Takayasu Akira

Takayasu Akira 高安　晃
Personal information
Born	Takayasu Akira (1990-02-28) February 28, 1990 Ibaraki, Japan
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight	148 kg (326 lb; 23.3 st)
Career
Stable	Naruto
Current rank	see below
Debut	March, 2005
Highest rank	Maegashira 1 (May, 2012)
Championships	1 (Makushita)
* Up to date as of Dec 2011.

Takayasu Akira (高 安亮, Akira Takayasu, born February 28, 1990 in Ibaraki, Japan) is a sumo wrestler of Japanese and Filipino ancestry. He made his professional debut in 2005, and reached the top makuuchi division in 2011, the first wrestler born in the Heisei era to do so. His highest rank has been maegashira 1.

Early life

Born to a Japanese father and a Filipino mother, Takayasu was raised in Tsuchiura, Ibaraki and was a center fielder on his junior high school baseball team. On his father's recommendation he joined Naruto stable upon graduating from junior high school.

Career

On his entry to Naruto stable, Takayasu was already 180 centimeters tall and weighed 120 kilograms, and consequently had much expectation pinned on him from the start. His first tournament was in March, 2005. He made steady progress through the lower divisions, with only a few losing record or make-koshi tournaments. He won the yusho or championship in the third makushita division in September, 2010 with a perfect 7-0 record. This propelled him into jūryō division, where along with Masunoyama became one of the first two sekitori to be born in the Heisei era. He decided against adopting a traditional shikona despite reaching the elite and will continue to use his birth name. In his first jūryō tournament in November he almost pulled off a second consecutive championship, losing to Toyohibiki in a playoff after both finished with 11-4 records.

After two more strong performances at jūryō Takayasu was promoted to the top makuuchi division in July, 2011. His debut record of 9-6 at maegashira 11 earned him a maegashira rank of no. 6 in the following tournament, then his highest to date, but he only managed a 6-9 record there. After a 9-6 score in the November 2011 tournament he was promoted to a new high of maegashira 3. He scored only 6–9 in the January 2012 tourney, but a 10–5 record in March saw him reach maegashira 1 in the May tournament.

Fighting style

Takayasu is an oshi-sumo specialist, preferring pushing and thrusting techniques (tsuki/oshi) to fighting on the opponent's mawashi. His most common winning kimarite so far in his career are yori-kiri (force out), hataki-komi (slap down) and oshi-dashi (push out).

Family

Takayasu's mother is an enthusiastic supporter of her son's career and can be seen as a vocal and visible presence in the crowd during his matches. She is also an enthusiastic and entertaining presence on Facebook, forever receiving countless "Likes" for her passionate messages of support for her son.

Career record

　 　　 　　 　　 　　 　　 　　 　 　 　　 　　 　　 　　 　　 　　 　 　 　　 　　 　　 　　 　　 　　 　 　 　　 　　 　　 　　 　　 　　 　 　 　　 　　 　　 　　 　　 　　 　 　 　　 　　 　　 　　 　　 　　 　 　 　　 　　 　　 　　 　　 　 　 　

Takayasu Akira

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
2005	x	(Maezumo)	West Jonokuchi #29 4–3	West Jonidan #129 4–3	East Jonidan #98 4–3	East Jonidan #73 4–3
2006	West Jonidan #48 2–5	West Jonidan #78 3–4	West Jonidan #98 5–2	East Jonidan #44 3–4	West Jonidan #67 4–3	West Jonidan #41 5–2
2007	West Jonidan #5 4–3	East Sandanme #86 5–2	East Sandanme #55 5–2	West Sandanme #27 3–4	West Sandanme #41 4–3	East Sandanme #26 5–2
2008	East Sandanme #2 3–4	East Sandanme #11 4–3	West Makushita #59 4–3	West Makushita #51 3–4	East Sandanme #5 4–3	East Makushita #54 5–2
2009	East Makushita #39 2–5	East Sandanme #3 4–3	East Makushita #54 4–3	East Makushita #44 4–3	West Makushita #36 5–2	East Makushita #27 4–3
2010	West Makushita #22 4–3	West Makushita #18 5–2	West Makushita #10 4–3	East Makushita #6 2–5	West Makushita #13 7–0 Champion	East Jūryō #11 11–4–P
2011	East Jūryō #3 9–6	Tournament Cancelled 0–0–0	East Jūryō #1 8–7	East Maegashira #11 9–6	East Maegashira #6 6–9	West Maegashira #8 9–6
2012	West Maegashira #3 6–9	East Maegashira #7 10–5	West Maegashira #1 5–10	x	x	x
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

• Glossary of sumo terms
• List of active sumo wrestlers

External links

• Japan Sumo association profile (English) (Japanese)