Sakahoko Nobushige was a Japanese sumo wrestler. The son of Tsurugamine, he made his professional debut in 1978, reaching the top makuuchi division in 1982. His highest rank was sekiwake. He won nine special prizes and seven gold stars for defeating yokozuna. He retired in 1992 and became the head coach of Izutsu stable in 1994, succeeding his father. He oversaw Kakuryū's promotion to the yokozuna rank in 2014 but also saw the size of his stable decline. He was a deputy director of the Japan Sumo Association and a judge of tournament bouts. He died of pancreatic cancer in 2019. He was the elder brother of fellow top division sumo wrestler Terao Tsunefumi.
Sakahoko Nobushige in 2009
Makuuchi (幕内), or makunouchi (幕の内), is the top division of the six divisions of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers (rikishi), ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments.
A makuuchi match with the 69th yokozuna Hakuhō beating Dejima as the 68th yokozuna Asashōryū watches in the background
Yokozuna Kakuryū Rikisaburō (center) performing the ring-entering ceremony while flanked by a sword bearer on the left and dew sweeper on the right
A tsuna belonging to the Metropolitan Museum of Art
68th yokozuna Asashoryū's Unryū-style Yokozuna Dohyō-iri