Kimurayama Mamoru - 木村山 守 (July 13, 1981 - July 6, 2024) was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Gobo, Wakayama. He made his debut in March 2004 and wrestled for Kasugano stable. He reached the makuuchi division in July 2008. His highest rank was maegashira 7 and he retired in January 2014.
Early Life[]
Kimura during his first year at Toyo University (c. 2000)
Mamoru Kimura was born in Gobo, Wakayama. He attended Minoshima High School in Wakayama Prefecture. His future stablemaster, Kasugano oyakata (ex-sekiwake Tochinowaka) was also an alumni of Kimura's high school and he told Kimura that his stable would always be open to him.
After graduating high school, Kimura enrolled at Toyo University and would simultaneously train at his university's sumo club and at Kasugano stable. After graduating university, Kimura joined Kasugano stable, however he did not have enough collegiate titles to start at makushita (makushita tsukedashi) and had to start at the bottom of the rankings.
Career[]
Early Career[]
Kimura made his professional debut in March 2003, alongside classmates Sagatsukasa and Buseizan. His shikona or fighting name was adapted from his own surname, which is also a time-honoured name in Kasugano stable, being the name of a gyoji or referee, Kimura Soshiro, who ran the stable in the early 20th century. He rose through the bottom four divisions rather quickly and scored a 6-1 record in his first five tournaments. He was already ranked at makushita 22 just one year after his debut.
Like most other wrestlers, Kimurayama found the makushita division much more challenging. Even though makushita was harder, Kimurayama still gradually rose up the rankings and reached makushita 1 east for the September 2006 tournament. Even though he defeated juryo-ranked wrestler Dewaotori on the last day, he still finished the tournament with a make-koshi, or losing record of 3-4. To make matters worse, he sat out the following tournament due to injury. This made him plummet down the rankings to makushita 49 for the January 2007 tournament. Kimurayama, now ever more determined, produced six straight kachi-koshi, including a 6-1 record at makushita 1. This guaranteed him a promotion to the juryo division.
Juryo Career[]
Kimurayama during the juryo dohyo-iri (c. 2013)
Kimurayama was promoted to juryo at the same time as stablemate, Tochinoshin. Kimurayama produced a lackluster 6-9 record in his juryo debut. He was demoted to the bottom of juryo, but he would bounce back by producing 12 wins and taking the juryo yusho. The following tournament, Kimurayama continued his to show his strong thrusting attacks and produced 11 wins. This guaranteed him a promotion to makuuchi.
Makuuchi Career[]
He made his debut in the top makuuchi division two tournaments later at maegashira 12, but fell short with a 7–8 record. He won his second juryo championship in March 2010, after a three way playoff with Koryu and Tamaasuka. He did not manage a kachi-koshi or winning record in the top division until his eighth try in July 2010. This performance, and another 8-7 in September, resulted in promotion to what was to be his highest career rank of maegashira 7 for the November 2010 tournament.
He actually moved up from maegashira 17 to maegashira 15 despite only scoring 7–8 in the May 2011 Technical Examination tournament, due to the large number of retirements caused by a match-fixing scandal. Despite recording his fifth successive make-koshi in September 2011, he remained in makuuchi for the November tournament. After yet another losing score there he was finally demoted back to juryo in January 2012 and spent only one more tournament in the top division, in September 2012.
Later Career[]
After demotion from Makuuchi, Kimurayama continued to struggle and produced four straight make-koshi in juryo. He was demoted down to the unsalaried makushita division for the July 2013 tournament. However, Kimurayama strived in the highly competitive upper-makushita level and produced two straight kachi-koshi to earn promotion back to juryo.
Retirement from Sumo[]
Iwatomo Oyakata
After earning promotion back to juryo for the November 2013 tournament, Kimurayama produced a 7-8 record. Although, he had no change in rank for the following tournament, Kimurayama scored a poor 4-11 record. Knowing that demotion back to makushita was certain, Kimurayama pulled out on the last day and announced his retirement the following day. His danpatsu-shiki, or retirement ceremony was held on April 26, 2014, in the Josui Hall, located in Tokyo.
He secured the Iwatomo toshiyori-kabu, one of 105 shares in the Japan Sumo Association, and worked as a coach at Kasugano stable until his death. He was known as Iwatomo Oyakata and frequently worked as a commentator for the NHK sumo broadcasts.
Death[]
Kimurayama died in Tokyo on 6 July 2024 at the age of 42, after being hospitalized in May 2024.
Personal Life[]
- Kimurayama was married, and his first child, a boy, was born on September 2012.
- Kimurayama was known for his bright personality and did not show tears during his danpatsu-shiki. In fact, Kimurayama and stablemate Tochinonada joked around during the actual ceremony and they both planned to play golf after the event.
- Kimurayama's hobbies included sleeping and he was not a big fan of tomatoes, but was a fan of ketchup.
- During his time as a sekitori, Kimurayama was the only wrestler from Wakayama Prefecture.
Fighting Style[]
Kimurayama defeats Tanzo by hikiotoshi (pull down)
Kimurayama favored pushing and thrusting techniques as opposed to fighting on the mawashi. His most common winning kimarite (or technique) was a simple oshidashi, or push out. He frequently employed the sidestepping henka move at the tachi-ai or initial charge, and consequently won many bouts by hikiotoshi, the pull down, and tsukiotoshi, the thrust over.
Record[]
Division Results[]
- Total: 343-328-7/670 (59 basho)
- Makuuchi: 101-139/240 (16 basho)
- Juryo: 136-134/269 (18 basho)
- Makushita: 82-51-7/133 (20 basho)
- Sandanme: 12-2/14 (2 basho)
- Jonidan: 6-1/7 (1 basho)
- Jonokuchi: 6-1/7 (1 basho)
Championships[]
- 2 Juryo Championships
- 1st (March 2008)
- 2nd (March 2010)
Shikona History[]
- Kimurayama Mamoru (2004.03 - 2014.01)
Gallery[]
JSA Profile Pictures and Tegata[]
Career Overview[]
