Mongolian wrestling
Kakuryū Rikisaburō was born August 10, 1985, as Mangaljalavyn Anand. His father was a university professor. He grew up dreaming of professional basketball, not sumo. At age 14, he decided to devote himself to sumo after seeing a tournament featuring fellow Mongolians Kyokutenhō and Kyokushūzan on TV. He wrote a letter about his desires and had a friend translate it into Japanese. He then mailed the letter to several stables in Japan. Izutsu stable's head was impressed and invited Kakuryū to Japan. Kakuryū's family had no background in Mongolian wrestling, and he had no experience in wrestling before coming to Japan.