Hokutà Âriki Hideki (born October 31, 1977, as Hideki Kimura) is a former sumo wrestler, from Tochigi, Japan. He reached the top makuuchi division in 2002 and was runner-up in three tournaments. He had four special prizes in his career and a gold star for defeating a yokozuna. The highest rank he reached was sekiwake. He retired in May 2011 and is an elder of the Japan Sumo Association and a coach at Kokonoe stable.
He was born in Kurobane, a town in the Nasu District of Tochigi Prefecture. Hokutà Âriki made his professional debut in March 1993, joining Kokonoe stable. In October of that year he transferred to the newly created Hakkaku stable run by former yokozuna Hokutoumi. It took nearly nine years for him to achieve sekitori status by gaining promotion to the second jà «ryà  division in January 2002. However, it took him only two further tournaments to reach the top makuuchi division. On his debut outing in makuuchi in May 2002 he made an immediate impression, finishing as runner-up with a strong 11âÂÂ4 record and the fighting spirit prize. He was also a runner-up in the March 2003 tournament.
The highlight of Hokutà Âriki's career came in May 2004, the only occasion when he recorded a winning score from the upper maegashira ranks. Ranked at maegashira 1, he sensationally defeated Asashà Âryà « on the sixth day - his first ever victory over a yokozuna. Asashà Âryà « had won the previous two tournaments with unbeaten 15-0 records and was on a 35 bout winning streak. With Asashà Âryà « suffering another defeat to Kyokutenhà  on Day 11, Hokutà Âriki came into the final day the sole leader on 13âÂÂ1, his only defeat in the tournament thus far being to Wakanosato on Day 8. However, he lost his senshuraku bout to Hakuhà Â, then in his debut top division tournament, being sidestepped by the 19-year-old after two false starts. With Asashà Âryà « defeating Chiyotaikai, both Asashà Âryà « and Hokutà Âriki were tied on 13-2 and had to meet again in a playoff for the championship, which Hokutà Âriki lost. Nevertheless, he was rewarded with special prizes for Fighting spirit and Outstanding Performance, and after the tournament he was promoted to sumo's third highest rank of sekiwake.
Hokutà Âriki managed only a 3âÂÂ12 record in his sekiwake debut and never managed a return to the san'yaku ranks, instead bouncing up and down the maegashira ranks. He is one of the few wrestlers (along with Kotetsuyama and Hayateumi) whose only tournament in san'yaku was at sekiwake rather than komusubi. He won another Fighting Spirit Award for his twelve wins from maegashira 11 in January 2006, but in November of that year he pulled out of the tournament on the ninth day with no wins at all and was relegated to the jà «ryà  division. However, a 9âÂÂ6 record at jà «ryà  4 in March 2007 was good enough to earn promotion back to the top division for the May 2007 tournament. Although he remained in makuuchi he did not manage to defeat a yokozuna again and had several disastrous openings to tournaments, going 0âÂÂ10 in July 2008 from maegashira 2 and 0âÂÂ12 in March 2009 from maegashira 1. In May 2009 another poor record of 4-11 saw him demoted to jà «ryà  for the second time. However, an 11âÂÂ4 score there returned him immediately to the top division.
He withdrew from the September 2010 tournament on the 13th day after suffering a neck injury, which also kept him out of the following tournament in November. Falling to the bottom of the jà «ryà  division, he was unable to enter the January 2011 basho as well.
Hokutà Âriki did not enter the May 2011 technical examination tournament, at which he had fallen to the rank of makushita 13, and announced his retirement on Day 7. He remained in sumo as a coach at Hakkaku stable under the toshiyori or elder name of Tanigawa-oyakata. His danpatsu-shiki or retirement ceremony was held in May 2012. In June 2018 he transferred to Kokonoe stable.
Hokutà Âriki relied almost exclusively on pushing and slapping techniques, with over a third of his wins coming by oshidashi, or push-out. He was usually defeated if his opponents managed to grab hold of his mawashi or belt. He often used henka, or sidestepping, to wrong-foot his opponents, and was adept at pull-downs and slap-downs. However, in the January 2008 tournament he was himself a victim of the henka tactic on three consecutive days, slipping from a score of 6âÂÂ5 to 6âÂÂ8.
Hokutà Âriki is married, and his first child, a daughter, was born in December 2007.