HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

is a Japanese professional
sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by thr ...
wrestler from
Setouchi, Kagoshima is a town located primarily on Amami Ōshima, in Ōshima District, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. As of June 2013, the town had an estimated population of 9,379 and a population density of 39.1 persons per km². The total area was 239.91 km ...
. He debuted in sumo wrestling in July 2011 and made his ''
makuuchi , or , 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. This is the on ...
'' debut in July 2018. His highest rank has been ''
sekiwake , or , 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. This is the on ...
''. He wrestles for
Tatsunami stable Asahiyutaka Katsuteru (born 10 September 1968) is a former sumo wrestler from Kasugai, Aichi, Japan. His highest rank was ''komusubi''. He is now the head coach of Tatsunami stable. Career He joined Ōshima stable and made his professional debu ...
. Unusually for a top-class sumo wrestler, he uses his given name as his ''
shikona A is a sumo wrestler's ring name. The tradition of ring names in sumo dates back to the Edo period, where they were used as a means to attract customers and hide the identities of the ''rikishi''. Like standard Japanese names, a ''shikona'' co ...
''.


Background

Meisei was born in Setouchi, a town on
Amami Ōshima , also known as Amami, is the largest island in the Amami archipelago between Kyūshū and Okinawa. It is one of the Satsunan Islands. The island, 712.35 km2 in area, has a population of approximately 73,000 people. Administratively it is ...
, one of the
Ryukyu Islands The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yonaguni ...
. He began sumo at the age of five and was strongly encouraged by his father and other family members. When his
elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...
closed their sumo programme he joined a sumo club in a neighboring town and in sixth grade he won the All-Japan Primary School Sumo Tournament. He moved to the Kamogawa Junior High School and competed in national championships but failed to win any further championships. Although he considered attending
High School A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
he took his father's advice and left education at the age of 15 to pursue a career in professional sumo. ベースボール・マガジン社刊 『 相撲』 2016年8月号(名古屋場所総決算号) 83頁


Career


Early career

In 2011 Meisei joined the
Tatsunami stable Asahiyutaka Katsuteru (born 10 September 1968) is a former sumo wrestler from Kasugai, Aichi, Japan. His highest rank was ''komusubi''. He is now the head coach of Tatsunami stable. Career He joined Ōshima stable and made his professional debu ...
, bringing him under the tutelage of the former ''
komusubi , or , 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. This is the on ...
''
Asahiyutaka Asahiyutaka Katsuteru (born 10 September 1968) is a former sumo wrestler from Kasugai, Aichi, Japan. His highest rank was '' komusubi''. He is now the head coach of Tatsunami stable. Career He joined Ōshima stable and made his professional de ...
. Unlike most new wrestlers who begin their careers under their family names he took his given name as his ''
shikona A is a sumo wrestler's ring name. The tradition of ring names in sumo dates back to the Edo period, where they were used as a means to attract customers and hide the identities of the ''rikishi''. Like standard Japanese names, a ''shikona'' co ...
'' surname. Shortly before his sixteenth birthday he began his professional career in July 2011 and recorded four wins in seven bouts in the ''
jonokuchi Professional sumo as administered by the Japan Sumo Association is divided into six ranked divisions. Wrestlers are promoted and demoted within and between these divisions based on the merit of their win–loss records in official tournaments. For ...
'' division to secure promotion to ''
jonidan Professional sumo as administered by the Japan Sumo Association is divided into six ranked divisions. Wrestlers are promoted and demoted within and between these divisions based on the merit of their win–loss records in official tournaments. Fo ...
''. A 5-2 result in November saw him promoted to the fourth ''
sandanme Professional sumo as administered by the Japan Sumo Association is divided into six ranked divisions. Wrestlers are promoted and demoted within and between these divisions based on the merit of their win–loss records in official tournaments. For ...
'' division but in January 2012 he won only two matches and returned to ''jonidan'' after posting his first ''
make-koshi The following words are terms used in sumo wrestling in Japan. A B C D E F G H ...
'' (losing record). He returned to ''sandanme'' after a 6–1 record in March 2012 and a run of ''
kachi-koshi The following words are terms used in sumo wrestling in Japan. A B C D E F G H ...
'' (winning records) saw him promoted to ''
makushita Professional sumo as administered by the Japan Sumo Association is divided into six ranked divisions. Wrestlers are promoted and demoted within and between these divisions based on the merit of their win–loss records in official tournaments. For ...
'' (third division) in January 2013. After moving up and down between ''sandanme'' and ''makushita'' several times he established himself in the higher division and began a steady climb through the ranks. In September 2016 a 4-3 result at the rank of ''makushita'' 3 saw him promoted to the second ''
juryo Professional sumo as administered by the Japan Sumo Association is divided into six ranked divisions. Wrestlers are promoted and demoted within and between these divisions based on the merit of their win–loss records in official tournaments. F ...
'' division for the first time. He returned to ''makushita'' after recording a 5–10 record in November but was promoted back to ''juryo'' after two consecutive ''kachi-koshi''. A series of solid results saw him rise to the top of the second division and in May 2018 a 10–5 record at ''juryo'' saw him promoted to the ''
makuuchi , or , 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. This is the on ...
'' division.


Makuuchi career

In his first tournament in the top division Meisei was assigned the rank of ''
maegashira , or , 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. This is the on ...
'' 16. His '' kesho-mawashi'', which featured the sun rising from the sea was embroidered by Miyuki Tanaka whose previous clients had included
Chiyonofuji , born , was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler and the 58th ''yokozuna'' of the sport. Following his retirement as a wrestler, he was the stable master of Kokonoe stable until the time of his death. Chiyonofuji was considered one of the gr ...
. He recorded six wins including victories over
Hokutofuji is a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Tokorozawa, Saitama. His debut in '' maezumō'' was in March 2015, and his first ''makuuchi'' division ''honbasho'' was the Kyūshū tournament in November 2016. His highest rank has been ''komusub ...
and
Chiyomaru is a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Shibushi, Kagoshima. He made his professional debut in May 2007. He took the second division ''jūryō'' championship in his third tournament in the division in January 2014 and was promoted to the ...
but was relegated back to ''juryo''. Nine wins at ''juryo'' 2 saw him return to the top division in November 2018 when he posted a 9–6 record including wins over Chiyomaru and Ōnoshō. In January he reached a score of 6-7 after 13 days but reached his ''
kachi-koshi The following words are terms used in sumo wrestling in Japan. A B C D E F G H ...
'' by beating
Yoshikaze Yoshikaze Masatsugu (born March 19, 1982 as Masatsugu Ōnishi) is a former sumo wrestler from Saiki, Oita, Saiki, Oita Prefecture, Japan. His highest rank was ''sekiwake''. A former amateur sumo champion, he turned professional in 2004, reaching ...
and Onosho in his last two bouts. Competing a career high of ''
maegashira , or , 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. This is the on ...
'' 11 in March 2019 he won nine of his fourteen bouts highlighted by an '' uwatedashinage'' win over the former ōzeki Kotoshogiku on day 13. In the following tournament, at another career high rank of ''maegashira'' 7 he lost his first three bouts but won ten of his remaining twelve matches including a victory over
Tochinoshin ; ) is a Georgian professional sumo wrestler from Mtskheta. He is a member of the Kasugano stable and made his professional debut in March 2006. He reached the top ''makuuchi'' division just two years later in May 2008. After a long hiatus due t ...
. He reached ''maegashira'' 2 in November 2019. On December 28 during training at his stable he injured his left upper arm muscle. He still entered the January 2020 tournament but withdrew on Day 8 with only one win. He failed to make ''kachi-koshi'' in March 2020 at the rank of ''maegashira'' 17, and secured his demotion to ''jūryō.'' In July 2020, he won the ''jūryō''
championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...
following a six-man playoff, ensuring his return to ''makuuchi''. After several solid performances saw him rise to ''maegashira'' 3 by March 2021, he produced a 10–5 record to win his first Fighting Spirit prize. In July 2021 he made his ''
sanyaku The following words are terms used in sumo wrestling in Japan. A B C D E F G H ...
'' debut at the rank of ''
komusubi , or , 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. This is the on ...
''. He was the first wrestler from Tatsunami stable to reach that rank since
Tomonohana Tomonohana Shinya (born 23 June 1964 as Shinya Narimatsu) is a former sumo wrestler from Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. His highest rank was ''komusubi.'' He is now a sumo coach. Career He had been an amateur sumo champion at Nihon Univ ...
in 1994. The following tournament he was promoted to ''
sekiwake , or , 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. This is the on ...
'', the first from Tatsunami since Kitao in 1985. He earned his first win over a ''
yokozuna , or , 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. This is the on ...
'' on Day 12 of the September tournament when he defeated
Terunofuji , lead=yes), is a Mongolian-born naturalised-Japanese professional sumo wrestler. Wrestling for the Isegahama stable, he entered professional sumo in January 2011 and took the second division ''jūryō'' championship in his debut as a ''sekitori ...
, although as he was not ranked as a ''maegashira'' he did not get a ''
kinboshi is a notation used in professional sumo wrestling to record a lower-ranked (''maegashira'') wrestler's victory over a ''yokozuna''. It is believed that the term stems from the usage of the terms ''shiroboshi'' (lit: white star) to designate a b ...
''.


Fighting style

Meisei has shown a preference for ''yotsu'' techniques which involve grasping his opponent's ''
mawashi In sumo, a is the loincloth that (sumo wrestlers) wear during training or in competition. Upper ranked professional wrestlers wear a as part of the ring entry ceremony or . For top ranked professional , it is made of silk and comes in a var ...
'' or belt and favors the ''hidari-yotsu'', or left-hand inside grip. His most common ''
kimarite ''Kimarite'' ( ja, 決まり手) is the technique used in sumo by a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) to win a match. It is officially decided or announced by the ''gyōji'' (referee) at the end of the match, though judges can modify this decision. The rec ...
'' or winning move is ''yorikiri'', the force-out.


Career record

  


See also

*
Glossary of sumo terms The following words are terms used in sumo wrestling in Japan. A B C D E F G H ...
*
List of active sumo wrestlers The following is an alphabetical list of all active professional sumo wrestlers in the top ''makuuchi'' division, and all those currently in lower divisions who have a Wikipedia article. Please refer to professional sumo divisions for more informa ...
*
List of sekiwake This is a list of all sumo wrestlers whose pinnacle in the sport has been the third highest rank of ''sekiwake'' and who held the rank in the modern era of sumo since the 1927 merger of the Tokyo and Osaka organizations. There are usually two act ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meisei, Chikara 1995 births Living people Japanese sumo wrestlers Sumo people from Kagoshima Prefecture Tatsunami stable sumo wrestlers Sekiwake