Ryumon Takayuki - 龍門 孝幸 (born April 16, 1953) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Kawaguchi, Saitama. He made his debut in July 1969 and last wrestled for Dewanoumi stable. He reached the juryo division in September 1975. His highest rank was juryo 1 and he retired in May 1982.
Early Life[]
After enrolling at Kawaguchi Technical High School, he played the position of pitcher at the school's baseball club and was aiming to become a professional baseball player. Due to his big size, the owner of a nearby eel shop contacted Dewanoumi stable and he was ultimately recruited for professional sumo.
Career[]
After dropping out of high school, Matsuoka made his professional debut in July 1969, wrestling under Dewanoumi stable. He was promoted to sandanme in March 1970 and makushita in May 1972. In May 1975, he won the makushita yusho with a perfect 7-0 record and was promoted to the top of makushita where he produced a 5-2 record to earn a promotion to juryo for the September 1975 tournament.
In his first tournament as a sekitori, Matsuoka could only manage a 3-12 record and was demoted back down to makushita. He returned to juryo for one tournament in March 1976, but produced yet another losing record. Upon returning to juryo for a third time in July 1976, he changed his shikona from his surname to "Ryumon" (龍門). Ryumon was ranked in juryo for a total of 19 tournaments. He never managed to reach the makuuchi division with his highest rank being juryo 1, which he achieved in March 1977. He was on the verge of promotion, but he lost his final match to Iwashita to finish with a 7-8 record. His last juryo appearance was in November 1980.
Retirement from Sumo[]
Sekitori (関取)
From March 1981, Ryumon sat out of seven consecutive tournaments and eventually fell off the banzuke by May 1982. He announced his retirement after the May 1982 tournament. After retiring, he opened up a chanko restaurant in Yamagata City, Yamagata Prefecture called "sekitori" (関取).
Fighting Style[]
Ryumon was a yotsu-sumo wrestler who prefers grappling to pushing and thrusting techniques. He favored a migi-yotsu (left hand outside, right hand inside) position when gripping his opponent's mawashi (belt). His most common kimarite was yorikiri, or force out.
Record[]
Division Results[]
- Total: 325-307-52/632 (77 basho)
- Juryo: 126-159/285 (19 basho)
- Makushita: 138-97-17/235 (36 basho)
- Sandanme: 32-31-14/63 (11 basho)
- Jonidan: 24-18-14/42 (8 basho)
- Jonokuchi: 5-2-7/7 (2 basho)
Championships[]
- 2 Makushita Championships
- 1st (May 1975)
- 2nd (January 1978)
Shikona History[]
- Matsuoka Takayuki (1969.07 - 1976.05)
- Ryumon Takayuki (1976.07 - 1980.09)
- Ryumon Masakatsu (1980.11 - 1982.05)
Gallery[]
