Ryuden, 35, will start the May 2026 Natsu Basho at the bottom of Makuuchi after another one-tournament demotion to Juryo, extending one of the more pronounced banzuke yo-yo patterns of the modern sumo era.
The Yamanashi-prefecture wrestler — once a Sekiwake regular and a top-five tournament finisher in his early 30s — has spent the past year alternating between Juryo and the bottom of Makuuchi, with kachikoshi (winning records) in Juryo earning him quick re-promotions and make-koshi (losing records) in Makuuchi pulling him back down. The May 2026 banzuke marks the second time in three tournaments he has executed the Juryo-to-Makuuchi return.
Ryuden's path is the classic 30-something Makuuchi pattern. The pure speed and elasticity of his sumo, which earned him three Juryo championships and a run of upper-Maegashira and Sanyaku finishes in the late 2010s, has been steadily replaced by more cautious, more strength-dependent matches. His tachiai (initial charge) is no longer one of the fastest in the division. His match endings — once routinely won at the dohyo edge through speed and torsion — now require him to win earlier through grip-and-throw sequences he cannot always set up.
The injury record matters too. Ryuden has been managing a long-term lower-back issue and has had several short absences for what the Japan Sumo Association reports as 'general fatigue' but which press reports have linked to the back. Older wrestlers in sumo do not benefit from the same recovery infrastructure that high-level athletes in other sports take for granted; the schedule is unforgiving, the absences cost banzuke ranks, and a Maegashira-level wrestler in his mid-30s rarely climbs back once he has slipped to Juryo.
Ryuden's response has been the back-and-forth. He has refused to settle in Juryo even when the win-rate signal would suggest accepting a lower-tier career. He has not, however, been able to consistently hold the bottom of Makuuchi when he climbs back. The May 2026 ranking — at the bottom of Makuuchi — leaves him in the most vulnerable position, where one bad tournament drops him straight back.
The wider trend is real. Sumo's Makuuchi roster is older on average than it was even five years ago. Tamawashi, at 42, will reach his 100th Makuuchi tournament in May. Mitakeumi, a former Ozeki, sits at Maegashira 14 East after eight wins in March. Asanoyama, also a former Ozeki, climbs two spots to Maegashira 10 East. These are wrestlers in their mid-30s holding (or nearly holding) Makuuchi places that, in earlier eras, they would have ceded to the next generation.
For Ryuden specifically, the next eight wins are the immediate task. A kachikoshi at the bottom of Maegashira keeps him in Makuuchi for July. A losing record sends him back to Juryo and starts the cycle again.
There is no obvious end to that cycle. There is no obvious next phase either. For now, the yo-yo pattern continues.