Kinkaiyama Ryu

Kinkaiyama Ryu - 金開山 龍 (born January 7, 1976) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Omura, Nagasaki. He made his debut in March 1991 and last wrestled for Dewanoumi stable. He reached the makuuchi division in July 1998. His highest rank was maegashira 6 and he retired in May 2006.

## **Career**

### **Early Career**

He joined Dewanoumi stable in March 1991 and was given the shikona "Kanenoumi" (金の海). he was promoted to sandanme November 1992 and makushita in May 1995. He changed his shikona to "Kinkaiyama" (金開山) in July 1996. After seven consecutive winning records, he was promoted to juryo in January 1998 at the age of 21.

### **Juryo Career**

Kinkaiyama produced a strong 12-3 record in his sekitori debut and won the juryo yusho. He followed with two 9-6 records which earned him a promotion to the top makuuchi division in July 1998. At the time of his promotion to makuuchi, Kinkaiyama had produced ten straight winning records starting from sandanme.

### **Makuuchi Career**

Kinkaiyama struggled to establish himself in makuuchi and he produced a 7-8 record in his debut which resulted in a fall back down to sandanme. He returned to makuuchi two tournaments later in January 1999, but could only manage 4 wins in this tournament and as a result he fell back down to juryo. In July 1999 he won his second juryo yusho with a 10-5 record and was promoted back to makuuchi for a third time, but he again was demoted after only recording 6 wins. He returned for a fourth stint in January 2000, but he only lasted one tournament. He was promoted back for a fifth time in May 2000 and he produced his first top division winning record in July 2000. However, he was demoted back to juryo in November 2000 after two losing records. He again returned to makuuchi for his sixth time after winning his third juryo yusho in November 2000.

In March 2001, he injured his right knee joint on the seventh day and had to withdraw from the tournament. He continued to sit out in the following tournament and eventually fell back down to makushita in September 2001. He stayed in makushita for a year and after winning the makushita yusho in July 2002 he was promoted back to juryo. He was promoted to makuuchi for the seventh time in March 2003 but he only lasted one tournament.

He returned to makuuchi for an eighth time in July 2003 and produced two winning records which sent him to a career-best maegashira 6 in November 2003. During his eighth makuuchi stint, he was able to last seven tournaments which was the longest of all his stints, but this proved to be his last stint.

## **Retirement from Sumo**

Kinkaiyama remained in juryo for a little over a year before falling down to makushita in July 2005. He announced his retirement in May 2006 and his danpatsu-shiki, or retirement ceremony, was held on September 2nd at the Ryogoku Kokugikan.

Kinkaiyama remained in the sumo world after retirement, but was unable to acquire permanent elder stock in the Japan Sumo Association and so had to borrow elder names owned by active wrestlers or stable-masters. On April 2nd, 2014, he was able to acquire the Takasaki stock and is now known as Takasaki oyakata.

He was responsible for the "Ozumo Beyond 2020 Tournament" held in the Ryogoku Kokugikan in October 2017 to increase awareness of sumo among minority groups such as foreigners and people with disabilities, in preparation for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

## **Personal Life**

* Kinkaiyama is a Japanese of Korean descent. His Japanese birth-name is Ryusui Kin (金 龍水) and his Korean name is Kim Young-soo (김영수). Due to his Korean parentage, he did not hold Japanese citizenship. He was able to become a naturalized citizen in 2000 and he changed his name to Ryusui Matsuyama (松山 龍水). Because of this, he was able to stay in the Japan Sumo Assocation and acquire elder stock.
* He was married in February 2005.
* Kinkaiyama was the first rikishi to defeat Asashoryu during the yokozuna's first makuuchi tournament. He was also the first rikishi to defeat yokozuna Hakuho in the yokozuna's makuuchi debut.

## **Fighting Style**

Kinkaiyama favored techniques are listed at the Sumo Association as migi-yotsu (a left hand outside, right hand inside grip on the opponent's mawashi) and yori (forcing). He won majority of his matches by yorikiri, or force out.

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 469-453-35/920 (92 basho)
* **Makuuchi:** 102-146-7/247 (17 basho)
* **Juryo:** 178-152-15/330 (23 basho)
* **Makushita:** 82-73-13/155 (24 basho)
* **Sandanme:** 67-52/118 (17 basho)
* **Jonidan:** 36-27/63 (9 basho)
* **Jonokuchi:** 4-3/7 (1 basho)

### **Championships**

* 3 **Juryo** Championships
	+ 1st (January 1998)
	+ 2nd (July 1999)
	+ 3rd (November 2000)
* 1 **Makushita** Championship (July 2002)

## **Shikona History**

* Kanenoumi Ryusui (1991.03 - 1996.05)
* Kinkaiyama Ryu (1996.07 - 2006.05)

## **Gallery**

### **JSA Profile Pictures and Tegata**

Kinkaiyama Ryu - 1999 (Retrieved from the JSA)Kinkaiyama Ryu - 1998 (Retrieved from the JSA)Kinkaiyama's tegata
### **Career Overview**

Kim Young-soo joins sumo (c. 1991)Kinkaiyama after promotion to Juryo (c. 1997)Kinkaiyama defeats Kanechika (c. 1998)Kinkaiyama gets the Juryo Yusho (c. 1998)Kinkaiyama after promotion to Makuuchi (c. 1998)Kinkaiyama defeats Asasekiryu (c. 2004)Kinkaiyama during the Juryo dohyo-iri (c. 2005)Kinkaiyama's retirement ceremony (c. 2006)Kinkaiyama after retirement as Takasaki Oyakata

## **Sources**

* Kinkaiyama Ryu Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Kinkaiyama Ryu Rikishi Information