had also been used by Midorifuji in the previous tournament and by Terunofuji before that.
• He is known to be a friend of football player Yuki Soma. Soma provided encouragement to Nishikifuji during his recovery from left elbow surgery.
• According to the Isegahama stable's official website, Nishikifuji's favorite foods are edamame and meat. His hobby is watching soccer, and his favorite female celebrity is Sayaka Isoyama.
• Nishikifuji showcased his singing talent on a Fuji Television special titled "Grand Sumo Stable Showdown! Eating Contest & Singing Battle" broadcast on August 15, 2024. He led the Isegahama Ichimon (stable group) to victory in the "Singing Battle" segment, and his singing ability garnered significant attention online, with viewers praising his voice.

7.1. Division Championships

• Jūryō championship: 1 (May 2022)
• Makushita championship: 1 (March 2020)
• Jonidan championship: 1 (January 2017)
• Jonokuchi championship: 1 (November 2016)

7.2. Special Prizes

• Fighting Spirit prize: 1 (July 2022)