Remaining in the jЕ«ryЕЌ division, he suffered knee ligament damage on the 11th day of the July 2010 tournament and was forced to withdraw. However he entered the Kyushu basho in November 2009 in poor condition, having injured his right elbow whilst on tour in October, and he eventually withdrew from the tournament with only two wins, after being diagnosed with influenza. He scored 9-6 there, enough for an immediate makuuchi return. He fell to the jЕ«ryЕЌ division for the September tournament as a result. He suffered a muscle pull in his ribcage during the July 2009 tournament after falling to the floor of the dohyo twice in two bouts against Wakakoyu on Day 9 and had to withdraw for the first time in his career. He failed to get his kachi-koshi on the final day of the May 2009 tournament, for only the second time in his career. He came through with a kachi-koshi winning record of 8-7 in his debut makuuchi tournament, and followed up with another 8-7 in March 2009. The twelve tournaments it took him to enter the top division ties him with Tochiazuma, among others, in a group of the second fastest wrestlers to reach this level. ДЄfter posting nine wins in consecutive jЕ«ryЕЌ tournaments, he was promoted to the top makuuchi division for the 2009 January tournament. Yamamotoyama once reportedly ate 146 pieces of sushi in a single meal. Only two wrestlers have weighed more than him: Hawaiian born Konishiki at 285В kg (628В lb), and Russian sandanme rikishi Orora at 288В kg (635В lb). Upon his promotion he posed for photographers with two bags of rice and told reporters that he was aiming for 241В kg in weight, to break the record for a Japanese rikishi then held by Susanoumi. Yamamotoyama rose quickly through the ranks, recording only one make-koshi before reaching the second division of jЕ«ryЕЌ at the 2008 September tournament.

Ryuichi yamamoto