Takekaze Akira

Takekaze Akira
豪風 旭
Personal information
Born Akira Narita
(1979-06-21) June 21, 1979
Akita, Japan
Height 1.71 m (5 ft 7 1⁄2 in)
Weight 145 kg (320 lb; 22.8 st)
Career
Stable Oguruma
University Chuo University
Current rank see below
Record 524-524-46
Debut May 2002
Highest rank Sekiwake (Sep, 2014)
Championships 1 (Jūryō)
Special Prizes Fighting Spirit (2)
Gold Stars 1 (Harumafuji)
* Up to date as of Nov 27, 2016.

Takekaze Akira (born June 21, 1979 as Akira Narita) is a professional sumo wrestler from Akita Prefecture, Japan. A former amateur sumo champion, he turned professional in 2002, reaching the top makuuchi division the following year. He has been a runner-up in one tournament and earned two special prizes for Fighting Spirit. Takekaze is in first place for the slowest promotion from makuuchi debut to the third highest sekiwake rank in history. Aged 35 years and 2 months, he is in first place for the eldest to make his sekiwake debut post World War II.

Early life and sumo background

Born in Moriyoshi, Kitaakita District, Narita practised sumo in college and was a very dominant player, having achieved the student equivalent of yokozuna after winning the Kokutai (Japan Games) and All Japan University Championship sumo tournaments in 2001, his fourth year at Chuo University. He made his professional debut in May 2002, joining former ōzeki Kotokaze's Oguruma stable.

Career

Upon entry he was given makushita tsukedashi status and allowed to enter at the rank of makushita 15 due to his amateur achievements. He reached sekitori level in just two tournaments, and was promoted to the top makuuchi division in March 2003, the first wrestler from his stable to achieve this.

Takekaze had to pull out of his debut tournament in the top division due to injury and fell back to the jūryō division. However upon winning the jūryō championship in September 2003 with a 13-2 record he was promoted back to the top division. He took time to adjust to the stronger opposition in makuuchi and did not achieve a kachi-koshi or winning record above the mid maegashira ranks until May 2007. However, in January 2008 he produced his best score in the top division, 12-3, which included a defeat of ōzeki Kotoōshū. He was awarded his first special prize, for Fighting Spirit. Consequently, in the March, 2008 tournament he debuted at the komusubi rank, finally breaking into san'yaku. He was the first wrestler from his stable to make the titled ranks.

Takekaze in May 2009.

Takekaze could manage only three wins in his komusubi debut and was demoted to maegashira 8 for the May 2008 tournament. However, an 8-7 score at maegashira 4 in March 2009, which included a defeat of ōzeki Kotomitsuki, saw him climb to maegashira 2 for the May 2009 tournament. He also reached maegashira 1 in November 2009. In September 2010 he finished runner-up in a tournament for the first time, and was awarded his second Fighting Spirit prize, shared with stablemate Yoshikaze. He has managed to stay in the top division since May 2005, but has rarely posted more than 9 wins in any tournament.

In July 2014 Takekaze earned his first kinboshi or gold star for a defeat of a yokozuna with a win over Harumafuji. His 9-6 score at maegashira 4 was enough to earn him promotion to sekiwake for the first time, as everyone else in the division from sekiwake down to maegashira 3 had a losing score, with the exception of sekiwake Goeido who was promoted to ozeki. Not only did Takekaze become the oldest sekiwake debutant since the end of World War II at the age of 35 years two months, but the 64 tournaments it took to reach the sekiwake rank from his top division debut is also a record. He performed creditably in the September 2014 tournament, only just missing out on kachi-koshi with a 7-8 record. He remained in the sanyaku ranks at komusubi for the following tournament in November, but could only score 2-13. In 2015 he managed only two winning tournaments and dropped down the ranking. By January 2016 he had fallen to maegashira 13, his lowest rank for seven years but secured his top division status with a 10-5 result.

He is the owner of the Oshiogawa toshiyori kabu or elder stock, indicating he intends to stay in sumo as a coach upon his retirement.

Fighting style

Takekaze is almost entirely reliant on oshi-sumo or pushing techniques, and usually loses if his opponents grab hold of his mawashi or belt. As of May 2009, he had won 120 bouts by oshi-dashi or push out, but just 11 by yori-kiri or force out, which is the most popular overall technique in sumo. He also regularly employs hiki-otoshi, the pull-down,and tsuki-otoshi, the thrust over.[1] At just 172 cm (5 ft  7 1⁄2 in) he is one of the shortest men in the top division.

Family

Takekaze was married in August 2006. He has a son, born at the end of 2007.

Career record

Takekaze Akira[2]
Year in sumo January
Hatsu basho, Tokyo		 March
Haru basho, Osaka		 May
Natsu basho, Tokyo		 July
Nagoya basho, Nagoya		 September
Aki basho, Tokyo		 November
Kyūshū basho, Fukuoka
2002 x x Makushita tsukedashi #15
6–1
 		 West Makushita #3
4–3
 		 West Jūryō #12
8–7
 		 East Jūryō #10
10–5
 
2003 West Jūryō #3
10–5
 		 West Maegashira #13
1–3–11
 		 East Jūryō #8
Sat out due to injury
0–0–15		 East Jūryō #8
9–6
 		 East Jūryō #5
13–2
Champion
 		 West Maegashira #11
9–6
 
2004 West Maegashira #6
4–11
 		 West Maegashira #11
9–6
 		 East Maegashira #8
9–6
 		 East Maegashira #5
6–9
 		 West Maegashira #7
8–7
 		 West Maegashira #6
6–9
 
2005 West Maegashira #8
Sat out due to injury
0–0–15		 East Jūryō #3
11–4
 		 East Maegashira #15
9–6
 		 East Maegashira #11
8–7
 		 East Maegashira #9
7–8
 		 West Maegashira #9
9–6
 
2006 East Maegashira #3
4–11
 		 West Maegashira #9
9–6
 		 West Maegashira #4
2–13
 		 West Maegashira #13
9–6
 		 East Maegashira #10
10–5
 		 East Maegashira #4
6–9
 
2007 West Maegashira #8
8–7
 		 West Maegashira #4
7–8
 		 East Maegashira #5
8–7
 		 East Maegashira #3
4–11
 		 East Maegashira #8
9–6
 		 East Maegashira #5
6–9
 
2008 East Maegashira #7
12–3
F		 West Komusubi #1
3–12
 		 West Maegashira #8
6–9
 		 East Maegashira #12
7–8
 		 East Maegashira #14
9–6
 		 East Maegashira #8
9–6
 
2009 East Maegashira #3
7–8
 		 East Maegashira #4
8–7
 		 East Maegashira #2
4–11
 		 East Maegashira #9
8–7
 		 West Maegashira #5
9–6
 		 East Maegashira #1
6–9
 
2010 West Maegashira #4
6–9
 		 West Maegashira #8
5–10
 		 East Maegashira #12
8–7
 		 East Maegashira #11
6–9
 		 West Maegashira #12
12–3
F		 West Maegashira #4
6–9
 
2011 East Maegashira #7
8–7
 		 West Maegashira #4
Tournament Cancelled
0–0–0		 West Maegashira #4
7–8
 		 West Maegashira #4
8–7
 		 East Maegashira #3
5–10
 		 West Maegashira #7
10–5
 
2012 East Maegashira #1
4–11
 		 West Maegashira #8
9–6
 		 West Maegashira #3
7–8
 		 West Maegashira #4
7–8
 		 West Maegashira #5
8–7
 		 West Maegashira #3
4–11
 
2013 West Maegashira #9
6–9
 		 East Maegashira #11
9–6
 		 West Maegashira #6
9–6
 		 East Maegashira #1
1–9–5
 		 East Maegashira #11
9–6
 		 West Maegashira #3
7–8
 
2014 West Maegashira #4
6–9
 		 West Maegashira #6
9–6
 		 West Maegashira #1
6–9
 		 West Maegashira #4
9–6
★		 West Sekiwake #1
7–8
 		 East Komusubi #1
2–13
 
2015 West Maegashira #9
9–6
 		 East Maegashira #4
4–11
 		 East Maegashira #8
8–7
 		 West Maegashira #4
5–10
 		 East Maegashira #8
5–10
 		 East Maegashira #12
7–8
 
2016 East Maegashira #13
10–5
 		 East Maegashira #7
5–10
 		 East Maegashira #12
8–7
 		 West Maegashira #8
6–9
 		 West Maegashira #9
8–7
 		 East Maegashira #7
9–6
 
Record given as win-loss-absent    Top Division Champion Retired Lower Divisions

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

Makuuchi ranks: Yokozuna — Ōzeki — Sekiwake — Komusubi — Maegashira

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Takekaze bouts by kimarite". Sumo Reference. 12 May 2009.
  2. ↑ "Takekaze Akira Rikishi Information". Sumo Reference. Retrieved 2013-01-27.

External links

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