If the Japan Sumo Association ever adds a “Never Give Up” award to its three "sansho" special prizes given on the final day, Kitaharima would claim them all.

The 37-year-old is fighting in the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament being held in Osaka at the juryo No. 14 rank.

But his career has been filled with ups and downs. This is his ninth time to be promoted to the second-highest juryo division in which a wrestler is considered a “sekitori” and receives a monthly salary from the JSA.

Entering juryo for the ninth time ties Kitaharima with the sumo record. But he has set his sights even higher.

“I am still a younger wrestler,” he said. 

The last time Kitaharima was a sekitori was in the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament in September 2020. He admits that the three years and six months that he did not receive a salary were a “painful period.”

It took demotion to the third-lowest sandanme division last autumn to provide Kitaharima with the motivation to persevere. He had not been in that division in 15 years.

After two bouts in the September 2023 tournament, Kitaharima said, “I felt if I just wrestled normally, I would not lose.”

He won all seven bouts and became the oldest wrestler in the postwar era to win the sandanme division. Wrestlers in the makushita division and lower only fight seven bouts every tournament.

PUTTING ON WEIGHT KEY TO SUCCESS 

In the November 2023 tournament, Kitaharima fought in the makushita division and ended with a 6-1 record. He gained promotion to juryo after finishing the January tournament with a 4-3 record near the top of the makushita division.

According to the JSA, gaining promotion to juryo at 37 makes Kitaharima the second oldest wrestler to do so from the Showa Era (1926-1989).

Kitaharima said gaining weight was the key to success. He now tips the scales at the heaviest he has ever been.

He always had a major handicap as a sumo wrestler because he found it difficult to put on weight.

“From about a year ago, I looked over my diet and increased consumption of vegetables and seaweed,” Kitaharima said. “I ate a more balanced diet and my stomach became larger as I ate more.”

While he enjoyed drinking on occasions in the past, Kitaharima has been on the wagon for the past year because of the ill effects of alcohol on the quality of his sleep and on his muscles.

His weight hovered around 126 kilograms these past few years, but he boosted that to 133 kg in one year’s time. That has helped provide stability to his thrusting techniques.

He added that he felt more confident in moving forward during the face-offs in the dohyo.

Kitaharima began sumo in the fourth grade at a sumo school in Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture. One of his classmates back then was Myogiryu, who is now a makuuchi division wrestler.

Kitaharima entered the sumo world after graduating from junior high school, but it took him about 10 years before he gained promotion to juryo. He repeatedly fell back to makushita, only to climb back up to juryo. The highest rank he ever achieved was maegashira No. 15 in the top makuuchi division.

But Kitaharima has found it more difficult to achieve winning records in recent years.

STICKING TO THE BASICS 

His stablemaster, Yamahibiki, said, “It is not easy for anyone to continue sumo until 37. He is going all out to achieve his dream of fighting in makuuchi.”

Another major accomplishment for Kitaharima in his 22-year career is the fact that he has not sat out even a single bout with the exception of the March 2021 tournament when everyone in his stable had to sit out because someone had been infected with the novel coronavirus.

Yamahibiki said that Kitaharima adhered to the advice from Kitanoumi, his predecessor as stablemaster, who stressed the importance of repeating the basic sumo training techniques.

“His thinking and awareness of sumo is extremely high,” Yamahibiki said.

He added that other stablemasters have praised Kitaharima and told him they have said to their own charges to follow the example of Kitaharima who continued to do his best even after falling to sandanme.

One opponent Kitaharima is looking forward to fighting in the March tournament is Wakatakakage, a former sekiwake who won the Emperor’s Cup in the March 2022 tournament before injuries led to his demotion to as low as makushita. He is now juryo No. 10.

“It’s always fun to fight against strong opponents,” Kitaharima said. “I want to put out my best for each bout.”

He was born in 1986, the year that also produced former yokozuna Kisenosato and former ozeki Goeido. Many are now retired and instructing younger wrestlers in their own stables.

“I do not think about my age because my body continues to move,” Kitaharima said. “I want to continue with the sumo that I love while giving it my all.”