Takamisakari Seiken

Takamisakari Seiken - 高見盛精彦 (born May 12, 1976) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Itayanagi, Aomori. He made his debut in March 1999 and wrestled for Azumazeki stable. He reached the makuuchi division in July 2000 and has 5 special prizes as well as 2 kinboshi. His highest rank was komusubi and he retired in January 2013.

Early Life[]

Kato began sumo wrestling in the fourth grade of elementary school after a teacher recommended it. He became junior high school yokozuna after winning the national tournament and also won several regional and local tournaments.

Tks123-jlp01331308 — Kato during his time in college (c. 1998)

He later attended Hirosaki Vocational High School where he was classmates with future-wrestler Iwakiyama. During his high school sumo career, he was rivals with future-wrestler Bushuyama who was also from Aomori Prefecture.

He later enrolled at the Nihon University's Department of Economics and was also a member fo their sumo club. He was teammates with future-wrestler Hayateumi who was also from his hometown of Itayanagi. He was also teammates with future ozeki, Kotomitsuki. Kato was a successful amateur sumo wrestler during his time at Nihon University and at he won the College Yokozuna title in his final year.

Career[]

Early Career[]

Kato joined Azumazeki stable after graduation from college and he made his professional debut in March 1999. He was granted makushita tsukedashi status, because he won the title of College Yokozuna. This meant he could start at the bottom of the makushita division. In his professional debut, Kato produced a 6-1 record, and followed this result with another 6-1 record. In all, he scored 5 consecutive winning records (kachi-koshi) from his debut and earned promotion to the salaried juryo division in January 2000.

Juryo Career[]

Upon reaching juryo, he changed his shikona to "Takamisakari". Takamisakari was promising in the first half of his juryo debut, however, he lost his last three matches and finished with a 7-8, which was his first losing record (make-koshi). He bounced back with two consecutive 11-4 records which earned him a promotion to the makuuchi division for the July 2000 tournament.

Makuuchi Career[]

Takamisakari was the second rikishi promoted to the top makuuchi division and was the first Japanese. In his makuuchi division debut, he scored an impressive 10-5 record which earned him the Fighting Spirit Prize. In September he acted as tsuyuharai ("dew-sweeper", an honorary attendant) in stablemate Yokozuna Akebono's ring-entering ceremony, but he was injured on the third day of that tournament. Enforced absence from the next two tournaments saw him demoted all the way back to the unsalaried makushita division, where he had begun his career. It took him until March 2002 to work his way back up to the makuuchi division

Https---imgix-proxy.n8s.jp-DSXBZO5104607027012013I00001-3 — Takamisakari is known for his eccentric personality (c. 2012)

In July 2002, Takamisakari was ranked at maegashira 2 and he produced a 9-6 record and took the Technique Prize. As a result he was promoted to the san'yaku ranks of komusubi in September 2002. He struggled and lost his first seven matches and finished with a 4-11 record. In March 2003, Takamisakari produced an 8-7 record, and received his second Technique prize. Two tournaments later, Takamisakari had his best tournament where he defeated yokozuna Asashoryu and yokozuna Musashimaru which earned him two kinboshi in the same tournament. He also defeated ozeki Musoyama and Chiyotaikai and finished with a 9-6 record which earned him his first Outstanding Performance Prize. The following tournament he produced another 9-6 record and took his second Fighting Spirit Prize. He was promoted to komusubi for the second time, but again produced a lackluster 5-10 record.

Takamisakari again appeared in a yokozuna's ring-entered ceremony in September 2005, when he replaced Asasekiryu, who was injured, as sword-bearer. On the first day he accidentally scraped the sword against the ceiling.

He came close to demotion from the top division after missing five bouts through injury in November 2007. However, in the next tournament he achieved a majority of wins against losses from the maegashira 14 ranking. In May 2011 he could score only 7-8 at maegashira 15 but actually rose one place in the rankings for the following tournament due to the large number of wrestlers retiring over a match-fixing scandal. However his run of 56 consecutive makuuchi tournaments ended when he could only score 3-12 in the July 2011 basho.

Later Career[]

He would spend his last two years in juryo where he produced mainly losing records. His last winning record came in March 2012, and he produced five consecutive losing records which made a demotion to makushita certain in March 2013.

Retirement from Sumo[]

20180405-OYT8I50039-1 — Azumazeki Oyakata

Takamisakari announced his retirement on day 15 of the Hatsu basho, January 27, 2013, approximately one hour after defeating Wakakoyu, as his 5–10 record at the rank of juryo 12 would have resulted in certain demotion to the makushita division. At his side were both his current stablemaster, the former Ushiomaru, and his previous stablemaster, the former Takamiyama. He told reporters, “I have been cheered by people around the nation. I am humbled, embarrassed and delighted at the same time.” His danpatsu-shiki, or hair-cutting ceremony was held on October 6th, 2013, at the Ryogoku Kokugikan.

He stayed in sumo as a coach at his stable under the elder name Furiwake-oyakata. The former Ushiomaru died suddenly in December 2019, and after the January 2020 tournament Takamisakari was confirmed as the new Azumazeki Oyakata. However, he did not want the job permanently, and after failing to find a successor as head coach, Azumazeki stable closed shortly after the March 2021 tournament with the personnel moving to Hakkaku stable. Takamisakari also works as a ringside judge during tournaments.

Personal Life[]

Takamisakari was a hugely popular wrestler. He built himself up for each bout with a somewhat eccentric series of muscle flexes and slaps, and threw a copious amount of salt onto the dohyo. In a culture where impassivity is sometimes seen as a sign of strength, he made no attempt to hide his emotions, obviously elated after each win and inconsolably dejected after each loss. Even though he usually performed in the middle to lower ranks, the winner of his matches were always greatly rewarded with kensho-kin (prize money) provided by his sponsor, a food company.
He is known to some as "RoboCop". The nickname was given to him by former yokozuna Akebono, who was his senpai, in reference to his robot-like movements at the dohyō.
He is a fan of the anime series Gundam Seed.
He is also nearsighted, which explains why he squinted a lot on the dohyo. He wore glasses when outside of the ring.
He appeared in the 2015 "No laughing batsu game" of Gaki No Tsukai where he did the lead role in a parody of Kinpachi Sensei as "Furiwake Sensei".
In September 2000, Takamisakari served as yokozuna Akebono's dew sweeper, or tsuyuharai. In September 2005, Takamisakari served as yokozuna Asashoryu's sword carrier, or tachimochi.
Takamisakari enjoys riding bicycles, and he estimates that he rides around 10,000 km a year. Takamisakari's favorite food is dandan noodles and gyudon.
Takamisakari's parents ran an apple orchard.

Fighting Style[]

Takamisakari had a straightforward fighting style, rarely resorting to sidestepping at the initial charge. He favoured yotsu techniques, preferring a right-hand inside, left-hand outside grip on his opponent's mawashi (migi-yotsu), and 26 of his 41 wins between July 2007 and May 2008 were by yori-kiri, or a simple force out. He was also known for his effort and technique at the edge of the ring, which often allowed him to win matches in which just a moment earlier it appeared that he would be pushed out.