bouts and was the sole leader of the tournament at that point. His hopes for the championship were ended however on Day 14 when he lost his fifth match. Fighting style Aoiyama was a yotsu-sumo specialist who preferred grabbing the opponent's mawashi and grappling rather than pushing or thrusting. However, after gaining significant weight following his Makuuchi debut, he started to predominantly use pushing, thrusting and back-step pulling attacks as this has proven extremely effective due to his upper body strength. As of March 2015, 62% of his wins have come by mean of either hatakikomi, oshidashi and tsukidashi, all of which involved pushing and thrusting. Personal life Aoiyama is married to Violeta, an architect from the same area of Bulgaria as himself. They met in 2015 when both were in Bulgaria, and began living together in Japan from July 2016. The marriage was registered in August and the wedding reception was held in a Tokyo hotel in February 2017 with around 230 guests including fellow Dewanoumi group members such as Ura and Mitakeumi. In a May 2015 interview in Bulgaria, Aoiyama stated that he identifies as a Christian. Aoiyama and his wife Violeta welcomed their first child, Monica, in October 2021. On 16 March 2022, it was announced that he had obtained Japanese citizenship. His Japanese name is . Career record See also List of sumo tournament top division runners-up List of active gold star earners Glossary of sumo terms List of active sumo wrestlers List of non-Japanese sumo wrestlers List of sekiwake Active special prize winners References External links 1986 births Living people Bulgarian Christians Bulgarian emigrants Bulgarian sumo wrestlers Japanese sumo wrestlers Naturalized citizens of Japan People from Elhovo Sekiwake