Ryūkōzan Kazuto, born Kazuto Miyata (June 23, 1967 – February 2, 1990), was a

sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by thr ...

wrestler from

Sakai is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It has been one of the largest and most important seaports of Japan since the medieval era. Sakai is known for its keyhole-shaped burial mounds, or kofun, which date from the fifth century and incl ...

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. He made his professional debut in March 1983, and reached the top ''

makuuchi , or , is the top division of the six divisions of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers (''rikishi''), ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments. This is the on ...

'' division in January 1990, alongside his stablemate Oginohana. His highest rank was ''

maegashira , or , is the top division of the six divisions of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers (''rikishi''), ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments. This is the on ...

'' 5. He died of a heart attack after only one tournament in the top division.

Career

He was persuaded to give sumo a try while at junior high school, by an acquaintance of ''

makushita Professional sumo as administered by the Japan Sumo Association is divided into six ranked divisions. Wrestlers are promoted and demoted within and between these divisions based on the merit of their win–loss records in official tournaments. For ...

'' wrestler Banshuyama of the

Dewanoumi stable is a heya (sumo), stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Dewanoumi ''Glossary of sumo terms#ichimon, ichimon'' or group of stables. It has a long, prestigious history. Its current head coach is former ''maegashira'' Oginohana Akikazu, Oginohana. A ...

, and joined his sumo club. In his third year he decided to enter Dewanoumi stable. He made his professional debut in March 1983, fighting under his family name of Miyata. Unhappy with his lack of progress he ran away from the stable in December 1983. He was eventually persuaded to return by his father, who was being treated for cancer. Miyata had not had his retirement papers handed in or had his top knot cut off, so despite missing four straight tournaments he was able to resume his career in ''

maezumo The following words are terms used in sumo wrestling in Japan. A B C D E F G H ...

'' in September 1984. He won the ''

jonokuchi Professional sumo as administered by the Japan Sumo Association is divided into six ranked divisions. Wrestlers are promoted and demoted within and between these divisions based on the merit of their win–loss records in official tournaments. For ...

'' division championship or '' yusho'' with a perfect 7–0 record in the next tournament in November 1984. He rose steadily up the divisions and in May 1989 earned promotion to the ''

jūryō Professional sumo as administered by the Japan Sumo Association is divided into six ranked divisions. Wrestlers are promoted and demoted within and between these divisions based on the merit of their win–loss records in official tournaments. For ...

'' division with a 6–1 record at ''makushita'' 5. To mark his promotion his ''

shikona A is a sumo wrestler's ring name. The tradition of ring names in sumo dates back to the Edo period, where they were used as a means to attract customers and hide the identities of the ''rikishi''. Like standard Japanese names, a ''shikona'' co ...

'' was changed to Ryūkōzan. He came through with a 9–6 record in his jūryō debut, and in the following tournament took the championship with a 10–5 record, defeating Ishinriki and

Daitetsu is a former sumo wrestler from Ōno, Fukui, Japan. He made his professional debut in July 1971, and reached the top division in November, 1983. His highest rank was ''komusubi''. He retired in September 1990, and has worked as a coach at both th ...

in a three-way playoff. In the next tournament an 11–4 record saw him promoted to the top ''

'' division, alongside his friend and stablemate Oginohana. Both Ryūkōzan and Oginohana came through with winning records in their top division debuts in January 1990.

Death

Ryūkōzan died of a heart attack in training on February 2, 1990, whilst preparing for the next tournament, making him the first ''

sekitori A ''sekitori'' (関取) is a ''rikishi'' (力士, sumo wrestler) who is ranked in one of the top two professional divisions: ''makuuchi'' and ''jūryō''. The name literally translates to having taken the barrier, as only a relatively small fract ...

'' to die whilst active since Tamanoumi in 1971. He was 22 years old. As his rank for the following tournament would have been his highest ever at ''maegashira'' 5, his name was included on the March 1990 ''

banzuke A , officially called is a document listing the rankings of professional sumo wrestlers published before each official tournament (''honbasho''). The term can also refer to the rankings themselves. The document is normally released about two w ...

'' instead of the rank being left blank as would normally be the case with a deceased wrestler, to honour him. Following his death the

Japan Sumo Association The is the body that operates and controls professional sumo wrestling (called ''Ōzumō'', 大相撲) in Japan under the jurisdiction of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). ''Rikishi'' (active ...

introduced mandatory

ECG Electrocardiography is the process of producing an electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG), a recording of the heart's electrical activity. It is an electrogram of the heart which is a graph of voltage versus time of the electrical activity of the hear ...

checks for all wrestlers and required installation of

automated external defibrillators An automated external defibrillator (AED) is a portable electronic device that automatically diagnoses the life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias of ventricular fibrillation (VF) and pulseless ventricular tachycardia, and is able to treat them thro ...

at every stable. On 4 July 2019 his former stablemate Oginohana, now Dewanoumi Oyakata, collapsed at a training session whilst supervising ''jonokuchi'' wrestlers. It was diagnosed as variant angina and he was saved by the availability of an automated external defibrillator.

Fighting style

Ryukozan was a yotsu-sumo wrestler who preferred a ''migi-yotsu'' (left hand outside, right hand inside) grip on his opponent's ''

mawashi In sumo, a is the loincloth that (sumo wrestlers) wear during training or in competition. Upper ranked professional wrestlers wear a as part of the ring entry ceremony or . For top ranked professional , it is made of silk and comes in a var ...

.'' His most common winning ''

kimarite ''Kimarite'' ( ja, 決まり手) is the technique used in sumo by a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) to win a match. It is officially decided or announced by the ''gyōji'' (referee) at the end of the match, though judges can modify this decision. The rec ...

'' was a straightforward yorikiri, or force out.

Career record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryukozan, Kazuto 1967 births 1990 deaths Japanese sumo wrestlers Sumo people from Osaka Prefecture Sportspeople from Sakai, Osaka Sumo wrestlers who died while active

Career

Death

Fighting style

Career record

See also

References