| Kiyoseumi Takayuki | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal information | |
| Born | Takayuki Ichihara (1984-08-16)16 August 1984 (age 40) Aichi, Japan |
| Height | 1.82 m (5 ft11+1⁄2 in) |
| Weight | 180 kg (397 lb) |
| Career | |
| Stable | Kise →Kitanoumi |
| University | Nihon University |
| Record | 157-129-33 |
| Debut | January, 2007 |
| Highest rank | Maegashira 13 (March, 2008) |
| Retired | April 2011 |
| * Up to date as of Apr 2011. | |
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men'sSumo | ||
Representing Japan | ||
| World Games | ||
 | 2005 Duisburg | Heavyweight |
 | 2005 Duisburg | Open |
Kiyoseumi Takayuki (bornTakayuki Ichihara, 16 August 1984) is a formersumo wrestler fromNagoya,Japan. An extremely successful amateur, his highest rank in the professional sport wasmaegashira 13. He was forced to retire in April 2011 after an investigation by theJapan Sumo Association found him guilty ofmatch-fixing.
Initially competing under his real surname of Ichihara, he was an amateur sumo champion atNihon University, where he won eleven national titles. At the2005 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 joinedKise stable, run by another former Nihon University champion, the ex-maegashiraHigonoumi. Because of his amateur achievements, Ichihara was able to make his professional debut at the rank ofmakushita 10, the firstmakushita 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 secondjūryō division in November 2007 after a 6-1 atmakushita 1 in September. He scored 13 wins to 2 losses, although he lost aplayoff for the championship on the final day, and was immediately promoted to the topmakuuchi division for January 2008. He was the first wrestler to make hismakuuchi debut after spending only one tournament injūryō sinceDaikiko 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 toHomasho and had to withdraw. As a result, he was demoted all the way down to the rank ofjūryō 11 for the May tournament. He participated in the tournament with his knee heavily strapped, and struggled to amake-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 hisshikona 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 thejūryō 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 themakushita division in September. After two 4-3 scores inmakushita he returned to thejūryō division in January 2011.
In February 2011, it was revealed that text-messages discovered on confiscated mobile phones implicated Kiyoseumi inmatch-fixing, as they appeared to show him agreeing to throw bouts in exchange for money.[4] UnlikeKasuganishiki (the wrestler with whom the texts were exchanged),Chiyohakuhō andEnatsukasa 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 theJapan 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]
Kiyoseumi was anoshi-sumo specialist, preferring pushing and thrusting techniques (tsuki/oshi). His most common winningkimarite washatakikomi, 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.
| 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 5–2 | East Makushita #4 5–2 | West Makushita #2 4–3 | West Makushita #1 4–3 | East Makushita #1 6–1 | East Jūryō #11 13–2 |
| 2008 | East Maegashira #16 8–7 | West Maegashira #13 0–2–13 | West Jūryō #11 7–8 | West Jūryō #12 8–7 | West Jūryō #10 6–4–5 | East Jūryō #14 8–7 |
| 2009 | East Jūryō #13 9–6 | West Jūryō #6 4–11 | West Jūryō #12 8–7 | West Jūryō #11 8–7 | West Jūryō #9 7–8 | West Jūryō #11 8–7 |
| 2010 | West Jūryō #10 9–6 | West Jūryō #5 5–10 | East Jūryō #10 10–5 | West Jūryō #4 Suspended 0–0–15 | West Makushita #4 4–3 | East Makushita #1 4–3 |
| 2011 | East Jūryō #11 7–8 | Tournament Cancelled 0–0–0 | West Jūryō #11 Retired – | x | x | x |
| Record given aswins–losses–absences 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) | ||||||