Matsuryuyama Masao

Matsuryuyama Masao - 松龍山 満佐夫 (born December 27, 1959) is a former American professional sumo wrestler from Seattle, Washington. He made his debut in September 1975 and last wrestled for Tokitsukaze stable. His highest rank was makushita 24 and he retired in March 1985.

## **Early Life**

Robert "Bobby" Masao Suetsugu was born on December 27, 1959, in Seattle, Washington to Japanese-American immigrants. Suetsugu's father, George "Sadao" Suetsugu, was born in the United States but raised in Japan and grew up in the Kurume area of Kyushu. George later met a woman, Etsuko (Betty), from Kyoto and they moved to the US in the early 1950s.

Bobby Suetsugu grew up near Seattle University with two brothers and two sisters. At 10, he weighed 200 pounds (90 kg) and won the regional Junior Olympics Championships for his weight division In judo. Soon other titles followed including the state high school judo championship in the unlimited division as a ninth grader at Seattle Preparatory School. By the time, Suetsugu turned 15, he was 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) and weighed 300 pounds (136 kg). At the urging of his judo teacher, who was friends with the master of a sumo school in Japan, Suetsugu decided to travel to Japan and learn sumo wrestling.

## **Career**

Suetsugu joined the prestigious Tokitsukaze stable and made his professional debut in the September 1975 tournament. He wrestled under his family name and was promoted to the jonidan division after just one tournament in jonokuchi. He reached the sandanme division in March 1977. He would remain in sandanme for around four years before earning promotion to the makushita division in July 1981.

He would bounce in between sandanme and makushita for majority of his sumo wrestling career. The highlight of his career was when he produced a 6-1 record at the rank of makushita 54. This forced a playoff between Suetsugu and Hawaiian behemoth Konishiki. Suetsugu lost by oshidashi (push out), but nonetheless was promoted to a career high rank of makushita 24. In January 1984, he reverted to a proper shikona of "Matsuryuyama" (松龍山). However, the shikona change did not boost his luck and he fell back down to sandanme in the following tournament.

## **Retirement from Sumo**

Suetsugu announced his retirement after the March 1985 tournament. Suetsugu stated, "I felt like I could do this (sumo wrestling) for another five years, but I would have nothing." So with the help of his coach, Suetsugu met master-chef Imatake who owned Yoshino Sushi in Tokyo, Japan. Imatake agreed to teach Suetsugu everything about the business and would provide him with room and board. In return, he worked free for one year.

After five years of working as an apprentice at Yoshino Sushi, Suetsugu returned to the United States and opened up sushi restaurant SUSHIMAN in Issaquah, Washington. The restaurant was opened from December 1990 to January 2013 where he also worked as the head sushi chef. He later worked as a sushi chef at Sushi Kashiba which is located at Pike Place Market in downtown Seattle.

During the early 2000's, Suetsugu also worked as a professional actor specializing in commercials and print ads. Some of his accolades include Gatorade, Kelloggs, Coca-Cola, Fuji film and Boeing. He also appeared in movies such as Man in the High Castle, Big Dreams Little Tokyo and 2001: A Space Travesty.

## **Personal Life**

* Suetsugu's hobbies include playing golf, spending time with his 26Ib orange tabby, Jasper and spending quality time with his wife and daughter.
* In August 2007, Suetsugu published the book *Samurai Sushi: A Field Guide to Identifying and Appreciating the World's Most Unique Wraps, Rolls, and Sashimi* and it was met with positive reviews.
* As of 2021, Matsuryuyama is the only sumo wrestler from the state of Washington.

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 201-198/399 (58 basho)
* **Makushita:** 17-32/49 (7 basho)
* **Sandanme:** 134-132/266 (38 basho)
* **Jonidan:** 45-32/77 (11 basho)
* **Jonokuchi:** 5-2/7 (1 basho)

## **Shikona History**

* Suetsugu Masao (1975.09 - 1983.11)
* Matsuryuyama Masao (1984.01 - 1985.03)

## **Gallery**

Bobby Suetsugu arrives in Japan to train for sumo (c. 1975)Matsuryuyama during a sumo training session (c. 1976)Matsuryuyama attends sumo school (c. 1976)Matsuryuyama receives help in wrapping his kimono (c. 1976)Matsuryuyama (Left) prepares for his upcoming match (c. 1976)Matsuryuyama's retirement ceremony (c. 1985)

## **Sources**

* Matsuryuyama Masao Rikishi Information
* The Issaquah Reporter Article on Matsuryuyama
* *making the switch from JUDO to SUMO*, by Andy Adams