Nankairyu Taro

Nankairyu Taro - 南海龍 太郎 (born February 22, 1965) is a former Samoan professional sumo wrestler from Apia. He made his debut in September 1984 and wrestled for Takasago stable. He reached the makuuchi division in November 1987. His highest rank was maegashira 2 and he retired in November 1988.

## **Early Life**

Born in Apia, Western Samoa, he joined Takasago stable in 1984, after he responded to a TV recruitment campaign placed by a Japanese businessman. He was picked out of a group of around 300 youths by the former sekiwake Takamiyama. Another Samoan, Nanyozakura (Fofoga Faaleva), joined at the same time.

## **Career**

### **Early Career**

Sapa was given the fighting name of Nankairyu, or "South Seas dragon." Although he was not unusually large for sumo he was a superb athlete and was dedicated to training. He was highly thought of by his stable-mate Konishiki and also yokozuna Chiyonofuji, who saw that Nankairyu had a similar physique to himself and sought him out to train with. After five consecutive winning records he was promoted to juryo.

### **Juryo Career**

Nankairyu made his juryo debut in May 1987 and he posted a 10-5 record in his sekitori debut and followed with a 9-6 record in July. In September 1987 he fought the Taiwanese wrestler Tochinohana in the juryo division, which according to the Japan Sumo Association was the first ever bout between two foreign sekitori; he finished the tournament with a 11-4 record and was promoted to makuuchi.

### **Makuuchi Career**

In November 1987 he became the third non-Asian sumo wrestler, after Takamiyama and Konishiki, to reach the top makuuchi division. In May 1988 he reached his highest rank of maegashira 2 and upset ozeki Hokutenyu. He also looked to have defeated yokozuna Onokuni but a rematch was called, which he lost.

## **Retirement from Sumo**

### **Controversial Retirement**

Nankairyu was a heavy drinker, and received adverse publicity after he got into a confrontation with a hotel clerk while drunk in July 1987. His problem was made worse by the fact that he spoke neither English nor Japanese well, needing a Samoan interpreter around his stable, and consequently he had difficulty making himself understood to the Japanese media. On the 14th day of the September 1988 tournament he withdrew claiming a stomach complaint, but in fact he had drunk so much the night before he was in no condition to compete. He had a heated argument with his stable boss, former yokozuna Asashio Taro III, who told him to choose between sumo and the bottle, and Nankairyu fled the stable to go back to Samoa. The head of the Sumo Association Futagoyama, declared that Nankairyu would never be allowed to compete again even if he did return. Nankairyu remained listed on the banzuke for the November 1988 tournament as retirement papers were not forwarded until October, after the new rankings were drawn up. This oversight prevented Hananofuji from taking Nankairyu's top division spot, as he was moved from juryo 1 West to juryo 1 East instead. (Hananofuji was never to reach makuuchi in his career.) His stablemaster died of a stroke just a few weeks after Nankairyu ran away, on October 23, 1988.

Nankairyu told a Japanese weekly newspaper after he had returned to Western Samoa that "there are too many rules in sumo. After a match, you go back to the stable and all they do is order you around like a child."

### **Professional Wrestling Career**

Nankairyu became a professional wrestler for New Japan in 1990, joining Tatsumi Fujinami's "Dragon Bomber" unit with Takashi Iizuka and Taylor Wily, but soon returned to Western Samoa after no success in the business.

### **Later Career**

Sapa returned to Samoa after his short pro wrestling career. He continued his education at Leone High School in Leone, American Samoa and graduated in 2003. He later moved and became a resident of Guam according to guamphonebook.com. Sapa had multiple run-ins with the law in Guam. On June 8th, 2015, Sapa was charged with family violence as a misdemeanor and harassment as a petty misdemeanor. On August 29th, 2016, Sapa was charged with disorderly conduct as a petty misdemeanor and public drunkenness as a violation.

## **Fighting Style**

Nankairyu was 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 was oshidashi or a straightforward push out.

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 145-94-1/238 (26 basho)
* **Makuuchi:** 44-45-1/88 (7 basho)
* **Juryo:** 30-15/45 (3 basho)
* **Makushita:** 26-16/42 (6 basho)
* **Sandanme:** 27-15/42 (6 basho)
* **Jonidan:** 13-1/14 (2 basho)
* **Jonokuchi:** 5-2/7 (1 basho)

## **Gallery**

Nankairyu after promotion to Juryo (c. 1987)Nankairyu plays baseball with stablemate KonishikiNankairyu poses with his kesho-mawashi (c. 1988)Nankairyu (c. 1988)Nankairyu sings at a sumo charity event (c. 1988)Nankairyu battles his opponent (c. 1988)Nankairyu and Takamikuni join professional wrestling (c. 1990)Nankairyu's tegata
## **Sources**

* Nankairyu Taro Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Nankairyu Taro Rikishi Information