Dairaido Taro

Dairaido Taro - 大雷童太郎 (born April 17, 1980) is a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Onojo, Fukuoka. He made his debut in March 1996 and currently wrestles for Takadagawa stable. He reached the juryo division in September 2005. His highest rank as of 2025 is juryo 2.

Career[]

Early Career[]

After graduating from junior high school, Yamaguchi joined Takadagawa stable and made his professional debut in March 1996 and under the shikona "Raido" (雷童). In his first tournament, he won the jonokuchi yusho with a perfect 7-0 record. He gradually rose up the ranks and was promoted to sandanme in September 1997 and makushita in January 2000.^[1]

In May 2001, he was ranked at makushita 5, but lost his last match against juryo-ranked Tamanokuni to finish with a 3-4. In July 2003 he was given the shikona "Dairaido" (大雷童). In March 2005, Dairaido participated in a seven man playoff for the makushita yusho, but lost in the first round against Oga. Nonetheless, he was promoted to juryo two tournaments later in September 2005.^[1]

Juryo Career[]

Dairaido produced a solid 9-6 record in his juryo debut in September 2005 and was promoted to juryo 7 for the following November 2005 tournament. In this tournament he was in the yusho race for majority of the tournament before losing his last match to finish with a 10-5 record. Nevertheless, he was promoted to a career-best juryo 2. However, Dairaido went on a slump and produced four straight losing records which demoted him back down to makushita.^[1]

Later Career[]

Dairaido remained mainly in the upper-levels of makushita for the following nine years. In May 2016, Dairaido pulled out of the tournament which stopped his 881 consecutive match appearances. He continued to sit out for another three tournaments which caused him to fall back down to jonidan for the first time in 19 years. He quickly returned to makushita in three tournaments, but could not maintain his rank. His last makushita appearance was in January 2019 and he has remained in sandanme as of 2024.^[1]

Personal Life[]

Dairaido's grandfather Fukutomi Raido (1896-1986) was a painter. Even though he passed away when Dairaido was in kindergarten, he intended to use his paintings as a design for his kesho-mawashi if he ever returned to juryo.^[2] Ultimately, Dairaido never returned to juryo.^[1]
In January 2006, Dairaido made his first makuuchi appearance on day 11, but he lost the match to Katayama.^[1]

Fighting Style[]

Dairaido is a tsuki/oshi specialist, who prefers pushing and thrusting at his opponents rather than fighting on the mawashi or belt. His most common winning kimarite or technique is oshidashi or a straightforward push out.^[3]