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• Director of
  Saiseikai Central Hospital

Strokes can be categorized into two main groups: Cerebral infarction resulting from obstruction of brain blood vessels, and intracranial hemorrhage and subarachnoid hemorrhage caused by rupture of brain blood vessels.

Cerebral infarction is further divided into two groups: Cerebral thrombosis and cerebral embolism. Cerebral thrombosis is caused by narrowed brain blood vessels due to arteriosclerosis. Cerebral embolism occurs when blood vessels to the brain are blocked by blood clots that are formed inside the heart during atrial fibrillation, etc.

When cerebral infarction occurs, the blood cannot get through the blood vessels and necessary nutrition and oxygen aren't supplied to the brain cells. As a result, some brain cells die, which produces various disorders, such as paralysis in one side of the body, sensory disturbance, and speech disorder.

To minimize the aftereffects of stroke, it is important to notice a signal from your body and seek medical treatment as soon as possible.

• One side of the face or one arm/leg is paralyzed (motor disturbance). Or there is numbness in one side of the face or in one arm/leg (sensory disturbance).
• Speech disorder, such as slurred speech and having difficulty in remembering words.
• Lose of sight in one eye, having double vision, visual field defect
• Unsteadiness, loss of balance, dizziness

In the spring of 2007, having suffered from chronic headache, Daisuke Tamanoi thought that there must be something wrong with him and finally decided to undergo a medical examination. To his surprise, the examination revealed evidence that he'd had a stroke in the past.

"I was greatly shocked to know that I had a problem in my brain, yet I didn't notice."

Tamanoi cancelled his scheduled wrestling match right away, and then he was immediately hospitalized. When he entered the hospital, his blood pressure was high. His doctor informed him "if another stroke occurs, we don't know what'll happen to you."

If the evidence of a stroke was detected much earlier, he might have been able to continue his career as a sumo wrestler a little longer…

Daisuke Tamanoi was born in Tokyo in 1976. After he entered Nakano junior and senior high school, attached to Meiji University, he joined a sumo club. When he was a third-year senior high school student, he gained the "Koko Yokozuna (Senior High Yokozuna)" title that is given to the grand champion of the All-Japan senior High School Sumo Championship Tournament.
In 1994, when he was still a senior high school student, he entered the Tamanoi stable set up by his father (the 13th stable master, Tamanoi Oyakata, and former Sekiwake Tochiazuma).
He made his debut as a sumo wrestler in the November Tournament (the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament), played in the Jyonokuchi lowest division.
His ring name was Daisuke Shiga. Upon his promotion to the second highest juryo division after the March (Spring) Grand Sumo Tournament in 1996, he changed his ring name to "Tochiazuma". The highest rank that he could obtain during his career was Ozeki, the second highest rank in sumo wrestling.
He won the makuuchi championship three times. He was awarded Shukun-sho (Outstanding Performance prize) three times, Kanto-sho (Fighting Spirit prize) twice, and Gino-sho (Technique prize) seven times. He received four kin boshi (a title given to a sumo wrestler who has won against a grand champion).
His special technique was uwatenage (pulling over arm throw). His weight was 155 kg when he was an active sumo wrestler. He is 180 centimeters tall.