Age: 30
Birth Name: Ricardo Sugano
Home Town: Sao Paulo, Brazil
Stable: Tomozuna
Highest Rank: Sekiwake

Unlike many of his childhood friends, Ricardo Sugano was not interested in his Brazilian homelands favorite pastime of soccer. Instead, the young Sao Paulo native spent his time studying martial arts and had a keen interest in judo. After a family friend encouraged Ricardo to take up sumo, he began practicing the sport and went on to win a Brazillian Amature Sumo Championship. This success prompted him to travel to Japan to become a professional rikishi, and in 2006 he entered Tomozuna beya where he joined fellow Brazillian rikishi Kaishin. He made his professional debut at the 2006 Aki basho and officially adopted the shikona of Kaisei Ichiro. In just under two years, Kaisei had advanced through the three lowest divisions, but he would lose his momentum upon entering the Makishita division and remained there for the next three years.

Kaisei’s fortunes began to turn in September of 2009 when he went undefeated at the Aki basho, only losing the yusho in a playoff with fellow gaijin rikishi Gagamaru. Three tournaments later, in July of 2010, Kaisei broke into the Juryo division and became the fourth Brazillian born rikishi to reach sumo’s salaried ranks. In November of that same year, Kaisei won his first and only championship when he took the Juryo yusho with an 11-4 record, this time beating Toyohibiki, Tochinowaka, and Takayasu in a four-way playoff. He followed this success with another kachi koshi in January and earned a promotion to the Makuuchi division. Kaisei’s first tournament in the top division saw him go undefeated until a day 10 loss to Tochinoshin. With nine straight wins, the Brazillian rikishi achieved the second-longest winning streak for a debuting Maegashira wrestler, falling just two wins short of tying Taiho’s 1960 record. Kaisei would finish the tournament with double-digit wins and take home the fighting spirit prize.

Kaisei struggled through much of 2012, routinely getting make koshi records yet picking up just enough wins to remain in the top division for most of the year. He had something of a return to form at the 2012 Nagoya basho, going 11-4 and winning his second fighting spirit prize. Kaisai also found success at the following years Nagoya basho, where he again finished with eleven wins and took the jun-yusho. In May 2016, Kaisei broke into the san’yaku and reached his highest rank of Sekiwake one tournament later. He was unable to maintain his new position for long, and by the end of the year he had become a rank and filler once again. Kaisei was injured while training for the 2017 Haru basho, and for the first time in his career, he was forced to pull out of a tournament. A poor performance in Nagoya say him fall back to Juryo, but this demotion seemed to be just what the doctor ordered as the Brazilian rikishi posted 10 wins, returned to the top division, and finished the year with consecutive kachi koshi. Kaisei mainly uses yotsu-sumo techniques, winning 51% of his bouts with a yorikiri forceout. His favorite grips is a left hand outside, right hand inside migi-yotsu.

Kaisei (left) vs. Ikioi (right), Aki basho, 2017

Links:
http://sumodb.sumogames.de/Rikishi.aspx?r=6753
http://www.sumo.or.jp/EnSumoDataRikishi/profile/2950/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaisei_Ichir%C5%8D