Takaryu Naoya

Takaryu Naoya - 高立直哉 (born March 18, 1992) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Kanazawa, Ishikawa. He made his debut in March 2014 and wrestled for Kise stable. He reached the juryo division in July 2015. His highest rank was juryo 13 and he retired in May 2021.

Early Life[]

Takagi has always been large since a young age and he suffered from extreme atopic dermatitis. His doctor told him that if he did sumo, he would strengthen his immune system and metabolism which would cure him of his atopic dermatitis. As a result, Takagi started doing sumo at a local dojo during his first year of elementary school and a year later his atopic dermatitis was cured.

Screen Shot 2020-12-20 at 2.23.59 PM — Takagi in his 5th year of elementary school

He continued his sumo at Kanazawa Shiritsu Seinanbu Junior High School and he participated in national tournaments. He later attended Kanazawa Gakuin High School where Endo was one year his senior. He continued to participate in national competitions and after graduation in 2010, he was considering to join professional sumo directly, however, the sumo world was filled with many scandals at the time, so he decided to continue sumo at the collegiate level. Takagi enrolled at the Department of Economics at Takushoku University. He contributed into a national team championship with his university, but could not win an individual title, which mean that he could not qualify for makushita tsukedashi status. After graduation he joined Kise stable.

Career[]

Early Career[]

Takagi made his professional debut in March 2014 and produced a 5-2 record in his jonokuchi debut. He followed this with an impressive 7-0 record in jonidan, but lost the playoff for the championship against stablemate Shiba. In the following tournament, Takagi won all seven bouts again and took the sandanme yusho. As a result he was promoted to makushita for the November 2014 tournament.

CIrRPDQUkAAkEG5 — Takagi prepares for his upcoming match (c. 2015)

In his makushita debut, Takagi produced a strong 6-1 record and followed this with a 5-2 record. He was promoted to makushita 5 as a result, but suffered his first losing record of 3-4. He was demoted down to makushita 10 as a result. He won his first six matches and defeated Sato (future ozeki Takakeisho) on the thirteenth day to claim the makushita yusho. As a result he was promoted to the juryo division in July 2015 after only eight professional sumo tournaments.

Juryo Career[]

To celebrate his juryo promotion, he changed his shikona to "Takaryu". The shikona was conceived by his father who sadly passed before Takaryu made his professional sumo debut. In Takaryu's juryo debut, he won his first three matches, but ended up losing the following seven matches. He finished with a disappointing 5-10 record and was demoted back to makushita after only one tournament in juryo. This would be his only juryo appearance.

Later Career[]

Takaryu was demoted to makushita 3 for the following tournament and faced off against juryo-ranked Ishiura (this would be his last match in juryo). He would stay in the mid-makushita ranks for around four years. In November 2018, Takaryu was 6-0, but missed out on the makushita championship after losing to Sokokurai on the thirteenth day. He was demoted down to sandanme in January 2020, but immediately secured promotion back to the makushita division. He slimmed down to 188 kg by 2021.

Retirement from Sumo[]

After sitting out of the May 2021 tournament, Takaryu announced his retirement after the tournament. His rise to juryo was so rapid that he never got the chance to tie an oichomage, the proper top knot for sekitori, as his hair was not long enough. He was the first sekitori to not wrestle with an oichomage since Chiyozakura in 2011. His retirement ceremony, or danpatsu-shiki, was held in December 2021. After retirement, he is employed at the social welfare corporation "Arisu Welfare Association" in Nonoichi, Ishikawa, where he teaches sumo classes.

Personal Life[]

Takaryu's favorite food is fish and boiled eggs. His hobby is watching TV.
Takaryu's shikona (高立) was conceived by his late father who died before ever seeing him join professional sumo.

Fighting Style[]

Takaryu is an oshi-sumo specialist who prefers pushing and thrusting techniques to grabbing the opponent's mawashi. His most common winning kimarite is oshidashi, or push out.