Takamisakari Seiken
| Takamisakari Seiken | |
|---|---|
| 高見盛 精彦 | |
 |
|
| Personal information | |
| Born | Seiken Katō May 12, 1976 Aomori, Japan |
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) |
| Weight | 140 kg (310 lb; 22 st) |
| Career | |
| Stable | Azumazeki |
| Record | 563-564-46 |
| Debut | March 1999 |
| Highest rank | Komusubi (September 2002) |
| Retired | January 2013 |
| Championships | 1 (Jūryō) |
| Special Prizes | Outstanding Performance (1) Fighting Spirit (2) Technique (2) |
| Gold Stars | 2 (Asashōryū, Musashimaru) |
| * Up to date as of Jan 2013. | |
Takamisakari Seiken (born May 12, 1976 as Seiken Katō) is a former sumo wrestler from Aomori Prefecture, Japan. A former amateur champion, he turned professional in 1999 and established himself in the top division in 2002 after a brief appearance in 2000. He received five special prizes for his achievements in tournaments and earned two gold stars for defeating yokozuna. The highest rank he reached was komusubi, which he held on two occasions. He was one of the most popular wrestlers in sumo in his time, largely due to his eccentric warm-ups before his matches. He retired in January 2013 and is now a coach at Azumazeki stable, having taken the toshiyori-kabu Furiwake-oyakata.
Born in Itayanagi, Kitatsugaru District, Katō was an amateur sumo champion at Nihon University, winning the College Yokozuna title in his final year. He began his professional sumo career as a makushita tsukedashi (a promising amateur allowed to start at a level significantly higher than entry level) in March 1999, wrestling under his own name. He reached jūryō, the second-highest division, in January 2000, at which point he changed his fighting name to Takamisakari.
Three tournaments later, in July of the same year, he was promoted to the top makuuchi division, becoming only the second wrestler (and first Japanese born) from his Azumazeki stable to achieve this feat. 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, and in September he reached komusubi, his highest rank to date. He only held this rank for one tournament, however, dropping back to maegashira in November. He has earned five special prizes, and has two gold stars for defeating yokozuna, both earned in the July 2003 tournament where he was also awarded the Outstanding Performance prize. Although he again reached komusubi in November 2003, he again failed to retain the rank and spent the rest of his career in the top division as a middle-level maegashira.
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