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Yamamotoyama Ryūta (born May 8, 1984 as Yamamoto Ryūichi) is a former sumo wrestler from the city of Saitama in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. Making his professional debut in January 2007, he reached the top ''makuuchi'' division in January 2009. His highest rank was ''maegashira'' 9. At , he is the heaviest Japanese-born sumo wrestler ever. In April 2011 he was told to retire by the Japan Sumo Association after he and several other wrestlers were found to be involved in match-fixing. ==Career== Yamamotoyama won several local, national and world sumo championships before entering Nihon University in 2003. He won a total of five championships at Nihon University. He then entered professional sumo as a member of the Onoe stable. He broke the record for the largest new recruit, weighing in at 233 kg in 2007. The previous record holder, Hokutomori, weighed in at 205 kg when he joined professional sumo in 1994. His ''shikona'' or fighting name was created simply by adding the suffix ''yama'' (meaning "mountain") to his own surname. This is common for lower ranked wrestlers but it was rather unusual him to keep it even after reaching ''sekitori'' status. Yamamotoyama however, shares his name with a well-known producer of Japanese seaweed and tea, with whom he was reportedly keen to secure a sponsorship deal.〔 〕 Yamamotoyama rose quickly through the ranks, recording only one ''make-koshi'' before reaching the second division of ''jūryō'' at the 2008 September tournament. Upon his promotion he posed for photographers with two bags of rice and told reporters that he was aiming for 241 kg in weight, to break the record for a Japanese ''rikishi'' then held by Susanoumi. Only two wrestlers have weighed more than him: Hawaiian born Konishiki at , and Russian sandanme rikishi Orora at . Yamamotoyama, who admitted that he wanted to eventually get up to and become the biggest wrestler in sumo history, once reportedly ate 146 pieces of sushi in a single meal. After posting nine wins in consecutive ''jūryō'' tournaments, he was promoted to the top ''makuuchi'' division for the 2009 January tournament. The twelve tournaments it took him to enter the top division ties him with Tochiazuma, among others, in a group of the second fastest wrestlers to reach this level. He came through with a ''kachi-koshi'' winning record of 8-7 in his debut ''makuuchi'' tournament, and followed up with another 8-7 in March 2009. He failed to get his ''kachi-koshi'' on the final day of the May 2009 tournament, for only the second time in his career. He suffered a muscle pull in his ribcage during the July 2009 tournament after falling to the floor of the ''dohyo'' twice in two bouts against Wakakoyu on Day 9 and had to withdraw for the first time in his career. He fell to the ''jūryō'' division for the September tournament as a result. He scored 9-6 there, enough for an immediate ''makuuchi'' return. However he entered the Kyushu ''basho'' in November 2009 in poor condition, having injured his right elbow whilst on tour in October, and he eventually withdrew from the tournament with only two wins, after being diagnosed with influenza. Remaining in the ''jūryō'' division, he suffered knee ligament damage on the 11th day of the July 2010 tournament and was forced to withdraw. Still troubled by the injury, he pulled out on the first day of the September tournament, and as a result was demoted to the ''makushita'' division. Following his loss of ''sekitori'' status, he resumed menial duties at Onoe stable, becoming the head ''chanko'' chef. Due to his injury he was unable to do any ''keiko'' (training) except walking. After fighting only one bout from the rank of ''Makushita'' 13, he withdrew from the November tournament as well. His continuing absence saw him drop to the fourth ''sandanme'' division for the (cancelled) March 2011 basho. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Yamamotoyama Ryūta」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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