Iwakiyama Ryuta
Encyclopedia
Iwakiyama Ryūta is a former sumo
wrestler. A former amateur sumo champion, he turned professional in 2000 and reached the top division at the end of 2002. The highest rank he reached was komusubi. He was a runner-up in one tournament and earned two special prizes
in his career.
, Nakatsugaru District
. After a successful start in amateur sumo at Aomori University
, Tsushima worked as a member of staff at Aomori Yamada High School after graduating, not joining the professional sport until the age of 24 in July 2000. He was recruited by ex-komusubi Ryogoku
, a former amateur champion himself, and joined his Sakaigawa stable
(then known as Nakadachi stable). His shikona
or fighting name came from Mount Iwaki
, which is near his home town.
Iwakiyama had makushita tsukedashi (promising amateur) status and so began in makushita (the third division), but an injury in his second tournament saw him demoted to sandanme. (His stablemaster had had a similar experience in his active days, also dropping to sandanme after beginning in makushita.) He recovered by winning the sandanme championship in March 2001 and by March 2002 was promoted to jūryō. He reached the top makuuchi
division in November 2002. A long-standing lower back problem forced him to withdraw from the March 2003 tournament but in September of that year he produced an 11-4 record, his best score in the top division to date, which earned him promotion to the titled sanyaku ranks for the first time in November 2003. He was also the first member of his stable to reach a sanyaku rank since it opened in 1998.
Iwakiyama was twice ranked as komusubi on the banzuke
and had one yokozuna upset
and two special prizes
to his credit but because of poor results he was demoted to jūryō for the 2007 Nagoya basho. However he won the jūryō yusho for this tournament so he fought again in the highest division in September 2007. He could only manage a 4-11 record and slipped to the Jūryō 1 ranking for November, but he produced a strong 11-4 record to earn immediate promotion back to the top division. On this occasion he produced a comfortable 9-6 score. After struggling to a 2-7 start in March 2008, he won five out of his last six matches to preserve his top division status once again. He withdrew from the third day of the September 2008 tournament after suffering an ankle injury, and fell to jūryō. Upon his return in November he had little difficulty in earning promotion back to makuuchi, scoring 11 wins at Jūryō 2.
Following three consecutive kachi-koshi scores in the first three tournaments of 2009 he was promoted to maegashira 3 in July, his highest rank for nearly three years. He faced all the top ranked wrestlers, and his 5-10 score included a victory over ozeki Chiyotaikai.
He was forced to sit out the May 2010 tournament on medical advice after suffering a cerebral infarction
. He stated that he would seek treatment and hoped to return to active competition, but he was also unable to take part in the July 2010 basho in which he was ranked in the jūryō division. His stablemaster indicated that he did not want his wrestler fight in the makushita division, but in fact Iwakiyama escaped relegation to makushita, instead being ranked at the very bottom of jūryō.
After missing the September tournament, Iwakiyama tearfully announced his retirement from competition on September 26, 2010. His illness had caused him to lose so much weight that he would need at least six months to be back to full weight and fitness. Rather than risk long term health issues from training for a return, he retired on his wife's advice. He will stay in sumo as a coach under the toshiyori
name Sekinoto.
, using his bulk to his best advantage. Roughly half of all his wins were by either yori-kiri (force out) or oshi-dashi (push out). His favourite grip on his opponent's mawashi
was hidari-yotsu, with his right hand outside and left hand inside his opponent's arms. He never resorted to henka (sidestepping) at the tachi-ai
or initial charge.
was among the guests.
Sumo
is a competitive full-contact sport where a wrestler attempts to force another wrestler out of a circular ring or to touch the ground with anything other than the soles of the feet. The sport originated in Japan, the only country where it is practiced professionally...
wrestler. A former amateur sumo champion, he turned professional in 2000 and reached the top division at the end of 2002. The highest rank he reached was komusubi. He was a runner-up in one tournament and earned two special prizes
Sansho (Sumo)
Sanshō are the three special prizes awarded to top division sumo wrestlers for exceptional performance during a sumo honbasho or tournament. The prizes were first awarded in November 1947.-Criteria:...
in his career.
Career
He was born in HirosakiHirosaki, Aomori
is a city located in southwest Aomori Prefecture, Japan. It is a castle town and was the Tsugaru clan ruled the 100,000 koku tozama han Hirosaki Domain from Hirosaki Castle during the Edo period. The city is currently a regional commercial center and the largest producer of apples in Japan...
, Nakatsugaru District
Nakatsugaru District, Aomori
is a district located in Aomori Prefecture. The district has an estimated population of 1,599 with a total area of 246,58 km².The district contains only one village.*Nishimeya-Timeline:* April 1, 1889...
. After a successful start in amateur sumo at Aomori University
Aomori University
is a private university located in the city of Aomori, Japan, founded in 1968.-External links:...
, Tsushima worked as a member of staff at Aomori Yamada High School after graduating, not joining the professional sport until the age of 24 in July 2000. He was recruited by ex-komusubi Ryogoku
Ryogoku Kajinosuke
Ryōgoku Kajinosuke is a former sumo wrestler from Nagasaki, Japan. His highest rank was komusubi. He is now a sumo coach.-Career:...
, a former amateur champion himself, and joined his Sakaigawa stable
Sakaigawa stable
Sakaigawa stable is a stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Dewanoumi group of stables. It was established in its modern form on 25 May 1998 by former komusubi Ryogoku, who branched off from Dewanoumi stable...
(then known as Nakadachi stable). His shikona
Shikona
A shikona is a sumo wrestler's ring name.As with standard Japanese names, a shikona consists of a 'surname' and a 'given' name, and the full name is written surname first. However, the given name is rarely used outside formal or ceremonial occasions. Thus, the former yokozuna Asashōryū Akinori is...
or fighting name came from Mount Iwaki
Mount Iwaki
is a stratovolcano located in western Aomori Prefecture, Tohoku, Japan. It is also referred to as Tsugaru-Fuji from its shape. the mountain is listed as one of the 100 Famous Japanese Mountains in a book composed in 1964 by mountaineer/author Kyūya Fukada...
, which is near his home town.
Iwakiyama had makushita tsukedashi (promising amateur) status and so began in makushita (the third division), but an injury in his second tournament saw him demoted to sandanme. (His stablemaster had had a similar experience in his active days, also dropping to sandanme after beginning in makushita.) He recovered by winning the sandanme championship in March 2001 and by March 2002 was promoted to jūryō. He reached the top makuuchi
Makuuchi
or is the top division of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers , ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments....
division in November 2002. A long-standing lower back problem forced him to withdraw from the March 2003 tournament but in September of that year he produced an 11-4 record, his best score in the top division to date, which earned him promotion to the titled sanyaku ranks for the first time in November 2003. He was also the first member of his stable to reach a sanyaku rank since it opened in 1998.
Banzuke
This article is about the banzuke document, for a list of wrestlers as ranked on an actual banzuke see List of active sumo wrestlersA , officially called is a document listing the rankings of professional sumo wrestlers published before each official tournament or honbasho. The term can also...
and had one yokozuna upset
Kinboshi
Kinboshi is a notation used in professional sumo wrestling to record a lower-ranked wrestler's victory over a yokozuna....
and two special prizes
Sansho (Sumo)
Sanshō are the three special prizes awarded to top division sumo wrestlers for exceptional performance during a sumo honbasho or tournament. The prizes were first awarded in November 1947.-Criteria:...
to his credit but because of poor results he was demoted to jūryō for the 2007 Nagoya basho. However he won the jūryō yusho for this tournament so he fought again in the highest division in September 2007. He could only manage a 4-11 record and slipped to the Jūryō 1 ranking for November, but he produced a strong 11-4 record to earn immediate promotion back to the top division. On this occasion he produced a comfortable 9-6 score. After struggling to a 2-7 start in March 2008, he won five out of his last six matches to preserve his top division status once again. He withdrew from the third day of the September 2008 tournament after suffering an ankle injury, and fell to jūryō. Upon his return in November he had little difficulty in earning promotion back to makuuchi, scoring 11 wins at Jūryō 2.
Following three consecutive kachi-koshi scores in the first three tournaments of 2009 he was promoted to maegashira 3 in July, his highest rank for nearly three years. He faced all the top ranked wrestlers, and his 5-10 score included a victory over ozeki Chiyotaikai.
He was forced to sit out the May 2010 tournament on medical advice after suffering a cerebral infarction
Cerebral infarction
A cerebral infarction is the ischemic kind of stroke due to a disturbance in the blood vessels supplying blood to the brain. It can be atherothrombotic or embolic. Stroke caused by cerebral infarction should be distinguished from two other kinds of stroke: cerebral hemorrhage and subarachnoid...
. He stated that he would seek treatment and hoped to return to active competition, but he was also unable to take part in the July 2010 basho in which he was ranked in the jūryō division. His stablemaster indicated that he did not want his wrestler fight in the makushita division, but in fact Iwakiyama escaped relegation to makushita, instead being ranked at the very bottom of jūryō.
After missing the September tournament, Iwakiyama tearfully announced his retirement from competition on September 26, 2010. His illness had caused him to lose so much weight that he would need at least six months to be back to full weight and fitness. Rather than risk long term health issues from training for a return, he retired on his wife's advice. He will stay in sumo as a coach under the toshiyori
Toshiyori
A toshiyori is a sumo elder of the Japan Sumo Association. Also known as oyakata, former wrestlers who reached a sufficiently high rank are the only people eligible...
name Sekinoto.
Fighting style
Iwakiyama was one of the heaviest men in the top division and so preferred straightforward force-out techniquesKimarite
Kimarite are winning techniques in a sumo bout. For each bout in a Grand Sumo tournament , a sumo referee, or gyoji, will decide and announce the type of kimarite used by the winner...
, using his bulk to his best advantage. Roughly half of all his wins were by either yori-kiri (force out) or oshi-dashi (push out). His favourite grip on his opponent's mawashi
Mawashi
In sumo, a mawashi is the belt that the rikishi wears during training or in competition. Upper ranked professional wrestlers wear a keshō-mawashi as part of the ring entry ceremony or dohyo-iri.-Mawashi:...
was hidari-yotsu, with his right hand outside and left hand inside his opponent's arms. He never resorted to henka (sidestepping) at the tachi-ai
Tachi-ai
The tachi-ai is the initial charge between two sumo wrestlers at the beginning of a bout.There are several common techniques that wrestlers use at the tachi-ai, with the aim of getting a decisive advantage in the bout:...
or initial charge.
Family
Iwakiyama announced his engagement in December 2007 and was married in April 2008. Former yokozuna WajimaWajima Hiroshi
is a former sumo wrestler and professional wrestler from Nanao, Ishikawa, Japan. He was sumo's 54th Yokozuna. He won a total of 14 tournament championships or yusho during his career and retired in March 1981....
was among the guests.
Top division record
See also
- Glossary of sumo termsGlossary of sumo termsThe following words are terms used in sumo wrestling in Japan. azukari : Hold. A kind of draw. After a mono-ii, the gyōji or the shimpan "holds" the result if it was too close to call...
- List of sumo tournament second division winners
- List of past sumo wrestlers
External links
- Japanese Sumo Association Biography (English)(Japanese)
- Complete biography and basho results (Japanese)