Kaiō Hiroyuki
After being introduced to Kaiki by a mutual acquaintance in Nōgata, the young Koga was recruited to Tomozuna stable upon graduation from junior high.
Initially fighting under his own surname, he reached the makushita division in September 1990 after winning the sandanme championship with a perfect 7–0 record.
After defeating his first yokozuna and winning his first special prize in March 1994, he was promoted to a san'yaku rank for the first time for the following tournament in May 1994, at komusubi.
In the earlier part of his top division career Kaiō's lack of consistency, and injury problems, denied him the major promotion to ōzeki that his ability merited.
In May 1997 injuries to his left leg sustained in a match with Takanonami caused him to miss tournaments and took over a year to fully heal.
Kaiō won his first top division tournament championship in May 2000 from the komusubi rank, defeating yokozuna Takanohana and three ōzeki and losing just one bout to Akebono.
[7] Nevertheless, he went on to maintain the rank for eleven years, eventually becoming the oldest ōzeki since the start of the Shōwa era in 1926,[5] and also the longest serving, in terms of number of tournaments, a record he holds jointly with Chiyotaikai.
However he was denied the chance of going for consecutive yūshō because after each of these triumphs he had to withdraw from the following tournament with sciatica in his lower back, a chronic problem which continued to restrict his mobility for the rest of his career.
He was three times a runner-up in 2002, and then after finishing runner up in consecutive tournaments in March and May 2003 he took the July championship, defeating his only rival Chiyotaikai on the final day to win the yūshō with a 12–3 record.
In 2004, a year in which Kaiō was injury-free, he was runner-up in March, and then won the September tournament virtually unchallenged after two of his three ōzeki rivals dropped out injured and yokozuna Asashōryū could score only 9–6.
After his eleventh runner-up performance in November 2004 Kaiō seldom contended for the championship or even produced a score in double figures, leading some commentators to suggest his retirement was overdue.
His 8–7 mark in January 2008 was his 64th kachi-koshi (majority of wins against losses) in the top division, breaking the record previously held by Kitanoumi.
[citation needed] On the final day of the basho he won his 1000th career match with a victory over Kotoōshū, becoming only the second wrestler after Chiyonofuji to reach this landmark.
[15] The dismissal of Kotomitsuki in July 2010 for involvement in illegal gambling on baseball left Kaiō as the only Japanese wrestler in the top two ranks.
[16] He expressed sympathy for his fellow ōzeki, telling reporters that dismissal was harsh and that he wished Kotomitsuki could have been given the chance to reform.
The November 2010 tournament in Kaiō's hometown of Fukuoka saw him rebound from an opening day loss to win eleven straight matches, challenging for the yūshō alongside Hakuhō, Baruto and Toyonoshima.
His final day victory over Hakuhō was his 1044th in sumo, just one behind Chiyonofuji, but he commented afterwards, "Under these [test meet] circumstances, I'm not thinking of that.
[1] Speaking at a press conference after his announcement, Kaiō said, "I might not have reached yokozuna or won the championship in front of my home fans in Kyushu but I've had a fulfilling career and have no regrets.
"[25] His danpatsu-shiki, or official retirement ceremony, took place at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan on 27 May 2012, with around 10000 spectators and hundreds of dignitaries, including his fellow March 1988 entrant Takanohana, taking turns to snip his topknot before it was finally removed by his stablemaster Tomozuna.
[31] During the January 2024 tournament, he withdrew from his judging duties on the twelfth day and announced his intention to undergo surgery for sinusitis.
[38] Kaiō unintentionally caused a number of injuries with this technique over the years, including Tochinonada in 1999, who sustained long-term damage to his elbow, and Kotoryū in March 2001, who suffered a broken arm.
[41] The couple met through a journalist who wrote about both sumo and women's pro wrestling while she was undergoing treatment for ovarian cancer.
[43] Sanshō key: F=Fighting spirit; O=Outstanding performance; T=Technique Also shown: ★=Kinboshi; P=Playoff(s) Divisions: Makuuchi — Jūryō — Makushita — Sandanme — Jonidan — Jonokuchi
