Kiyoseumi Takayuki

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Kiyoseumi Takayuki
Kiyoseumi 2010 Jan.JPG
Personal information
BornTakayuki Ichihara
(1984-08-16) 16 August 1984 (age 39)
Aichi, Japan
Height1.82 m (5 ft 11+12 in)
Weight180 kg (397 lb)
Career
Stable KiseKitanoumi
University Nihon University
Record157-129-33
DebutJanuary, 2007
Highest rankMaegashira 13 (March, 2008)
RetiredApril 2011
* Up to date as of Apr 2011.
Takayuki Ichihara
Medal record
Men's Sumo
Representing Flag of Japan.svg  Japan
World Games
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2005 Duisburg Heavyweight
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2005 Duisburg Open

Kiyoseumi Takayuki (born Takayuki Ichihara, 16 August 1984) is a former sumo wrestler from Nagoya, Japan. An extremely successful amateur, his highest rank in the professional sport was maegashira 13. He was forced to retire in April 2011 after an investigation by the Japan Sumo Association found him guilty of match-fixing.

Contents

Career

Initially competing under his real surname of Ichihara, he was an amateur sumo champion at Nihon University, where he won eleven national titles. At the 2005 World Games, he won silver in the men's heavyweight division and gold in the men's open division. He won the Japan Games and the National Amateur Championships and was runner-up in the Japanese university championship. [1] He was crowned the "Amateur Yokozuna" of 2006. [2] He joined Kise stable, run by another former Nihon University champion, the ex-maegashira Higonoumi. Because of his amateur achievements, Ichihara was able to make his professional debut at the rank of makushita 10, the first makushita tsukedashi entrant to begin as high as the tenth rank.

After steady scores of five wins to two losses in his first two tournaments in January and March 2007, followed by 4-3 in May and July, he was promoted to the second jūryō division in November 2007 after a 6-1 at makushita 1 in September. He scored 13 wins to 2 losses, although he lost a playoff for the championship on the final day, and was immediately promoted to the top makuuchi division for January 2008. He was the first wrestler to make his makuuchi debut after spending only one tournament in jūryō since Daikiko in January 1991.

In his top division debut Ichihara won five of his first seven bouts but tired in the second week of the tournament, finishing with an 8-7 score. [3] He injured his right knee on the opening day of the March 2008 tournament after losing to Homasho and had to withdraw. As a result, he was demoted all the way down to the rank of jūryō 11 for the May tournament. He participated in the tournament with his knee heavily strapped, and struggled to a make-koshi 7-8 score. In July he recovered from 0-5 down to post eight wins but withdrew on the final day after a recurrence of the injury.

He announced in December 2008 that he would be changing his shikona from his family name to Kiyoseumi for the January 2009 tournament. He produced a 9-6 score in his first tournament under his new name, but only a poor 4-11 in March. He managed a bare majority of wins in his next two tournaments, and remained near the bottom of the jūryō division for the rest of 2009.

He was suspended along with over a dozen other wrestlers from the July 2010 tournament after admitting involvement in illegal betting on baseball. As a result, he fell to the makushita division in September. After two 4-3 scores in makushita he returned to the jūryō division in January 2011.

Retirement from sumo

In February 2011, it was revealed that text-messages discovered on confiscated mobile phones implicated Kiyoseumi in match-fixing, as they appeared to show him agreeing to throw bouts in exchange for money. [4] Unlike Kasuganishiki (the wrestler with whom the texts were exchanged), Chiyohakuhō and Enatsukasa who admitted their involvement, Kiyoseumi denied the allegations. [5] However, the independent panel investigating the match-fixing claims stated that it could not deny his involvement based on the evidence. [6] Of the 46 text messages discovered by the Metropolitan Police Department that mention match-fixing, 19 were either sent or received by Kiyoseumi. [6] After an investigation by the Japan Sumo Association, he was one of 23 wrestlers found guilty of fixing the result of bouts and he was forced to retire in April 2011. [7]

Following his retirement Ichihara opened a bar, Snack Ai, in Tokyo. [8]

Fighting style

Kiyoseumi was an oshi-sumo specialist, preferring pushing and thrusting techniques (tsuki/oshi). His most common winning kimarite was hatakikomi, the slap down.

He was one of the largest wrestlers in sumo, at 180 kg or 400 lb. Being so large, he lacked speed and mobility, and there were concerns that his knee injury further hampered his movement and held him back.

Career record

Kiyoseumi Takayuki [9]
Year January
Hatsu basho, Tokyo
March
Haru basho, Osaka
May
Natsu basho, Tokyo
July
Nagoya basho, Nagoya
September
Aki basho, Tokyo
November
Kyūshū basho, Fukuoka
2007 Makushita tsukedashi #10
52
 
EastMakushita#4
52
 
WestMakushita#2
43
 
WestMakushita#1
43
 
EastMakushita#1
61
 
EastJūryō#11
132
 
2008 EastMaegashira#16
87
 
WestMaegashira#13
0213
 
WestJūryō#11
78
 
WestJūryō#12
87
 
WestJūryō#10
645
 
EastJūryō#14
87
 
2009 EastJūryō#13
96
 
WestJūryō#6
411
 
WestJūryō#12
87
 
WestJūryō#11
87
 
WestJūryō#9
78
 
WestJūryō#11
87
 
2010 WestJūryō#10
96
 
WestJūryō#5
510
 
EastJūryō#10
105
 
WestJūryō#4
Suspended
0015
WestMakushita#4
43
 
EastMakushita#1
43
 
2011 EastJūryō#11
78
 

Tournament Cancelled
000
WestJūryō#11
Retired
xxx
Record given as wins–losses–absencies    Top division champion Top division runner-up Retired Lower divisions Non-participation

Sanshō key: F=Fighting spirit; O=Outstanding performance; T=Technique     Also shown: =Kinboshi; P=Playoff(s)
Divisions: Makuuchi Jūryō Makushita Sandanme Jonidan Jonokuchi

Makuuchi ranks:  Yokozuna Ōzeki Sekiwake Komusubi Maegashira

See also

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References

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  2. Sumo Fan Magazine
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  4. "In Text Messages, Signs of a Rigged Sumo Fight". The New York Times . 4 February 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
  5. "Sumo idled over fans' betrayal, long probe". Japan Times. 7 February 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
  6. 1 2 "Sumo wrestlers' text messages suggest victories were bought and borrowed". Mainichi Daily News. 7 February 2010. Archived from the original on 8 February 2011.
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  8. "SUMO/ Some banned wrestlers branch out, others want back in". Asahi Shimbun. 19 March 2012. Archived from the original on 13 April 2013. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
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