Meisei Chikara

is a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Setouchi, Kagoshima. He debuted in sumo wrestling in July 2011 and made his ''makuuchi'' debut in July 2018. His highest rank has been ''sekiwake''. He wrestles for Tatsunami stable. Unusually for a top-class sumo wrestler, he uses his given name as his ''shikona''.

Background

Meisei was born in Setouchi, a town on Amami Ōshima, one of the Ryukyu Islands. He began sumo at the age of five and was strongly encouraged by his father and other family members. When his elementary school 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 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, bringing him under the tutelage of the former ''komusubi'' Asahiyutaka. Unlike most new wrestlers who begin their careers under their family names he took his given name as his ''shikona'' surname. Shortly before his sixteenth birthday he began his professional career in July 2011 and recorded four wins in seven bouts in the ''jonokuchi'' division to secure promotion to ''jonidan''. A 5-2 result in November saw him promoted to the fourth ''sandanme'' division but in January 2012 he won only two matches and returned to ''jonidan'' after posting his first ''make-koshi'' (losing record). He returned to ''sandanme'' after a 6–1 record in March 2012 and a run of ''kachi-koshi'' (winning records) saw him promoted to ''makushita'' (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'' 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'' division.

Makuuchi career

In his first tournament in the top division Meisei was assigned the rank of ''maegashira'' 16. His '' kesho-mawashi'', which featured the sun rising from the sea was embroidered by Miyuki Tanaka whose previous clients had included Chiyonofuji. He recorded six wins including victories over Hokutofuji and Chiyomaru 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'' by beating Yoshikaze and Onosho in his last two bouts. Competing a career high of ''maegashira'' 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. 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 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'' debut at the rank of ''komusubi''. He was the first wrestler from Tatsunami stable to reach that rank since Tomonohana in 1994. The following tournament he was promoted to ''sekiwake'', the first from Tatsunami since Kitao in 1985. He earned his first win over a ''yokozuna'' on Day 12 of the September tournament when he defeated Terunofuji, although as he was not ranked as a ''maegashira'' he did not get a ''kinboshi''.

Fighting style

Meisei has shown a preference for ''yotsu'' techniques which involve grasping his opponent's ''mawashi'' or belt and favors the ''hidari-yotsu'', or left-hand inside grip. His most common ''kimarite'' or winning move is ''yorikiri'', the force-out.

Career record

See also

*Glossary of sumo terms
*List of active sumo wrestlers
*List of sekiwake

References

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