Takasago stable (髙砂部屋 or 高砂部屋, Takasago-beya) is a stable of sumo wrestlers, one of the Takasago group of stables. It is correctly written in Japanese as "髙砂部屋", but the first of these kanji is rare, and is more commonly written as "高砂部屋".
History
The stable was established by former maegashiraTakasago Uragorō as Takasago Kaisei-Gumi (高砂改正組) in 1873 and joined the Tokyo Sumo Association in 1878. Takasago stable has produced many successful wrestlers, including six yokozuna and the first non-Japanese ōzeki, American Konishiki, as well as the 33rd Kimura Shōnosuke, the tate-gyōji or chief referee.
In February 2002, the stable merged with Wakamatsu stable, with Wakamatsu's coach, former ōzeki Asashio, taking over.[1] Future yokozunaAsashōryū was among the wrestlers transferring over. The demotion of Asasekiryū to the makushita division for the January 2017 tournament saw the stable without any sekitori for the first time since 1878.[2] However, at the end of that tournament Asanoyama earned promotion to the jūryō division, ensuring sekitori representation once again from March. As of January 2023, it had 25 wrestlers. The former Asasekiryū, who had reached the rank of sekiwake in 2007, took over from the former Asashio as head coach of the stable in November 2020.
In June 2021, ōzekiAsanoyama was handed a one-year (six tournament) suspension for violating sumo protocols related to COVID-19.[3] The following month stablemaster Takasago (the former Asasekiryū), Asanoyama and six lower-ranked rikishi in the stable all tested positive for COVID-19.[4]
In December 2024 it was reported by Nikkan Sports that Takasago stable would be moving to a new building under construction in Sumida ward that is closer to the Ryōgoku Kokugikan. Scheduled to open in February 2025, the new three-story building will have more space for wrestlers to practice and rest.[5]
People
Ring name conventions
Most wrestlers since the mid 1990s and all since 2003 at this stable have quickly taken ring names or shikona that begin with the character 朝 (read: asa), meaning morning, in deference to their head coach, the former Asashio, as well as many of his predecessors who had the same shikona in their active years. For example, the wrestler formerly known as Tamaki changed his shikona to Asagyokusei when he was promoted to jūryō in July 2019.
