Is a professional sumo wrestler, born in 1997 in Chiba prefecture in Japan. He wrestles for Sadogakate stable. As at the present time (end of the November 2024 basho), Kotozakura is the current holder of the Emperor's Cup and is ranked at ozeki. By dint of being the current top division champion at ozeki, he is also the closest rikishi at present to becoming Grand Sumo's 74th yokozuna.
Kotozakura, who is nicknamed by sumo enthusiasts online KTZ because it's less of a fingerful than his full name, is another wrestler with the significant weight of expectation laid upon him. Much like how his fellow ozeki and rival Hoshoryu is a man of whom great things are expected by dint of being the nephew of the dominant 2000s yokozuna Asashoryu, KTZ is the grandson of the original Kotozakura, who was the 53rd yokozuna in the 1970s and who also appeared in the James Bond film You Only Live Twice, as himself. Moreover, his father (who is also his stablemaster) was himself a successful sumotori under the ring name Kotonowaka and reached the third highest rank of sekiwake. So there is a hefty weight of expectations upon him. Almost as hefty, in fact, as the man himself, who weighs in at 178kg and at 6' 3" tall.
KTZ (sorry, I'm going to use this from here on in, don't @ me) is large and has what, if he were in strongman, would be called a power belly. Despite his size he is incredibly flexible, if not super agile. He seems to from what I have seen blend both his father's defensive style of sumo with his grandfather's out and out pushing which led to the original Kotozakura being nicknamed the Mad Bull. He does get more wins by pushing or forcing out by throws, but he is able to engage in pretty decent belt sumo as well, and he is flexible enough to defend or even counter a lot of throws. An example of this was from the final bout of the November 2024 basho, in which he and Hoshoryu were both at 13-1 with the winner getting the Emperor's Cup. KTZ was able to push Nephew to the bales but Nephew was able to lean in and get a nice deep belt grip and attempt a hip throw. However KTZ, by being both huge and flexible, managed to hop to one side, leaving Hoshoryu dangerously overbalanced, and then shove him to the ground for a win by hatakikomi (although I thought it looked more like a tsukiotoshi myself.) He also has a somewhat distinctive little ritual he goes through before entering the ring. A lot of wrestlers have this, whether it's Hokutofuji ostentatiously slapping himself all over, Ura doing a sort of breathing in and counting his breath with hand movements, Takayasu slapping his belt with a somewhat sensual expression on his face then doing a little wiggle as he hunkers down, or similar. KTZ's is to take a fistful of salt and then skittle it across the surface of the dohyo while his face contorts and his nostrils flare and you think he is about to turn green and shred his mawashi. It seems to help get him in the zone, which probably why he does it.
Kotozakura also was not always his ring name. When he joined professional sumo in 2015, his ring name was Kotokamatani which was his legal first name of Kamatani with the initial 琴 kanji on the front from his father's and grandfather's ring names, and which most wrestlers from that stable use. When he was promoted to the salaried ranks in 2019 he changed his name to his father's Kotonowaka, and promised that if he made ozeki he would change his name again to his grandfather's. This he has done. If he makes yokozuna it is not known if he will change it again. I suspect he may to try to show that he has stepped out from his familial legacy and is now moving ahead with his own.
Now, do I think he will actually make yokozuna in January 2025? I think he might well. But then again, his yusho in November 2024 was in the absence of the current yokozuna Terunofuji who is often sitting out due to injury but when he does compete almost always gets close to the cup. It would be just like Teru to come back next time and try to act as spoiler for both KTZ and Hoshoryu. And then there's that college boy Onosato who just made ozeki after September and will be wanting to show he's worthy of such an exalted rank...
(IN24/28)