MITO, Japan - Komusubi Yoshinofuji revealed that his family home has been deemed "completely destroyed" following a powerful earthquake that struck the southwestern Japan prefecture of Kumamoto on July 28.
Speaking during the Japan Sumo Association's regional tour in Ibaraki Prefecture on Thursday, the 25-year-old said his house in the city of Uto needs to be "demolished and rebuilt."
"I worry about them (the people in the region) all the time," said Yoshinofuji, who was in his home city after competing in the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament when the quake struck.
Looking back at the magnitude-7.1 quake, the wrestler recalled a huge jolt, as well as images of fallen utility poles and collapsed concrete block walls in the aftermath.
"The doors aren't closing properly. The one to our storage room with my trophies inside isn't opening. The area around our home is in a terrible state, too," Yoshinofuji said.
As of Friday, the quake had left 38 people dead, more than 2,000 people in evacuation centers, and an estimated 42,222 homes damaged.
The disaster has given the rising talent a further incentive to deliver at next month's Autumn meet in Tokyo, where he is set to drop from the fourth-highest rank of komusubi to rank-and-file maegashira after going 6-9 in July.
"I want to be back in 'sanyaku' at the Kyushu meet in November," Yoshinofuji said, referring to the three distinguished ranks beneath yokozuna. "I'll be giving my all to the end, never giving in."
