Kizenryu Takashi

Kizenryu Takashi - 希善龍貴司 (born April 30, 1985) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Zentsuji, Kagawa. He made his debut in March 2008 and wrestled for Kise stable. He reached the juryo division in May 2013. His highest rank was juryo 11 and he retired in July 2020.

Early Life[]

Takashi Kamei was born on April 30, 1985, in Zentsuji, Kagawa. In his fourth year at Yogita Elementary School, he joined a local sumo club at the recommendation of a teacher. During his elementary school years, he became the elementary school yokozuna for Kagawa Prefecture.^[1]

Screen Shot 2020-11-04 at 12.03.15 AM — Kamei during his time in high school (c. 2003)

He later attended Zentsuji Shiritsu Higashi Junior High School and was a member of the judo club and the sumo club. During his third year of junior high school, Kamei won the Kagawa Prefectural Sumo Tournament. In addition, he also participated in the national scene. After junior high school, he attended Takamatsu Minami High School where me solely focused on sumo. During his third year of high school, Kamei placed third place in the National Sumo Tournament (ex-sekiwake Tochiozan won the overall tournament).^[1]

After high school, Kamei enrolled in Nihon University's College of Commerce and was a member of the university's sumo club. He was teammates with future stablemates Akiseyama and Kijuin. Immediately after joining the sumo club, Kamei injured his knee and was ruled out for one year. Even though Kamei could not become a regular in team competition, he excelled in individual competition and was runner-up in the 135-kg weight division of in the National Student Sumo Individual Weight Class Championship. During his fourth year, he was also reached the top 16 at the All Japan Sumo Championship.^[1]

Career[]

Early Career[]

After graduating from University, Kamei joined Kise stable which was a popular option for Nihon University alumni. Kise Oyakata (ex-maegashira Higonoumi) was a Nihon University alumni and his fellow stablemate, Kiyoseumi, was also a Nihon University graduate.^[1]

Screen Shot 2020-11-04 at 12.09.00 AM — Kamei prepares for his upcoming match (c. 2008)

He made his debut in March 2008 alongside fellow Kagawa native Kotoyuki. Initially wrestling under his surname, Kamei, he produced a 6-1 record in his first tournament in jonokuchi in May 2008 with his only loss coming from Yashiki. During the July 2008 tournament, Kamei won all seven bouts and took the jonidan yusho. He replicated this performance in September 2008, finishing with a perfect 7-0 record, but missed out on the sandanme yusho after losing the playoff to stablemate and fellow Nihon University graduate, Yamashita. Nevertheless, he was promoted to makushita for the following November 2008 tournament.^[2]

In his third makushita tournament in March 2009, Kamei finished with a 6-1 record which qualified him for an eight-man playoff for the makushita yusho, however, he lost in the first round to Dewaotori. After this, his sumo progression stalled for a while and he mainly wrestled in the mid-lower makushita ranks. In March 2013, while ranked at a then career-best makushita 7, Kamei finished with a perfect 7-0 record, and was guaranteed a promotion to juryo for the May 2013 tournament.^[2]

Juryo Career[]

Upon promotion to juryo, he was given the shikona "Kizenryu" (希善龍). He finished with a 6-9 record in his first tournament as a sekitori, and despite being ranked at juryo 11, he was demoted back down to makushita for the following May 2013 tournament.^[2]

After his demotion, Kizenryu remained in makushita for around a year before earning a promotion back to juryo for the July 2014 tournament. During the July 2014 tournament, Kizenryu won his first match before losing his next eight and finished with a 4-11 record. He was demoted back down to makushita for the following September 2014 tournament. After three tournaments in makushita he was promoted back to juryo in March 2015. He produced a 6-9 record and was demoted back down to makushita in May 2015. After spending two tournaments in makushita, Kizenryu was promoted back to juryo for the September 2015 tournament. He produced another 6-9 record and was demoted back down to makushita for the November 2015 tournament.^[2]

202008020000294-w1300 0 — Kizenryu after winning a match in juryo (c. 2017)

Kizenryu spent five tournaments in makushita and earned another promotion back to juryo for the September 2016 tournament. He scored a 5-10 record and was demoted back down to makushita in November 2016. He returned to juryo for the January 2017 tournament after spending only one tournament in makushita. During this tournament, he finished with another 5-10 record and was demoted back down to makushita. After demotion to makushita, Kizenryu produced three straight 4-3 records and was promoted to juryo again for the September 2017 tournament. On the tenth day, Kizenryu injured his shoulder in a match against Kitaharima. The next day, Kizenryu injured his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in a match against Osunaarashi.^[3] He would sit out for the rest of the tournament and finish with a 6-6-3 record which saw him demoted back down to makushita in November 2017.^[2]

After the injury, Kizenryu participated in the following tournament and produced a 4-3 record which was good enough for a promotion back to juryo for the January 2018 tournament. He produced a 3-12 record in that tournament and was demoted back down to makushita in March 2018. After two tournaments, Kizenryu earned promotion back to juryo for the July 2018 tournament for a record ninth time.^[4] He produced a 6-9 record and was demoted back to makushita in September 2018. This proved to be his final appearance as a sekitori.^[2]

Later Career[]

Even though Kizenryu could not manage a promotion back to juryo during his later career, he stayed in the upper makushita ranks for around two years and faced off mainly against former juryo wrestlers as well as up-and-coming hopefuls. He wrestled his final tournament in July 2020 and won has last match against former juryo wrestler Asagyokusei.^[2]

Retirement from Sumo[]

Kizenryu announced his retirement on August 2, 2020.^[5] He cited that his left knee had deteriorated which affected his quality of sumo. When asked about his record of most promotions to juryo, Kizenryu replied that he was not embarrassed of his record because majority of sumo wrestlers could not reach the ranks that he achieved, however, he was disappointed that he never managed to achieve a winning record as a sekitori.^[3] His danpatsu-shiki, or retirement ceremony, was held at his stable on August 16, 2020.^[6]

After retiring, he began working as a staff member at the Zentsuji City Hall in his hometown and volunteers as a coach for a local sumo club, training elementary and junior high school students.^[7]

Personal Life[]

Kizenryu is the first university graduate from Kagawa Prefecture to join professional sumo.^[1]

Fighting Style[]

According to his Japan Sumo Association profile, Kizenryu's preferred grip on his opponent's mawashi is migi-yotsu, a left arm outside and right hand inside position.^[8] His favorite technique by far is uwatenage, or overarm throw, which accounts for 48% of his victories, while the average is only 5%.^[9] In addition, His mastery of the uwatenage drew praise from Yokozuna Kisenosato.^[10]